Madama Butterfly

Watching three different versions of Madama Butterfly made me understand different aspects of the story, but there were also differences between each of the versions. The movie version was extremely well made and I thought the movement of the camera really enhanced the story. There were many occasions of complex dolly movements that made you focus on certain elements when they became more prevalent throughout the scene. I also thought the use of foreground and background elements was used to great effect when Madama learns that Pinkerton’s American wife wants her child. Madama and Suzuki are facing each other in the foreground and in the background, Pinkerton’s wife is placed right between them, like a ominous wall severing Madama’s life.

The opera version performed in the Met was also well done but the most off putting thing was the fact they used a puppet to play Madama’s son. The puppet appeared to be operated by three people who were wearing black and it took me out of the experience seeing Madama being so emotional to an inanimate object. I did enjoy the set dressing on stage from the acts we watched. My favorite element was the China light balls used because I like their aesthetic and the light they emit.

The animated version was extremely interesting and artistic. I really liked the fact that it was done with stop-motion animation which brought a certain level of craftsmanship to the film. The lighting of the miniature sets was also done very well to try to make it seem as lifelike as possible. The ending of Madama removing her skin, then dismantling her limbs was my favorite part of the piece and separated it from the movie and opera version.

Comments

Performance Art Definition

Performance Art to me is something done to bring awareness to some aspect of sociality and culture. Often, performance art is driven by deep personal experiences by an individual, often negative experiences that create trauma for that individual or group. Performance art is often done in ways that are attention grabbing, obscure, and odd. Doing things in this way grab people’s attention and shines light on a subject that might not otherwise see the light of day. That being said, one has to make themselves uncomfortable and vulnerable in order to get their message across. It can be extremely difficult for people who are already vulnerable to expose themselves in this way but at a certain point, it has to be done. If the message has little relevance to themselves then the performance art piece will suffer as a result. Why try to send a vulnerable message that has little relevance to you when you could do something more personal. Everyone has their insecurities. Dig deep to find you...

Howard Goodall on Opera

As someone who is not very familiar with opera at all, it was very eye-opening to be exposed to some of the history of opera and what makes it so special. I would say the only real exposure I’ve had to opera was Antonin Pavarotti’s performance of “Nessun Dorma”. My parents often played it for me when I was a kid and I always loved singing along. Learning about Claudio Monteverdi, the father of opera, was interesting because until watching Howard Goodall, I had no idea he existed. He was known for his very popular secular and sacred works that were very emotional in nature. Like a lot of art, hearing that opera is very much tied into social events and politics doesn’t surprise me. It was interesting to see a play like Le Mariage de Figaro grow to such popularity but get banned by several governments. It took people like Mozart to disguise certain political messages in order for them to actually be heard instead of banned by aristocrats and monarchs.

Music Works and Comments

The first movement I'd like to talk about is Psychedelic Rock. I'm personally not a huge rock fan because it hurts my ears. That being said, my favorite artist from this genre (and favorite artist in all of music) is a different breed and that is the one and only, Tame Impala. Tame Impala's songs are created almost entirely by Kevin Parker. Parker writes, produces, and performs all of his music. Even though he is a modern artist, he still uses old technology to record his music. It gives his music a more organic feeling than what new digital equipment gives. My favorite album of his is "Currents" which is perfection from start to end. Next up is "InnerSpeaker" which is older and more psychedelic. The second musical movement that is one of my favorites is Motown. Featuring artists like Smokey Robinson and Marvin Gaye, it’s hard to resist the auditory bliss that comes from listening to this genre. Some of my favorite songs are “Cruisin’” by Smokey and the ...

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