Santa Fe Opera's 2022 Season featured the world premiere of their newly commissioned opera M. Butterfly by composer Huang Ruo and librettist David Henry Hwang, based on the Broadway hit and Tony Award-winning play originally written by the librettist himself. James Robinson's production--under the baton of Carolyn Kuan, featuring opera stars Kangmin Justin Kim and Mark Stone--was lauded by audiences and critics alike. Over its four-week run, reviewers raved about the opera in numerous outlets from the Wall Street Journal, New York Times to the Santa Fe Reporter.

About the work

René Gallimard, a civil servant at the French embassy in Beijing, falls in love with a beautiful Chinese opera singer named Song Liling. Song holds two shocking secrets, both of which eventually bring Gallimard professional and personal ruin.

M. Butterfly’s plot is inspired by the true story of a French diplomat who carried on a 20-year love affair with a star of the Peking Opera. The story’s many parallels with Puccini’s Madama Butterfly are echoed in the new work paying tribute to the history of Opera, while simultaneously turning it on its head by rectifying what the composer deems the “kind of imbalance between East and West, the smaller picture [of] the interplay of male and female,” and the treatment of Asians found in Puccini’s original work.

Huang Ruo on M. Butterfly

“I want people to understand the story, but also to ask questions. That, to me, is the best opera can do: Not to provide answers, but to provoke questions. And to leave the audience asking questions about their own background, their own journey.”

Reviews

“The opera made an impact with dramatic sweep, terrific and sensitive characterizations and music that added more than just color to the story.”

“M. Butterfly 懮珋 promises to up the ante on the kind of juicy romance and unapologetic agita that marks all the best operas.”

“Ultimately, the opera transcends its source material, finding universal and operatic themes in a very specific story that still grapples with the issues of gender and racial stereotyping.”

“The most immediately noticeable aspects of Huang Ruo’s impressive score are its dramatic momentum, driven by repeated rhythmic passages in the orchestra, often in triple meters, and its excellent English-language word setting.”

View work details