Puccini |
The Un bel di Variations
by John Conklin, BLO Artistic Advisor
Sometimes it is interesting to see MADAMA BUTTERFLY sung "naked" - without the white makeup, the piled up geisha hair, the enveloping kimono. Here are such performances by Renata Tebaldi, Leontyne Price, Eleanor Steber and Teresa Stratas.
Renata Tebaldi
Leontyne Price
Eleanor Steber
Teresa Stratas
In this excerpt from Franco Zeffirelli's 2002 film Callas Forever, the captivating French actress Fanny Ardant plays ( a mostly fictionalized ) Maria Callas in the last year of her life. Alone (except for eavesdropping figure of her manager - Jeremy Irons) she listens - and sings along - to her own recording of Butterfly
Another place where we can see singers deeply involved in a role but out of a theatrical context (and away from the gaze of an audience) - "on their own" as it were - is in, often very revelatory, rehearsal footage. In this instance it is, of course, the BUTTERFLY Act 1 love duet, Vogliatemi bene, rather than our Un bel di.
With Jonas Kaufmann and Angela Gheorghiu
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