Puccini: Madama Butterfly

My parents bought this recording when I was a kid; I don't think they ever listened to it. Eventually, I slipped it into my collection; it was my only opera recording. I listened to this record a thousand times. As a young adult, I purchased the RCA Dynaflex version, and almost wore it out. Now, as a 57 year-old man, I have "rediscovered" this Madama Butterfly, after years of listening to the Karajan/Freni; Serafin/Tebaldi, and Barbirolli/Scotto recordings. All have their pluses, especially the Barbirolli/Scotto, but, this recording has some ineffable quality that makes it a near transcendental experience. All elements come together harmoniously to create something truly sublime. The other versions simply do not have it. Perhaps my judgment is colored by the early associations of childhood, but I think not. It's simply that it is a thing of beauty, and worth a listen. You be the judge.

ABOUT THE ALBUM: PUCCINI (MADAMA BUTTERFLY), RECORDED IN ROME FOR LIVING STEREO LP'S, RELEASED 1962, RELEASED AS A CD IN 1996, 1999 Hybrid, CAST: LEONTYNE PRICE, SOPRANO (BUTTERFLY), RICHARD TUCKER, TENOR (B.F. PINKERTON), ROSALIND ELIAS, MEZZO SOPRANO (SUZUKI), ITALIANA OPERA ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS, ERICH LEINSDORF, CONDUCTOR.

Erich Leinsdorf's 1962 Madame Butterfly was made to showcase the talents of the emerging new star, Leontyne Price. Remember, it was 1962, Leontyne's sensational debut at the Metropolitan Opera took the opera world by storm and broke the color barrier. She was the first black opera diva. She sang all the most coveted roles in the most renowned operas of Verdi and Puccini. She was already being recorded to promote her artistry in the States and abroad, something which no black soprano was able to accomplish before her. Puccini's Madame Butterfly is perhaps his most unabashedly romantic opera, and remains popular and a blockbuster in any opera company to this date. It was completely inevitable for Leontyne to sing the role of Cio-Cio-San, though she never sang it on stage (for reasons I think owe to her strong, African-American appearance as being too difficult to transition, even in costume and make-up, to a frail and adolescent Japanese Geisha. Leontyne knew which roles fit her and frail heroines like Mimi in La Bohme or Violetta in La Traviata she said were not right for her healthy, robust voice and demeanor). Butterfly was a role she didn't care for, and one she never recorded twice. This is her only Madama Butterfly recording. It's my first Madame Butterfly and since my initial hearing, I've moved on to other sopranos and recordings, but this one still has a place in my heart and I always return to this recording. It's a magnificent work of drama with passionate interpretations by the lead singers, a fine orchestration of the Puccini score headed by Leindsorf, high quality sound and an example of one opera where everything goes right.

Leontyne Price had a terrific Puccini voice, so in all fairness, Puccini heroines were a specialty of hers (with the exception of Mimi in Boheme and Minnie in Fanciulla Del West). Butterfly's arias and music is very difficult to sing since it conveys not only intense dramatic suffering suited to a heavy dramatic voice (like Maria Callas, Renata Tebaldi and Renata Scotto) but it's also a voice that is also suited to purely lyric singers who can portray frailty and youthfulness like Victoria De Los Angeles, Anna Moffo and Mirella Freni. Leontyne does not sound like a young girl, but who cares. Besides, at the time of this recording, the standard was always that a dramatic soprano sang Butterfy. Price nails what Puccini also wanted in the part but few sopranos understand. Butterfly is a victim, but Leontyne makes her a larger-than-life figure (a lot like Callas in this respect), and extremely noble, with dignity and blood-and-tears martyrdom. Leontyne manages to convey this martyrdom in a voice that changes appropriately from lovestruck, naive, idealistic young bride (Un Passo Ancora, Un Bel Di, the Flower Duet)to the excruciating, emotional and tragic climax at the end in which she kills herself. We are forced to feel a sense of greater tragedy in Butterfly than even La Boheme because Butterfly loses in love, is abandoned and dishonored. Somehow, Leontyne seemed to understand the racial issue in Butterfly that is always an unspoken presence. Pinkerton, a cocky American naval captain, is an insensitive bastard who finds in Butterfly only a fleeting romance and adventure while stationed in Japan. She takes the marriage seriously but he sees her only as his Japanese war whore. He marries an American woman and not even his son with Butterfly is enough to bond them. I always feel that Butterfly did the right thing in her suicide (that will show him, and all of them!) Leontyne, a black woman who met with racism at the start of her career, understands that Butterfly, who is not white, is dealt with harshly by a white American male. I think this was her mentality when she sang Butterfly, but we have only this amazing performance on recording and nothing else. She was not fond of the role but she did amazing things with the part, owing to her mastership of the Puccini repertoire. Her voice is, too critics and too operaphiles ears, too grand, too mature and too healthy sounding for the vulnerable Geisha. She even sounds very heroic. But this is only present in her fireworks aria and her climaxes. It works well with the ove Duet in Act 1. But you'll notice, too, how she is acting, and this was very rare for Leontyne, who was introspective and sang with an academic touch that was usually lacking in acting out her parts. Her voice slides into girlish laughter, coos and also tears (like when she's rejected by her family for marrying outside her race and religion). But when the opera takes the tragic turn at the end, she is clearly distraught, emotional and finally driven to despair. This is all present in the voice. Leontyne never acted as much as she did with Butterfly! Few "Butterfly" catchers (of the recordings), ever care for Leontyne's version but it's one that is simply too amazing to be ignored. I don't see her as being an authentic and pure Butterfly, but that's only because I'm used to seeing these modern sopranos who are not only gifted singers but who are also Asian and make for more realistic and convincing Butterflys on stage, film and recordings. Still, this is an example of a diva singing a diva's part and done as great as the rest of them. The textures in the voice range from innocence to sexually mature to anguish. If you analyze her vocal interpretation carefully, you'll find this to be a Butterfly with more depth and more adultness. She's not a stupid girl. She's a strong, willful woman who just happened to be mistaken about the man she thought loved her completely. Not wishing to be humiliated any further than she is, she steps out of the picture through killing herself. Despite the charged dramatic content, Leontyne maintains control when some sopranos make the error of making Butterfly nearly insane at the end. Leinsdorf knew just how to make her shine. She did her best work with Leinsdorf and her Aida from 1970 under his baton is her absolute best performance ever done on record.

