Madame Butterfly

The mesmerizing beauty and heart-rending tragedy of Giacomo Puccini’s poignant Madame Butterfly returns to Austin Opera in April 2025.

In one of opera’s most heartbreaking stories, the young geisha Cio-Cio-San, affectionately known as “Butterfly,” is seduced by the dashing U.S. Navy Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton. After a hasty wedding separating Cio-Cio-San from her family, Pinkerton abandons her to return to America. Cio-Cio-San raises their son with the help of her maid Suzuki and never loses faith in her true love, but when Pinkerton’s ship finally returns to the harbor three years later, her faith is replaced by devastating despair.

Heroic Cio-Cio-San is sung by soprano Raquel González (last seen at Austin Opera as Micaëla in Carmen in 2024), while tenor Joseph Dennis (last seen at Austin Opera as Nikolaus Sprink in Silent Night in 2019) takes on the role of Pinkerton. The US Consul Sharpless is sung by lauded dramatic baritone Malcolm Mackenzie, and Butterfly’s only friend and confidante, Suzuki, is sung by mezzo-soprano Kristen Choi, both making their company debuts in celebrated roles for these artists. Seen in 2023 as Beppe in Pagliacci, GRAMMY-nominated tenor Rodell Rosel returns as the scheming marriage broker Goro, and returning for his third straight Austin Opera season, after performances in both Fidelio and The Pearl Fishers, is bass Hidenori Inoue.

Conducted by Sarah and Ernest Butler Music Director Timothy Myers and directed by E. Loren Meeker, Opera San Antonio’s General Director, this stunning and traditional production of Madame Butterfly is a groundbreaking partnership between Austin Opera and Opera San Antonio. Opening in San Antonio on April 17, 2024, the collaborative production harnessing the artistic resources of both companies then moves to Austin for three performances beginning on April 25.