MADAMA BUTTERFLY

OPERA IN THREE ACTS BY GIACOMO PUCCINI

PHOTOS WILL BE PUBLISHED AT A LATER MOMENT

PHOTOS © M. Dijkema

PRODUCTION
 

Icelandic Opera Reyjavík
intendant: Steinunn Birna Ragnarsdóttir
première: 4 March 2023 (Harpa)

conductor: Levente Török
stage director / set design: Michiel Dijkema
costume design: María Th. Ólafsdóttir
light design: Þórður Orri Pétursson

Cio-Cio San: Hye Youn Lee
Pinkerton: Egill Árni Pálsson
Suzuki: Arnheiður Eiríksdóttir
Sharpless: Hrólfur Sæmundsson
Goro: Snorri Wium
Kate Pinkerton: Karin Björg Torbjörnsdóttir
Commissario / L’ufficiale: Unnsteinn Árnason
Bonzo: Viðar Gunnarsson
Yamadori: Jón Svavar Jósefsson
Yakusidé: Jón Ingi Stefánsson
La madre: Sigurlaug Knudsen
La zia: Hulda D. Proppé
La cugina: Bernedett Hegyi
Dolore: Tómas Ingi Harðarson
rickshaw puller / chair carrier: Arnar Dan Kristjánsson
sailors / servants: Níels Thibaud Girerd / Hjalti Rúnar Jónsson

orchestra of the Icelandic Opera
chorus of the Icelandic Opera

PRESS QUOTES

“one of the best productions of the Icelandic Opera ever” *****

“Madama Butterfly full of magic […] The production by Michiel Dijkema was a window into another world. His staging was lively and powerful, sharp and balanced, with exactly the right amount of humor for such a sad subject. […] one of the best productions of the Icelandic Opera ever.”

Jónas Sen
Fréttablaðið
6 March 2023

“artistically remarkable”

“At the fiercely hailed Butterfly premiere, the enormous hall is almost full of people of all ages […] Director and set designer Michiel Dijkema likes to find naturalistic images for his Puccini productions; here in Iceland he took this to the extreme: his setting looks like a Japanese ink drawing in a high format. […] smart spatial art […] optically overwhelming
[…] Artistically, and even more so socially, the Íslenska Óperan is on a remarkable path.”

Stephan Knies
Opernwelt
May 2023

“full of heart and humanity”

“Michiel Dijkema presented a Butterfly full of heart and humanity, with a staging that opened in a mood of sunshine and happiness and ended with an act of shocking violence. […] Dijkema produced a coup de théâtre for the closing moments”

Amanda Holloway
Opera
May 2023

“a stroke of genius”

“The verticality of the set was a stroke of genius, as was the ramp, a feature borrowed from Kabuki theatre. The sheer distance between Pinkerton up in the house while Cio-Cio-san stabs herself on the ramp was an amazing dramatic coup!
[…] a thrilling production”

Michael Johnson
longtime critic OperaNet
28 March 2023

MORE PRESS QUOTES WILL BE PUBLISHED AT A LATER MOMENT