Course Description

Instructor: John Bayne

Watch with your OLLI friends, one of the most beloved operas ever written, Madama Butterfly is the story of Cio-Cio-San, a young Japanese geisha who gives up everything to marry the American lieutenant Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton. Yet when Pinkerton must leave Cio-Cio-San to return to America, the young lovers’ conflicting conceptions of fidelity and commitment become all too clear, and Cio-Cio-San finds herself facing an impossible choice. In the Met’s production, acclaimed film director Anthony Minghella draws on both Western and Japanese theatrical traditions to bring Cio-Cio-San’s story to life, while Puccini’s expansive music gives Cio-Cio-San’s vulnerability and courage a voice.

You have the option of watching with everyone streaming at the same time or you can stream and watch the opera on your own at the same time. The opera is free through PBS, the instructor discussion and class is $12.50 for OLLI members. Instructor John Bayne will lead the discussion after the opera. We hope you will join in the special event.