Richard Tucker, an American tenor, was a top star at the Met at this time and he sang all the juicy roles opposite the leading ladies. He had recorded a La Traviata with Anna Moffo around this time but he was having a bad day or something because the performance is not his best effort. But this one's a winner. Though he is not convincing as a young man, and his voice is very mature, it's full of bombast, flair and the old-fashioned grandeur that still works for B.F. Pinkerton. In this way, he makes it a lot more cheesy and therefore a lot more fake so that we can really see that this guy is fake and does not love Butterfly. He's all talk but has no heart. Tucker's interpretation is extraordinary. Tenor studying the part ought to favor his version rather than Pavarotti's because Tucker is the real thing. He's American like Pinkerton and a fine actor. I love his performance and it's probably the last time he sang so splendidly on record. Next to Leontyne, his voice matches the forcefulness and virtuosity.

Leinsdorf, despite being Austrian-German, made a career out of recording Italian opera with success. He understood the drama and drank it up, and he has recorded Butterfly twice (there's one with Anna Moffo that pre-dates this one from 1957). He also recorded Aida and La Forza Del Destino. He also did "Salome" with Montserrat Caballe. It's amazing to hear him do "Don Giovanni" and "Butterfly". His is a cerebral conducting style that sometimes can become very fiery and theatrical and never has he done this better than with this Butterfly. Folks, this one is a miracle, really, because no black sopranos today even touch Butterfly and Leontyne Price has such a terrific style and grace and voice that seemed able to do anything. This is a Butterfly for the ages.

This is the best stereo "Butterfly" on a recording. Get it if you can, you won't be disappointed. Leontyne Price is at her best.

I know there are other recordings of Butterfly out there with Tebaldi, Scotto, Freni and others. They are all great singers.

But---

Nothing replaces Leontyne Price's devastating characterization of Butterfly. I have known this recording since I was about 12 years old and as I have grown older, my admiration and love for this Butterfly has increased.

Leontyne Price's voice is one of the wonders of the 20th century and here in this recording it is captured at its prime. Her high notes are the glory of opera. The interpolated high note at the end of her entrance music has never been equaled.

If you are only after one Butterfly recording, THIS IS IT. If you are collecting a number of them, there are other options.

one word of caution: if you choose this Butterfly, be aware that it will forever spoil this opera for you as you will not be able to listen to another one without feeling that something is profoundly missing.

This 1962 recording showcases Leontyne Price in her absolute prime. Here her voice sounds a trifle lighter than usual, which is very appropriate for the 15-year old Butterfly. Her high D-flat in the "Entrance of Butterfly" scene is ravishing.
Though Richard Tucker's voice hardly sounds youthful, his high notes are still fantastic. He does a good enough job not to detract from the overrall quality of the recording.
If you buy only one Butterfly, this is the one to buy--it is a gem from beginning to end. If you can afford a second Butterfly, I recommend the one with Renata Tebaldi, mostly because of her wonderful dramatics in Acts II and III.