Madama Butterfly comes to life

In "Madama Butterfly", a clash of cultures takes stage, when a US naval officer called Pinkerton takes a romantic fascination to a young Japanese girl who has turned her back on her family and traditions in order to be with this man, who she believes truly loves her. Pinkerton, however is more infatuated with the innocence and youthful charm of Butterfly and marries her under a contract stating he can decide each month whether he wants to remain married or not. He stays for a while but leaves soon after, deserting poor Butterfly with a lot more than just a broken heart. She however remains hopeful that he will return, but his return does not bring her the joy she had anticipated.

It's a spellbinding opera that will capture you from the get-go and pull on your heart strings. I really enjoyed it and any opera enthusiast will too. If you're afraid you will not understand or follow the plot, Cape Town Opera is nice enough to stick the subtitles above the stage. It's a beautiful production from beginning to end with outstanding performances all-round.

Madama Butterfly is showing at the Artscape till Friday, 5 June 2009.

For more information, go to www.capetownopera.co.za.