Singapore Lyric Opera re-interprets Puccini’s ‘problematic’ Madama Butterfly

SINGAPORE – Soprano Nancy Yuen has performed the tragic heroine of Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (1904) more than 100 times, yet no repetition will dilute her memory of her debut.

She recalls without a beat: “It was on the 16th of September, 1988.”

That run with the Welsh National Opera, immediately upon her graduation from the Royal Academy of Music in London, kickstarted 40 years of globetrotting to famous opera houses around the world. At a time when it was still the norm for European and American singers to monopolise Asian parts, it was nothing short of miraculous.

“I didn’t think anything about it because as a young student, you just go with the flow,” the Hong Kong-born Singaporean says before rehearsals at Goodman Arts Centre in Mountbatten.

Fifty of her friends and teachers made the trip from London to Cardiff for opening night. “They were looking for a different approach to an old production so yeah, it was lucky. All my school friends were very envious of me.”

The artistic director of Singapore Lyric Opera (SLO) is reprising her role as the spurned Cio-Cio-San at the Victoria Theatre from July 2 to 4. Though nearly 60 now, she is turning back the clock to become the 15-year-old geisha again, ditching kimonos and ornate headdresses for a T-shirt and naturally flowing hair. There will even be slippers.

British director Harry Fehr re-imagines the historically Orientalist opera, turning it into a tale of clashing cultural fantasies and impossible communication. The set and costumes are intentionally surreal to emphasise scenes as the imaginary desires of American naval officer Pinkerton, but also of Cio-Cio-San seduced by the suburbia of the 1950s American dream.

Fehr says: “I’m trying to balance the Orientalism with a sort of Americanism. Whereas we lean into some of the stereotypes of Japan in Act One, which are there in the libretto and difficult to escape from, we lean into some stereotypes of what America is in Act Two. I hope, therefore, our audience will see it in a more balanced way.”

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly has become one of the most contentious classical operas for its depiction of Asian characters, sending companies scrambling for new ways to present a piece that still contains some of the most moving arias ever written.

What is acceptable has transformed amazingly. When Fehr assisted a production of Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House in London 24 years ago, white artists could still engage in yellowface.

Now, Japanese directors, experts on costumes and makeup, and actors are engaged in the creative process as a matter of course. The Seattle Opera accompanied its production in 2017 with a foyer exhibition of late 19th-century Orientalism.

“We don’t have those kind of resources here at Singapore Lyric Opera, and obviously I’m very aware, as a white European, of the limits of my ability to speak authentically,” Fehr, who has been re-invited to direct after helming SLO’s The Magic Flute in 2025, says. “So it needed an interpretation of some level for me.”

Yuen prefers to focus on the raw emotions of the opera rather than its politics. Her latest fixation on this age-old tale is the surprising one of teenage suicides. Just two weeks prior, a 12-year-old had jumped to her death in Hong Kong. “It really broke my heart, and it’s not infrequent,” the educator says.

“Butterfly as a young person is experiencing strong emotion and the decision to kill herself is not something ordinary people can relate to, but there are people who are like that. I want to try to live through their minds.”

Growing up in Hong Kong, Yuen says she watched lots of Japanese dramas and was already used to a degree of Western stereotyping.

“To me, it’s essentially an Italian opera with lots of emotions written by Puccini, who had never set foot in Japan. Whether it’s a Japanese story, it’s not too important.”

To questions about Asian typecasting, including from her students, she says a little indignantly: “I still have to sing for two hours, with all the correct notes and emotions to convince the audience.

“Once you prove your worth, they will see you in other roles as well,” she adds. The greater battle is now with younger audiences who think they have seen an opera after sitting through a few TikTok clips.

Fehr argues that Madama Butterfly’s staging is not just acceptable, but also pressing. Within Puccini’s foibles is also critique. “The thing I find most pertinent about this libretto today is that it’s really critical of American imperialism,” he notes. “And that is very, very contemporary, obviously.”

With the SG Culture Pass boosting ticket sales and the two sold-out shows of 2025’s The Magic Flute, SLO has increased its ambition to put on three shows this time.

Its pursuit of opera, which actor Timothee Chalamet controversially dismissed in February as a dying art form, speaks equally of the passionate who stay their course against all odds. Yuen says: “Butterfly is so self-deluding, and our instinct is that that is something negative. But it involves incredible strength when her entire community is telling her one thing, and she goes ‘No, this is how it’s going to be.’

“She’s proven right, but I find that very touching. I find that very truthful.” 

Book It/Madama Butterfly

Where: Victoria Theatre, 9 Empress Place
When: July 2 to 4, 7.30pm
Admission: From $48. Eligible for Culture Pass credits.
Info: str.sg/kBnn