Whistle Stopper - Puccini - Madama Butterfly

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Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Starring: Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, Robert Kerns, Michel Sénéchal
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Average Customer Rating:

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0044007340370
Format: Classical
Label: Deutsche Grammophon
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
Number Of Discs: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Deutsche Grammophon
Region Code: 0
Release Date: 2005-06-14
Running Time: 146
Studio: Deutsche Grammophon
Theatrical Release Date: 1974

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: A response to the other reviews
Comment: This isn't a full review but a response to the other reviews here - I read all of them. The singing is excellent and listening to it with the video turned off is not a bad idea as some have suggested. The visuals are not uniformly bad. There are bad moments - I agree with those others have noted. Few have noted the good moments - there are some! One example is the morning scene after Butterfly has waited all night for Pinkerton to return. It is a lovely movie moment. There are lots of moments that are perfectly fine - like the flower scene in the garden - not great movie-making, but perfectly fine. Most of the scenes in the movie fall into the "more or less good" category. Of course it is the embarrassingly bad (or just puzzling) ones that stick in the mind of most reviewers here. If you watch this movie, bring a big helping of forgiveness for the visuals and you'll enjoy it. If something offends you, close your eyes and enjoy the singing!

Customer Rating:

Summary: The Many Faces of Madame Butterfly
Comment: From the David Belasco play to Puccini's opera to Schonberg's Miss Saigon, there are many faces of Madame Butterfly. But none is any more exquisite than that of Mirella Freni-- especially as she sings the near-perfect aria, "Un bel di" and the Flower Song duet with Suzuki. However, Ponnelle, who staged and directed the film version, made Placido Domingo as Lt. Pinkerton a little too caddish for my taste. This version seems to resemble a faded memory that speaks not to the intellect but to the heart. It certainly deserves a place in any opera collection.

Customer Rating:

Summary: PAL or OTHER system
Comment: I did look for a dvd like this but I did not found if it was PAL or other system, now I got the wrong system and I did send a mail to AMAZON without any reaction. It's not my way to make trouble and so I keep it but I know that the service is bad.

Rob de Jong Holland

Customer Rating:

Summary: Amazing Singers - Bad Movie
Comment: If you're looking for a screen adaptation of Madama Butterfly, your best bet would be to choose Madame Butterfly made in 1995 starring Richard Troxell. This dvd version is barely above a filmed stage version, and perhaps a filmed stage version would have been better than the absolutely atrocious staging. If you are looking for a fantastic version of Madama Butterfly to listen to, then get the recording with Freni and Domingo. The acting in this dvd is definitely a reason to get it, if only for Mirella Freni and Christa Ludwig, who make this movie in the part of acting. Domingo has a great voice but the acting is so-so. If you can get past the complete lack of budget for this movie (Butterfly's 'kimono' doesn't even have the sleeves finished, if you notice, they're fraying because they were just cut) and past the fact that Pinkerton is in a t-shirt, then this is a decent dvd. Get this for the vocals alone, but get the newer version of a visual and aural experience that will be the only version of Madame Butterfly you'll ever need.

Customer Rating:

Summary: madama butterfly not my favourite
Comment: We were disappointed with this first viewing of Madama Butterfly. We found it melodramatic rather than tragic which may be attributed to the production. The flashbacks, dream sequences and "inner thought vocals" were annoying, the lighting was poor and too contrived in many of the scenes, the staging was good but not great and fading between scenes was disastrous. The vocals were very good... but I love Freni.

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Editorial Reviews:

Of all Puccini's major operas, the intimate tragedy of Madama Butterfly is least in need of elaborate staging and might therefore benefit most from the close scrutiny of film. The story is domestic, the setting Spartan, the incidental characters kept to a minimum. This 1974 version, however, demonstrates that Butterfly still needs a healthy injection of proscenium arch melodrama. Director Jean-Pierre Ponelle's production strives for realism but remains unfortunately studio-bound, having neither the benefit of location filming nor the heightened reality of an opera stage. The exterior is a perpetually fog-shrouded heath of indeterminate locale; the interior is cramped and unadorned. The setting is just too prosaic to contain the epic emotions of grand opera.

Thankfully, the cast is a superb one, headed by Plácido Domingo's rakish Pinkerton and Mirella Freni's rubicund Butterfly. Their singing is incomparable, as is Herbert von Karajan's musical direction of the Vienna Philharmonic. The singers mime to prerecorded music, which is occasionally disconcerting since when film demands close-ups, opera provides broad gestures. Musically, this Butterfly is impeccable. Visually it adds nothing that could not be seen to better effect in a stage version. --Mark Walker