Customer Reviews

Puccini - Madama Butterfly / Moffo, Cioni, Poli, de Fabritis, Radiotelevisione Italiana Milano Opera

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This may not be the choice for a "first" Butterfly DVD, but any fan of the opera "must" have this in their collection, at least as a second version.

As has already been mentioned, this film made Anna Moffo an overnight star. It is easy to see why. She is totally enchanting in the part. This is a very delicate, very young, and very innocent interpretation. Unlike SO many interpreters, she does not seem at all straining for effect as the young Geisha.

Her death scene is a heart breaker.

Her singing is simple gorgeous and she looks incredibly beautiful.

Why do I give this only fours stars? Well, first, this is taken from an RAI film made in the mid 50s. The B&W photography seems a bit fuzzy and lacking in constrast. The singing is lip-synched, which is always difficult to make convincing.

Renato Cioni is heartless and insensitive; this is the character as Puccini envisioned it, however, Cioni's voice sounds thin and whiny throughout. He seems to be somewhat flat on his high notes.

Because of these flaws this may not be a first choice for someone building an opera DVD library from scratch. But for any fan that is looking to be comprehensive, this is an absolute must. It is THAT good.

It is easy to see why this television broadcast turned Anna Moffo into an overnight star. It is difficult to imagine a more convincing Butterfly. She certainly looks the part. And, while her voice is too light for the role on stage, it is wonderful for this medium. Her performance has enormous emotional range and musical interest. The rest of the cast is very strong as well.

The production is very sophisticated, especially given the 1956 date. The sound and picture are also surprisingly good.

Overall, this is a highly moving performance and a wonderful video testament to a major talent on the verge of stardom.

The RAI film is rather fuzzy and in black & white, however the sound quality is excellent. I do not complain about lip-synching since I was too young to have ever seen my idol Moffo live on stage. She is such an enchanting and gorgeous Butterfly. Her death scene is devastating to watch. Moffo was such a great actress and singer. Overall, this is a wonderful dvd to have as a memento of America's greatest soprano. The big bonus are 3 famous arias from "La Boheme" starring Moffo and Richard Tucker of the Bell Telephone Hour series.

Absolutely the greatest actress/soprano in the business. Her incredible beauty did not hurt. I was most fortunate to see Anna Moffo perform at the Chicago Opera House, soon after her Butterfly triumph in Italy, during her Fulbright Scholarship. She did another opera (Lucia), and she tore the house down. It was the most memorable performance I ever experienced. At least 10 mins ovation. All Italy fell madly in love with Anna Moffo. This DVD shows why.

Moffo was only 24 when she made this film, but it remains the finest example of the work we'd see and hear from her. With only one prior opera experience, Moffo gives a performance that would be hard to equal in every area of this difficult role. Without a bit of Japanese-style make up, the young soprano moves, sings and creates a Cio Cio San that one cannot imagine bettered - at least I couldn't (imagine it, that is!).

"Un bel di" and "Che tua madre" are stunningly dramatic. Moffo never oversings and, in fact, Un bel di is sung almost as if being whispered to Suzuki. The end of the love duet is capped beautifully with Moffo's ecstatic heroine collapsing backwards into Pinkerton's arms.

There are, in fact, a number of incredible directorial choices I found innovative and illuminating despite having seen more Butterfly's than a net would hold (Annette who?) At the start of Act II, we see Butterfly lying on her stomach reading or writing something in Japanese and looking every bit the bored-out-of-her mind teenager. It only lasts a minute yet this simple action deepens and fleshes out even more, this complex character adding a slightly comical note and endearing Cio Cio San to us even more, if possible.

The most touching business occurs during the vigil. At the very beginning of the Humming Chorus, Moffo unwraps Pinkerton's ring and in a magnificent dumb show worthy of the finest silent screen actresses, Moffo's face and features glow and grow in intensity until she is swept away by all emotion, yet keeps so much of it inside. It is a performance both delicate and
powerful. She winds her way back to the bridge she walked to her wedding, settles there and remains alone. At the early morning sounds of the next scene, the camera reveals Suzuki and Trouble asleep on cushions. Suzuki rises and as that fantastic score begins sweeping everything away in joyous intensity, she begins running frantically pulling up all of the shades (almost deconstructing the house) and flooding the house with light, the flowers still strewn wildly about the house. She goes outside and she finds Butterfly, still kneeling on the bridge, where she has spent the night alone, waiting. This is pure lump in your throat stuff, folks, and Moffo is absolutely amazing - even when not singing a note. (I also loved the flowers getting caught in her hair as she crawls before the final notes.) Every gesture, every expression seems to come to her spontaneously and appears as though she actually believed she was Cio Cio San. I
certainly did.

Then there's what we shall call "The Pinkerton Problem." Unfortunately, Renato Cioni (looking handsome and not embarrassing himself too terribly as an actor), who offers the roughest voiced, most inelegantly phrased Pinkerton on record. He shrieks his music throughout and his high notes go through a particularly dreadful technique: a flattening out of vibrato creating an ungodly, painful white sound - the extreme opposite of what one wants in Puccini. At least he looks good and the director has the good sense to keep him away after the suicide.

Miti Truccato Pace takes the prize as one the best acted and most sympathetic Suzukis to ever have performed the role.

Afro Poli is a thoughtful, old school Sharpless, older than usual, but richly voiced and pointing up all of his music with actorly attention.

I simply cannot comprehend the complaints I've read or heard about the picture and sound quality of this. This was a live telecast from January 24, 1956 and we're lucky to even have it around, in ANY quality (and honestly, I thought the transfer used by VAI to be outstanding) yet people still seem to think it should look and sound like something from Lucasfilms!

To those who haven't seen either of these, I cannot urge you strongly enough to avail yourself of that situation as quickly as possible. I was surprised at how much I'd forgotten what an artist Moffo really could be!