Madame Butterfly

Analytical Essay # 113499

Drama and Theater
Music Studies > Classical and Baroque

Madame Butterfly

A review of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly."

819 words () | 0 sources | 2009 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the opera "Madame Butterfly," by G. Puccini, giving a detailed description of the plot. The writer explains how the music provides the mood and the atmospheric setting for the scenes and the action, and intensifies the audience's experience. The paper concludes that, thanks to the music, even if one closes one's eyes and cannot understand the words, one can feel the emotion of every scene, and this is what makes opera special.

From the Paper:

"Throughout the Opera, Puccini uses the music to set a tone for the scene. The music never overshadows the scene, rather provides the right environment for the scene to take place. For example, when Cio-Cio-San's family arrives the music gives off an air of unhappiness and frustration. This sets the tone for her family as they later do renounce Cio-Cio-San for abandoning her religion. Act two ends with a humming chorus, which puts the audience at ease only to be shocked like a splash of cold water with the intro of act 3."