by Daniel Hathaway
HAPPENING TODAY:
On this Presidents’ Day holiday, Heights Arts is holding an Open Rehearsal of its forthcoming program, Bach and his Art of Fugue, featuring The Blossom Quartet (Stephen Tavani and Yun-Ting Lee, violins, William Bender, viola, and Dane Johansen, cello). It happens at Heights Arts at 3 pm, and admission is pay-what-you-can.
Visit our Concert Listings for details of these and other forthcoming concerts.
TODAY’S ALMANAC:
by Jarrett Hoffman
Leaving little time for rehearsals after finishing a piece of music is a classic move throughout the history of composers. But for some reason it doesn’t always turn out well.
Such was the misfortune of Giacomo Puccini with Madama Butterfly, which was premiered in its original version on this date in 1904 at La Scala in Milan. (Below: the original poster by Adolfo Hohenstein.)
The cast wasn’t an issue. Among its star-laden talent, the role of Cio-Cio san was sung by soprano Rosina Storchio, a fixture at La Scala who also performed in notable premieres by Leoncavallo and Mascagni. B.F. Pinkerton was portrayed by tenor Giovanni Zenatello, who would go on to sing the title role in Verdi’s Otello over 300 times. And taking the role of Sharpless was baritone Giuseppe De Luca, who would also create the title role in Gianni Schicchi at the Met a decade later.
When it came to the audience’s reaction at the premiere, the good news is that there was no throwing of fruits or other objects. Instead, those in attendance settled for politely hissing, jeering, and yelling at the stage. (It’s worth noting that, according to BBC Music Magazine, many of the composer’s detractors were present that opening night, “determined to turn the premiere into the wrong kind of spectacle.”) Puccini withdrew the opera after one night.
Not only was the opera under-rehearsed, but critics also felt that its second act (out of two in this original form) dragged. Undeterred, Puccini set about making revisions, which included dividing the second half into two parts, forming Act III. And when Madama Butterfly relaunched in Brescia three months later, it was an immediate success.
A happy ending for Puccini and the opera world…if not for the characters themselves.
