Madame Butterfly (1995 film) explained

Madame Butterfly
Caption:Film poster
Director:Frédéric Mitterrand
Producer:Daniel Toscan du Plantier
Pierre-Olivier Bardet
Starring:Ying Huang
Richard Troxell
Music:Giacomo Puccini
Cinematography:Philippe Welt
Editing:Luc Barnier
Studio:Erato Films
Idéale Audience
France 3
Sony Classical
Canal+
BBC
ZDF
S4C
France Télécom
Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée
Distributor:Les Films du Losange (France)
Blue Dolphin Films (UK)
Sony Pictures Classics (US)
Runtime:105 minutes
Country:France
United Kingdom
Germany
Language:Italian

Madame Butterfly is a 1995 musical film written and directed by Frédéric Mitterrand and produced by Daniel Toscan du Plantier and Pierre-Olivier Bardet.[1] It is based on the opera Madama Butterfly with music by Giacomo Puccini and libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Soprano Ying Huang, tenor Richard Troxell, mezzo-soprano Ning Liang, and bass-baritone Richard Cowan star in the film, in addition to singing their roles. The score was adapted, arranged, and conducted by James Conlon.

The film was an international co-production, with the involvement of France 3, Canal+, the British Broadcasting Corporation, Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Sianel Pedwar Cymru, France Telecom, and Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée.

The film was released by Les Films du Losange in France on 22 November 1995 and by Sony Pictures Classics in the United States on 23 May 1996. It received positive reviews,[2] [3] [4] [5] and won the César Award for Best Production Design.

Plot

See: Madama Butterfly plot synopsis

Cast

RoleVoice typeActor
Cio-Cio-sansopranoYing Huang
Lt. Benjamin F. PinkertontenorRichard Troxell
Suzukimezzo-sopranoNing Liang
SharplessbaritoneRichard Cowan
GorotenorJingma Fan
Prince YamadoritenorChristopheren Nòmura
Kate Pinkertonmezzo-sopranoConstance Hauman
Uncle BonzebassYo Kusakabe (dubbed by Edmund-Zelotes Tolliver)
Uncle YakusidebassKamel Touati (dubbed by Richard Tronc)
Cio-Cio's fathersilentYoshi Oida
Cio-Cio's mothermezzo-sopranoThérèse Nguyen Ba Hau (dubbed by Laurence Monteyrol)
Dolore, Cio-Cio's childsilentMiki-Lou Pinard
The Imperial CommissionerbassQing Wu
The Official RegistrarbassNabil Agoun
The AuntsopranoMidori Mornet (dubbed by Asaya Otsuka)
The CousinsopranoWen-Juan Zhao (dubbed by Catherine Napoli)

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Madame Butterfly (1995). https://web.archive.org/web/20170406033921/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b7d555d66. dead. April 6, 2017. BFI. en. 2019-12-04.
  2. Web site: Madame Butterfly movie review (1996). Ebert. Roger. Roger Ebert. www.rogerebert.com. 2019-12-04.
  3. Web site: Pamina's Opera House » DVD Review: Madame Butterfly (1995, Mitterrand film). 2019-12-04.
  4. Web site: Madame Butterfly. O'Shea. Stephen. 1996-01-08. Variety. 2019-12-04.
  5. News: Film Review;Love Is Blind as Ever, But the Music Is Nice. Holden. Stephen. Stephen Holden. 1996-05-03. The New York Times. 2019-12-04. 0362-4331.