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Racism in opera – female characters in Madama Butterfly & Turandot

Racism in opera – female characters in Madama Butterfly & Turandot

Female characters in Madama Butterfly and Turandot

Trigger warning: the text below contains references to suicide. Contact the Suicide Line at 1813 or at www.zelfmoord1813.be if you are struggling or have questions.

Madama Butterfly (1904), another of Puccini’s masterpieces, contrasts sharply with his Turandot (1924). Whereas Turandot is set in a kind of timeless fairy tale world, centering on the transformation of an icy princess into a vulnerable woman – albeit through a questionable process of male redemption – Madama Butterfly is concretely situated in nineteenth-century Japan, in a historically and culturally defined context, that is. Instead of regal splendor and mythical allure, Madama Butterfly revolves around an intimate and tragic realism: a young woman crushed by patriarchal power. These are contrasts that highlight Puccini’s versatility.

The story of Madama Butterfly

Madama Butterfly’s main character, Cio-Cio-San, is a fifteen-year-old Japanese girl who exudes naiveté, devotion and vulnerability. She falls in love with the American naval officer, Lieutenant Pinkerton, and is seduced by him and the dream of a future together. Driven by unwavering love and loyalty, she marries him. After he leaves for America, Cio-Cio-San continues to hope and wait for his return for years.

When Pinkerton finally returns, it is not to embrace Cio-Cio-San. He is now married to an American woman. Deeply saddened, the girl is left with nothing but the ultimate sacrifice. Her tragic end marks a descent into human tragedy, where only death is seen as the only way out. To end her lost honor and unbearable pain of soul, Cio-Cio-San desperately chooses seppuku, a traditional Japanese form of suicide. In her final moments, she prays for forgiveness and hopes for peace. She leaves her infant son behind, in the hands of Pinkerton and Kate.

Madama Butterfly thus paints not only a portrait of personal despair, but also of cultural and emotional displacement, in the sense that a person becomes alienated by the clash between one’s own Japanese culture and the Western world. Moreover, Cio-Cio-San can also be seen as a victim of paternalism: Pinkerton sees her not as an equal partner, but as an exotic, young woman whom he can bend to his will. He enters into a “marriage” that he sees as temporary and not serious, whereas Cio-Cio-San does see it as a lifelong commitment. The poor girl possesses a poetic imagination that makes her vulnerable. She moves the viewer because she bears a certain dignity while appearing to be caught in the power of men and social structures. Yet she also displays moments of self-will and makes moral choices that make her character complex and human.

During the aria “Un bel dí vedremo,” Cio-Cio-San expresses her longing to see her lover, Pinkerton, again (The Royal Opera, Ermonela Jaho as Cio-Cio-San). Source:
YouTube
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Layered characters, but also very stereotypical

Perhaps in some ways Puccini was ahead of his time in bringing female characters to the stage with depth and emotional layering. Indeed, the women in his operas offer impressive emotional layering, yet remain anchored in problematic stereotypes, especially within an Orientalist context. Think of Cio-Cio-San as the vulnerable geisha in Madama Butterfly or the unapproachable Turandot as the ice queen or femme fatale in Turandot. The women reflect the exotic and romanticized look of Western Orientalism, which still provokes discussion. Far Eastern women in particular have long struggled with these archetypes, which often convey simplified images of their identity.

Canceling it does not seem to me to be the best idea, but trouble-free performances of these operas may no longer be possible. Worldwide, fans can enjoy the beautiful music, and hopefully ask themselves questions about image and our colonial past, not to mention women’s emancipation.

Want to know more?

Read Turandot’ s story in my previous article: (internal link)

The Royal Ballet & Opera website allows you to watch (for a fee) the 2022 performance. Accessed 19/11/2024.

 

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