[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="504"]<img class=" " src="http://www.funzine.hu/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/madamaButterfly.jpg" alt="" width="504" height="276" /> A poster used at the Opera<br /><a id="internal-source-marker_0.44043070777809645" href="http://www.funzine.hu/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/madamaButterfly.jpg">http://www.funzine.hu/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/madamaButterfly.jpg</a>[/caption]

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<p dir="ltr">On March 31, 1854 the Treaty of Kanagawa was signed, and Japan was now open to the Western World. Their music, culture, clothing, and other things made Westerners curious. “A new craze for all things Japanese soon invaded the West, especially Britain, France, and the Netherlands (Gerbino).”, this statement comes from Gerbino’s exploration of Orientalism as it refers to Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly.</p>
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<p dir="ltr">Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madama Butterfly is based on a narrative written by American John Luther Long called “Madam Butterfly”, and the theatre presentation by American David Belasco. In Summer of 1900 Puccini saw the play adaptation of Long’s work in London, and immediately began construction on an Opera (Jenkins). Puccini’s opera opened in February of 1904, and still runs today. According to PBS Madama Butterfly is, “Ranked as number one in Opera America’s list of the 20 most performed operas in North America...(PBS).” The narrative was connected to a story of many Japanese women, now that Japan was open to foreign influence. Madama Butterfly by Giacomo Puccini should be preserved because on top of being one of the most famous operas, it showcases the relationship between the east meeting the west.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The story of “Madam Butterfly” is about a Japanese woman and an American soldier who get married before he goes back to America. When he leaves, the Japanese woman realizes that she is pregnant and eagerly awaits her husband returning to her in Japan. At the end it is realized that her husband married an American woman. This was a common phenomenon, with a given name of “temporary wives (Gerbino)”. In the end, the husband returns to Japan with his American wife. When Madam Butterfly realizes this and that her husband intends to take their child back to America, she attempts suicide. In the original narrative she didn’t die, but in both the play and Puccini’s opera she dies in the end (Green).</p>
<p dir="ltr">Because of the world’s fascination with Japan, Long was not the first to write a story like this. Gerbino says, “As Americans decorated their houses with japanese-inspired furniture and objects, a whole new sub-genre of Japanese fiction flourished in the American literary markets of the last two decades of the 19th century (Gerbino).” Gerbino goes on to mention with “Madam Butterfly”, “The Mikado Empire” and “Things Japanese”. The most notable proof of why Long’s story was typical is Pierre Loti’s Madame Chrysantheme. In Madame Chrysantheme, Loti tells a story with close resemblance to Long’s and it predates Long by about a decade. Loti wrote his work as a series of journal entries explaining a summer in Japan, which were combined for his book. Loti and Long share the story of a “temporary bride”, but Loti tells a tale of a summer marriage that ends when the soldier leaves to go back to America. Another key difference is that the Japanese wife didn’t love Loti’s male character, and in “Madam Butterfly” she did. A big comparison between the two stories is that both have been made into operas. Puccini wrote “Madama Butterfly”, and Messager and Hartmann wrote the opera edition of “Madame Chrysantheme” (Miskow).</p>
What made Madama Butterfly so unique was two things; the story itself and Puccini. The story was unique because it pulled peoples interest in. What starts as a love story ends in tragedy, and that is why people are so enamored by the story. Long was able to take a trend for the time, and make it timeless by including the story of many Japanese women. Once Puccini got ahold of the story the rest is history. Puccini wrote a score that would set his Opera apart from all of the other Japanese-esque stories. He received help from the Japanese ambassador to Rome’s wife, who sang traditional Japanese songs for him. “According to scholar Kimiyo Powlis-Okano, at least ten authentic melodies can be identified in Puccini’s score (Gerbino).” Other than the Japanese music, Puccini also used typical “Western” sounds and music like “The Star Spangled Banner” throughout the Opera to point out the merging of the two sides of the Earth (Gerbino).
<p dir="ltr">When released the play wasn’t very popular; PBS explains it as, “...Madama Butterfly wasn’t well-received when it opened initially in February 1904. Puccini revised the opera, and several months late, it opened to much success (PBS).” Today, Madama Butterfly is still regularly performed by the Metropolitan Opera in New York. According to PBS Madama Butterfly is,”Ranked as number one in Opera America’s list of the 20 most performed operas in North America... (PBS)” In 2009 Madama Butterfly was highlighted on the PBS series, Great Performances which plays musicals and operas on PBS for people at home to enjoy.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Personally, I believe this opera is extremely fascinating. Long was able to write a story that a lot of people could relate to, and Puccini upped it and made it into one of the most popular operas. It’s really interesting how interested in Japanese culture the western world was, and that is most likely the sole reason that the opera was as successful as it was. Long and Puccini were able to capture the relationship between the Japanese woman and the American soldier in a metaphorical way also showing the relationship between the east and west. The tragedy of “temporary wives” was a phenomenon that happened even after the opera in Vietnam, Korea, and Europe.</p>
<p dir="ltr">This work is important for future generations because it is so representative of the time period, it shows the Japanese and their vulnerability to the West while the West was so struck by the East. It also is a lesson though, of the consequences of taking advantage of people. Madama Butterfly should be preserved because it is one of the most successful operas, and it is representative of a time period.</p>
Works Cited:
Green, Aaron. "Madama Butterfly Synopsis." About.com. N.p.. Web. 5 Nov 2012.

Gerbino, Giuseppe. "Orientalism in Madama Butterfly." New York City Opera Project: Madama Butterfly. columbia.edu. Web. 5 Nov 2012.

Jenkins, Chadwick. "The Original Story: John Luther Long and David Belasco." New York City Opera Project: Madama Butterfly. columbia.edu. Web. 5 Nov 2012.

Miskow, Catherine. "The Chrysanthemum and the Butterfly: What, if Anything, Remains of Pierre Loti in the Madame Butterfly Narrative." epubs.utah.edu. N.p.. Web. 5 Nov 2012.