Thank you to Opera News and George Dansker for the recent review of our March 2023 production of Madame Butterfly.

Please enjoy the excerpts below and if you are a subscriber to Opera News, you can read the full review here.

“A thoughtful essay for the printed program, penned by Butterfly’s director, Aria Umezawa, explained how she added the character of The Director (David Hinton) who is “preparing to see his vision come to life.”

“Hiromi Omura as Cio-Cio-San brought a warm, soft-grained soprano, and an impeccably nuanced performance.”

“Omura was well matched with the opulent mezzo-soprano of Nina Yoshida Nelsen. Both singers blended well in the flower duet and dramatically rose to great heights in the work’s final moments.”

“Tenor Jonathan Kaufman (replacing the previously announced Bryan Hymel) was a true find. Kaufman displayed a fine technique along with a bright and gleaming sound…”

“Weston Hurt was the rich voiced and dignified Sharpless.”

“The superb conducting of Judith Yan was finely balanced-sensitively accompanying the vocalists, and at the same time allowing the orchestra (the always excellent Louisiana Philharmonic) to soar when called for by the music.”

“Ultimately, director Aria Umezawa gave local audiences a thought-provoking reinterpretation of Madama Butterfly that was refreshingly different but not at all untrue to the spirit of the original. One imagines that Puccini would have enthusiastically approved. At the conclusion of the opera the audience rose to its feet showering the artists with vociferous applause.”