Madame Butterfly | Theater Oostpool
Puccini's world-famous opera Madama Butterfly has captivated generations of opera-goers with its very famous arias for more than a century. But what does this musical masterpiece, set in Japan, really tell us? After the overwhelming success of The Banana Generation, it is time for director Char Li Chung to take a new step in Asian representation in Dutch theater. With Madame Butterfly, he brings a radical and contemporary theatrical adaptation of the originally Italian opera.
Madama Butterfly by Puccini
Madama Butterfly tells the love story of Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San, nicknamed Butterfly. Head over heels in love, she marries an American naval officer, who
returns to his homeland immediately after their marriage. Butterfly is left abandoned, expecting their son. After three years, her lover returns, but not for the reunion Cio-Cio-San has been waiting for....
Puccini's world-famous opera Madama Butterfly has captivated generations of opera-goers with its very famous arias for more than a century. But what does this musical masterpiece, set in Japan, really tell us? After the overwhelming success of The Banana Generation, it is time for director Char Li Chung to take a new step in Asian representation in Dutch theater. With Madame Butterfly, he brings a radical and contemporary theatrical adaptation of the originally Italian opera.
Madama Butterfly by Puccini
Madama Butterfly tells the love story of Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San, nicknamed Butterfly. Head over heels in love, she marries an American naval officer, who
returns to his homeland immediately after their marriage. Butterfly is left abandoned, expecting their son. After three years, her lover returns, but not for the reunion Cio-Cio-San has been waiting for.
The perspective of the Asian woman
First performed in 1904, Madama Butterfly is based on a distinctly 19th-century Western view of Asian women, with all the prejudices that went with it. Prejudices that are still present in Dutch society today. With his radical adaptation, director Char Li Chung breaks with the original story. In Madame Butterfly, Cio-Cio-San (Cystine Carreon, known from such films as Gooische Vrouwen and Miss Saigon) finally speaks for herself. No longer does the Orientalist male perspective take center stage, the protagonist is given control of her own story. And that was about time.
Char Li Chung
Director Char Li Chung (born The Hague, 1995) dedicates his work to representation and the celebration of otherness. With a big heart for the queer community and a strong connection to his Chinese-Italian roots, he looks for ways to inspire people to explore different forms of living and loving. At Oostpool
in recent years, he made both adaptations of historical texts and new work. These include Edward II - The Gay King (2021), the highly successful The Banana Generation
(2022 and 2023) and the West End hit Cock (2023).
When
- Saturday, May 17, 2025 at 8:15 p.m.Order tickets
Prices
- from € 22,50 to € 32,00 Additional costs: € 1,- administration fee per ticket with a maximum of € 5,- per order Cloakroom and a drink during intermission or after the performance (if there is no intermission) are included in the admission price.