The Met Opera's MADAME BUTTERFLY Will be Broadcast in UK Cinemas

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly will return in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023–24 Live in HD season, broadcast live from the Met stage on Saturday 11th May at 5:55pm. The cast features soprano Asmik Grigorian in her highly anticipated Met debut as the loyal geisha Cio-Cio-San. Known as one of the fiercest dramatic talents in the field (The New York Times), Grigorian sings opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman as the callous American sailor Pinkerton. Tetelman made his Met debut as Ruggero in Puccini’s La Rondine earlier this season, with the Observer noting that his presence is so inviting that I missed him whenever he went offstage. Rounding out the cast are mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong, who reprises the role of Suzuki, and baritone Lucas Meachem in his Met role debut as Sharpless. Grammy Award–winning conductor and music director of the New Jersey Symphony Xian Zhang makes her Live in HD debut on the podium. This marks the final broadcast of the 2023–24 Live in HD season. 

The Metropolitan Opera has presented Madama Butterfly 902 times since its company premiere on 11th February 1907, a performance attended by the composer himself. The Met has transmitted Madama Butterfly to global cinemas three times in the past, the most recent performance being from the 2019–20 season. Anthony Minghella’s production was first performed on the Met stage on 25th September 2006. The creative team includes director and choreographer Carolyn Choa, set designer Michael Levine, costume designer Han Feng, and lighting designer Peter Mumford, with puppetry by Blind Summit Theatre.

Gary Halvorson will direct the Live in HD presentation for cinemas, with countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo as host, providing exclusive behind-the-scenes access and conducting interviews with the cast and creative team during intermission.

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