1887 french play that inspired a puccini opera

In Madama Butterfly, one person’s serious commitment/complete faithfulness clashes with another person’s frivolousness and passing whimsy. Some of the main themes of the opera are the collision of two cultures (Japan & America, East & West), including miscommunication, as well as the position of a poor Japanese woman vis-a-vis a wealthy male foreigner in Japanese society at the turn of the twentieth century. The beautiful music with lots of drama and touches of light charm often accentuates hope born, dashed and then re-born as Madame Butterfly tries to come to terms with her situation throughout the story, clinging desperately to her unreachable western ideal. First premiered in Milan in 1905, Madama Butterfly is an opera of great emotional depth and psychological insight. But, will he? When the Lieutenant finally decides to return, the situation is far more complicating that either he or Madame Butterfly could imagine. Pinkerton disappears shortly after the wedding, promising to return. Pinkerton is restless, fickle and is simply looking forward to romancing a pretty girl, while Cio-Cio-San (his new wife (Madame Butterfly)) seems to have taken her vows with the same zeal and devotion one takes holy orders. In this story, Lieutenant Pinkerton of the US Navy stationed in Nagasaki marries a fifteen-year old Japanese girl from a once rich, but now impoverished family. This is an opera by Giacomo Puccini, with a libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on a short story Madame Butterfly by John Luther Long, which, in turn, was inspired by Pierre Loti’s novel Madame Chrysanthème .

1887 french play that inspired a puccini opera