The annual Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour (HOSH) has become one of Sydney’s crowning jewels. Since its premiere season in 2012 with La Traviata, the opera has stunned both tourists and locals alike with a unique offering of premium entertainment against the iconic backdrop of the Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Luna Park and the city skyline. 

Madama Butterfly is arguably HOSH’s crowning jewel, proving to be one of its most successful seasons when it first arrived at Mrs Macquarie’s Point in 2014. However, this production bore scant similarity to the 2014 production, with the set and storyline being completely modernised and restaged for the new production.

Gone was the traditional story of a naval officer falling in love and then imparting the ultimate betrayal. Now the story was of a betrayal by an industrial property developer, which felt particularly poignant given the current tumultuous state of the Sydney housing market. 

The restaging allowed the production and design team, led by Alfons Flores, to flourish and show off their incredible creativity. While the HOSH sets are always spectacular, this one was particularly lavish. The green hills in Act 1 helped to create an effect of ample space, which the performers utilised nicely to illustrate the vastness of their space and the lushness of the untouched country. 

This morphed into an industrial jungle in Act 2, complete with property development signs to show just how much had changed between the marriage of Pinkerton (Diego Torre) and Cio-Cio-San (Karah Son) and the present day. The set change at the intermission was something to behold, with the complete transformation of the scenic world transfixing the audience in a way that intermissions generally do not. And of course, the traditional HOSH fireworks during the wedding were spectacular as always, worth the price of admission for opulence factor alone. 

While the modernisation of the show was welcome in most aspects, there were some things that came across as puzzling and sometimes, a little jarring. When Cio-Cio-San’s uncle Bonze entered the wedding with an entourage decked out in gangster glasses it felt a little too ‘West Side Story’ for me. By this, I mean that it felt dated to a particular time period but not the one that the show was originally set in or the one that it was currently staged in, which was slightly jarring for me. Cio-Cio-San’s USA T-Shirt in Act 2 also seemed a slightly unusual costuming choice, however, given that subtlety doesn’t really work in HOSH given the expansive stage and setting, perhaps the intensity of the choice made more sense than on first glance. 

For all the theatrics of the restaging, the singing and the music were truly the stars of this show. Torre and Son more than lived up to the beautiful source material, with their exquisite voices soaring over the harbour with gorgeous poise. Son’s performance was particularly masterful with the resonance in her upper register shining through, delighting the audience with every note. While amplification can sometimes muffle the quality of operatic voices, both Torre and Son ensured that the sound quality was consistent and layered throughout. 

While this particular opera does not have as much chorus interaction as some others, the orchestra was in full force, gracefully supplementing the power and beauty on stage. Like the performers, the orchestra ensured that the timbre of the instruments was not negatively affected by amplification, meaning that a consistently rich sound was heard throughout the performance. 

This was particularly admirable in some of the more tender moments where there was a risk that the orchestra would be drowned out by the nearby ‘doof-doof’ of a Friday night harbour party boat. While this did provide for some amusing moments, the orchestra remained in full control of the score throughout, performing well above the punctuating beats of the harbour boat. 

While Madama Butterfly often courts some controversy when it plays, given its subject matter and some undoubtedly unedifying imperialist undertones, these concerns were arguably allayed somewhat by the representative casting that this production commendably tries to achieve. 

It is most unfortunate that the practice of yellowface still remains common in this production, even in some of the most prestigious operas in the world so it was commendable that representative casting was not just limited to the titular role in this performance but to the ensemble as well. Given that this issue is relevant to musical theatre as well, one would hope that consideration of this extends into casting of Miss Saigon later in the year as well. 

Ultimately, this was as close to the perfect production as you could get. From the beautiful backdrop to the incredible score and performers on the stage, this was a fantastic production which should be recommended to anyone in and around Sydney. It truly is a spectacle like no other. 

Madama Butterfly plays at Mrs Macquarie’s Point until 23^rd April 2023. Purchase your tickets here.

Photo credit: Hamilton Lund

Rating: ★★★★1/2