The current run of Madama Butterfly had deja vu written all over it again: same set; same soprano; Patricia Racette in the role of Cio-cio-san, the Japanese wife betrayed by the American officer; same Suzuki (Zheng Cao), Cio-cio-san's maid. We had seen the show a year and a half ago, and the only thing missing in the current run was the simulcast on the Civic Center plaza.

Practice makes perfect though: everything ran smoothly, and whatever kinks there were last time, they got ironed out. They kicked out the dead wood, and replaced the under-performing Pinkerton and Sharpless by two new singers, both making their SF opera debut in this production. Keep what's good, improve the rest, you got a recipe for a spectacular success.

So go read our review from last year and check what's new below the fold.

Pictures of Patricia Racette and Brandon Javonovich by Terrence McCarthy/SF Opera

You're back? So Patricia Racette was good then, wasn't she? Now she's even better. Everybody says so. She sings the different stages of Cio-Cio-san's evolution with so many nuances: she conveys the bottomless love of her character with a sensual tone, but she'll find a disarming, charming voice to interact with the fatherly American consul, and she'll scare us with rage. And even in the most charged moments, and there is some pretty insane screaming through some very intense, burning emotions, even when she sings a raw despair that's almost brutal in its force, she never loses touch with an underlying musicality.

In one scene, the American consul, Sharpless attempts to tell her that her husband is not coming back, and the force of her pain, mixed with anger, scares and humbles him. Not only the character, but Stephen Powell, who sings Sharpless and had no difficulty finding the right expression, and us as well. This kicked off a wave of awkward throat-clearing through the audience afterwards, when you try to get rid of that lump of sadness in the back of your mouth. That audience noise, the noise of teary eyes, kept coming back from that point on: Racette was reaching higher and higher climaxes. And Puccini is relentless that way too: he never lets plot subtlety get in a way of a tear-drawing aria.

One thing which makes Racette's performance better is to have teammates who elevate her game. Last year, she was like Kobe and the Lakers. This year, it's more of an ensemble performance. Cio-Cio-san's husband, Brandon Jovanovich, is attractively despicable. He has a bright tenor, a voice to conquer the world, and a nice stage presence. In the early stage, he sings about the "sposa americana", the American wife he'll dump Cio-Cio-san for, and he manages to veil that phrase in a dark, ominous tone which sets up the tragedy. His wedding night duet with Racette was magnificent: he called her to join him, imbuing his "vieni"'s with an overpowering lust. They both sing about love, but his love is that of a horny dog, while her voice answers with sensuality, definitely, but an ethereal aspiration as well. The whole story is told right there in this duet.

Sharpless (Stephen Powell) brings a perfect bonhomie to the role. He is steady, warm, soothing, comforting. His is a shoulder you want to lean your head on. And Zheng Cao, who has been doing this role on this stage since 1997, has honed her Suzuki to perfection.

Donald Runnicles surprised us with the vivacity of his conducting. He started with brisk tempos in the introductory scenes, and paced the evening beautifully, slowing down just the right amount for drama to materialize, but no more. It was full of contrasts all right. He liked to brightly blast the Stars & Stripes theme, which is threaded throughout the score, and the omni-present Dansons la Capucine theme (midi sound file) too! It was really enjoyable to pay attention to the score, we heard stuff we hadn't noticed before: Puccini liked an oscillation between two minor keys one tone apart which announces Summertime; or how Runnicles imparted a subtle rubato to his triplets. There's no denying it: the guy is good.

So what didn't we like? Oh, we know: the wig on Cio-Cio-san kid (with all apologies if that's his real hair)! It looked like she must have ripped it off his head in rehearsal, she was so cautious touching the golden locks! Also, when looking from the hilltop house down to the harbor with the binoculars, they don't look anymore at that slightly upward angle that had us giggling last time. We kinda need that little breather in the tragedy.

Madama Butterfly
Box office: 864-3330
Only two more performances: Saturday 12/8 at 1pm and Saturday 12/8 at 8pm (with the alternate cast: Marie Plette as Butterfly, James Valenti as Pinkerton, and Julian Smith conducting)