PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Opera Philadelphia is adding something new to their next show: puppetry. As Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month begins next week, the opera company presents a reimagined version of Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly,” created by a team of AAPI artists.
“Madame Butterfly” is about a Japanese geisha named Cio Cio San who gets sold to a U.S. Navy lieutenant. In most productions, she’s portrayed as a helpless victim, but Opera Philadelphia wanted to change that stereotype — with the help of a puppet.
“The puppet allows us to separate the stereotype from the human spirit,” said director Ethan Heard. In this version, a singer represents Cio Cio San’s spirit, who takes a different path, while the puppet maintains the traditional role.
“She starts to realize, ‘Oh, I feel trapped in this trope. And I want to be something new. I want to find my agency,’” he said.
The puppet is designed by Philadelphia-based artist Hua Hua Zhang, who studied traditional rod puppetry in China. She began training in the Chinese tradition when she was just 14 years old.
“I have to take dance class, voice class … we learn Chinese-style acting, which is more dramatic and more unreal,” she said.
Zhang brings that “unreal” quality to the stage, performing with the puppet while soprano Karen Chia-ling Ho sings. Zhang must use her whole body to control the puppet’s movements.
They both portray the same character, but their paths diverge as the show goes on. The puppet is stuck in old, traditional ways, while the singer’s version of the character has the freedom to choose her own story — leading to a new, alternate ending.
“Also, the puppet can fly, the puppet can stand on the table, the puppet can express in a really vivid, imaginative way that a mature soprano can’t do while performing the role vocally,” Heard added.
For him, this production is an opportunity to reclaim a story that has pigeonholed and often misrepresented Asian performers.
“‘Madame Butterfly,’ in the last century or 125 years, has, more often than not, been staged with non-Asian singers in these roles,” he said. “I’m very proud that our production features Asian and Asian American singers in all of the lead Japanese roles.”
“Madame Butterfly” will be performed at the Academy of Music from April 26 to May 5.