74. Madama Butterfly

First performance: 17 February 1904 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.

Cast: Rosina Storchio (Butterfly), Giuseppina Giaconia (Suzuki), Giovanni Zenatello (Pinkerton), Giuseppe De Luca (Sharpless), Gaetano Pini Corsi (Goro); conductor: Cleofonte Campanini.

First performance of the “nuova edizione”: 28 May 1904 at the Teatro Grande, Brescia.
Cast: Salomea Krusceniski (Butterfly), Giannina Lucacewska (Suzuki), Giovanni Zenatello (Pinkerton), Virgilio Bellatti (Sharpless), Gaetano Pini Corsi (Goro); conductor: Cleofonte Campanini.

First performance of the considerably revised “nuova edizione”: 28 December 1906 at the Opéra-Comique, Paris (in French).
Cast: Marguerite Carré-Giraud (Butterfly), Berthe Lamare (Suzuki), Edmond Clément (Pinkerton), Jean Périer (Sharpless), Maurice Cazeneuve (Goro); conductor: François Ruhlmann.

First performance of the newly revised “nuova edizione” in the Italian language: 11 February 1907 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.
Cast: Geraldine Farrar (Butterfly), Louise Homer (Suzuki), Enrico Caruso (Pinkerton), Antonio Scotti (Sharpless), Albert Reiss (Goro); conductor: Arturo Vigna.

Performance of a version with reinsertions from 74.E.2: 9 December 1920 at the Teatro Carcano, Milan.
Cast: Francisca Solari (Butterfly), (?) Rossato (Suzuki), Attilio Salvaneschi (Pinkerton), Gino Lussardi (Sharpless); conductor: Arturo Lucon.

Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio-San) (Soprano)
Suzuki, servente di Cio-Cio-San (Mezzo-soprano)
Kate Pinkerton (Mezzo-soprano)
F.B. Pinkerton, Tenente della marina degli S.U.A. (Tenor) Sharpless, Console degli Stati Uniti a Nagasaki (Baritone) Goro, nakodo (Tenor)
Il Principe Yamadori (Tenor)
Lo zio Bonzo (Bass)
Yakusidé (Bass)
Il Commissario Imperiale (Bass)
L’Ufficiale del Registro (Bass)
La madre di Cio-Cio-San (Mezzo-soprano)
La zia (Soprano)
La cugina (Soprano)
Il bambino (Boy soprano)Note: *This role (the child of Butterfly’s cousin) was cut after the first performance. 
Dolore (non-singing role)

Chorus: Soprano I, II, III, Tenor I, II.

Piccolo, 3 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English horn, 2 Clarinets, Bass clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Bass trombone, Timpani, Drum, Triangle, Cymbals, Tam-tam, Bass drum, Keyed Glockenspiel (Campanelli a tastiera), Little Japanese bells (Campanelli giapponesi), Bell, Japanese Tam-tams, Harp, Strings. Backstage: Handbell (Campanella), Tubular bells, Viola d’amore, Bird whistles (Fischi d’uccelli), Tam-tam, low Tam-tam (Tam-tam grave).

Loewenberg 1943, pp. 655-656; Gherardi 1977, pp. 293-298; Smith 1980; Mandelli 1982; Rescigno 1982; Peretti 1982-83; Carner 1992, pp. 409-452; Schickling 1989, pp. 162–200; Groos 1991; Maehder 1993; Arthur Groos in Companion 1994, pp. 169-201; Arthur Groos in Biagi Ravenni and Gianturco 1997, pp. 147-158; Groos 1995; Girardi 1995, pp. 195-258; Groos 1996; Verdi 1996; Fairtile 1996; Kaye 1996; Girardi 1997; Schickling 1998b; Groos 2000; van Rij 2001; Budden 2002, pp. 223-273.