WEST MEETS EAST – Prep 4

(F-10)

For October 3

Please read the following:

John Luther Long, Madame Butterfly (1898)

David Belasco, Madame Butterfly (1900)

Arthur Groos, “Cio-Cio-San and Sadayakko: Japanese music theater in Madama Butterfly,” Monumenta Nipponica 54 (1999), 41-73.

Please listen to and/or watch Puccini’s Madame Butterfly (1904). I’ve put a score, a CD and a couple of videos on reserve. You can also find it on Naxos and YouTube.

Write out short answers to the following questions:

What cultural stereotypes of Japan do you see in Puccini's Mme. Butterfly? How do these compare to the stereotypes in Long’s and Belasco’s versions of the story?

Is Mme. Butterfly an “orientalist” opera?