Ferzan Özpetek's Madama Butterfly Reimagines Cio-Cio-San as Heroine at Teatro San Carlo

Ferzan Özpetek's new production of Madama Butterfly premiered at Naples' Teatro San Carlo, running until September 28, 2023. The Turkish director reinterprets Cio-Cio-San not as a victim but as a determined heroine who chooses death as an act of revenge. The production features Dan Ettinger as conductor and is divided into three acts. Özpetek remains faithful to the original story by David Belasco and Giacomo Puccini but introduces technical modifications, including vibrant colors and a revised psychological portrayal. In the first act's duet, the traditional offstage copulation is performed on stage, balancing visibility and concealment. Cinematic elements include five unsettling Madama Butterfly figures roaming the auditorium and a projection of the heroine's face as she gazes at the sea. Costume designer Alessandro Lai dresses Butterfly in a scarlet red gown in the first and part of the third act, while the dress she caresses before suicide references women from southern Turkey rather than Japanese culture. The premiere occurs amid controversy over the illegitimate exclusion of theater director Stéphane Lissner, who was reinstated on September 12, 2023.