DVDs:

	Puccini - Madama Butterfly Mirella Freni, Plácido Domingo Deutsche Grammophon, 2005 average customer review:based on 32 reviews view larger image
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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

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A response to the other reviews

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!

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Amazing Singers - Bad Movie

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.

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The Many Faces of Madame Butterfly

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.


reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

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