| Puccini - Madame Butterfly / Huang, Troxell | 
| Director: Frederic Mitterrand
Actors: Ying Huang, Richard Troxell, Ning Liang, Richard Cowan (ii), Jing Ma Fan
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.94
Buy New: $12.33
You Save: $7.61 (38%)
Buy New/Used from $10.73
Avg. Customer Rating:   (61 reviews)
Sales Rank: 14282
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: Italian (Original Language), Chinese (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD
Running Time: 134 minutes
Number Of Items: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: 5670
ISBN: 0767857755
UPC: 043396056701
EAN: 9780767857758
ASIN: B00005UVDM
Release Date: February 26, 2002
Theatrical Release Date: 1995
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Similar Items:
| • | Puccini - Turandot / Franco Zeffirelli - Marton, Domingo, Mitchell, Plishka, Cuenod - James Levine, MET (1988) | | • | Puccini - La Boheme / Pavarotti, Scotto, Niska, Wixell, Plishka, Levine, Metropolitan Opera | | • | Puccini - Tosca / Kabaivanska, Domingo, Milnes, Luccardi, Mariotti, Bartoletti | | • | Leoncavallo - I Pagliacci / Mascagni - Cavalleria Rusticana / Domingo, Stratas, Pons, Bruson, Obraztsova, Pretre | | • | Verdi - Aida / Levine, Domingo, Millo, Metropolitan Opera |
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Description
Madame Butterfly is the heartwrenching story of a beautiful young geisha who sacrifices her family, her religion and, ultimately, her life for her American husband. Butterfly is the young bride of Lieutenant Pinkerton, who buys Butterfly's love while stationed in Japan and with no intention of ever taking her home to America. Martin Scorsese presents this award-winning film based on the popular opera. 133 minutes. Cast: Ying Huang: Cio-Cio-San
Richard Troxell: Pinkerton
Ning Liang: Suzuki
Richard Cowan: Sharpless
Jing Ma Fan: Goro
Christopheren Nomura: Prince Yamadori
Constance Hauman: Kate Pinkerton
Amazon.com
Like the finest of film scores with its fluid beauty and succession of intensely romantic tunes, Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly has a surprisingly cinematic feel. In 1995 director Frederic Mitterand exploited this quality of the story, exposing a young woman's disillusionment against a backdrop of cultural chasms. Shot on location, with Tunisia doubling convincingly as a turn-of-the-century Nagasaki, this Butterfly shines with fragile beauty. The house becomes a brilliantly used set, at once airy and full of the scent of flowers and at the same time a cage for the trapped woman. Archive footage of bygone Nagasaki is used skillfully to underline the distance between the 15-year-old bride and Pinkerton. Purists may prefer a more traditionally robust, stage-bound Butterfly, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a more visually heartbreaking interpretation. Chinese soprano Ying Huang doesn't rock the rafters with her vocal power; hers is a tender, delicately observed performance. Tenor Richard Troxell's self-seeking Pinkerton is well sung. Overall, this is a haunting cinematic treatment of an enduringly popular opera. --Piers Ford
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 56 more reviews...
 Madame Butterfly October 30, 2008
I actually bought this for my Mother's 77th birthday (at her request). She says she LOVES it!! I know that she'd rate it five stars. I'm happy that she's happy.
Thank you.
Butterfly, The Movie September 23, 2008
I've seen Butterfly at San Francisco, Lyric Opera of Chicago and at numerous other venues, so it's an opera whose nuances I think I know pretty well. I cannot imagine any performance that I've ever seen of any opera that didn't have something I wished had been done differently, but picking apart this presentation really is difficult. OK, the 'floating relatives' were a little too Hollywood, but the close-ups, setting, costumes, acting and, yes, singing were truly sublime. I have several other performances on both CD and DVD, but in all fairness, none of them take you as deeply into the love affair between Butterfly & Pinkerton as this one does. Really, the only thing I've seen lately that approaches the intimacy of such a performance is the Met broadcasts live in theatres. If you only buy one Butterfly DVD, make it this one. In fact, I'd almost say if you've never been to an opera before, start here. It's really that good.
Beautiful story, great film ! September 13, 2008
Beautiful story. The performance is excellent. Don't miss this classic dramatic opera presented as a film. Bravo !!
my favorite "beginners" opera July 1, 2008
This delightful DVD has helped me win over a few opera converts. I found it to be visually pleasing and simplistic which in my opinion is a plus. Also Huang brings authenticity to a role so commonly filed with...less believable leads...Not to mention her voice! A must for those new to the opera community, or those wishing to introduce it to others.
Outstanding production. May 25, 2008
Asin BOOOOF39MA6.
This is an outstanding video. To take excellent singers from Asia and America made sense in this opera .Ying Huang was very convincing as Butterfly, she is a very sensitive singer and actress as well as Richard Troxell as Pinkerton especially the transformation of his character from the first act and the third. The rest of the cast was excellent, very beautiful scenery and very good sound..
I found some of the Japanese's scenes from the beginning of the century in the opening of the third act with the intermezzo music to be gorgeous .I am very glad to have selected this DVD among all selections that I had.
|
|
|
