Madama Butterfly review: Star soprano Celine Byrne is perfectly suited to this Cio-Cio-San
In Irish National Opera’s production of Puccini’s 1904 masterpiece Madama Butterfly, soprano Celine Byrne embodies a confident and modern Cio-Cio-San, replacing the usual portrayal of innocence and fragility with self-assurance and foresight.
The opera opens with a brief, lively overture that soon fades into dialogue about traditional Japanese homes, specifically their sliding and suspended partitions. Production designer Kat Heath expands this fleeting reference into a central visual concept: a stage set composed of large movable panels that frame the entire performance.
These enormous panels, presented in neutral tones, dominate the stage at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. Their ability to shift both horizontally and vertically allows for a dynamic visual rhythm—alternating between intimate scenes and grand, deep perspectives.
Lighting designer Jake Wiltshire uses subtle shifts in light and shadow to transform mood and evoke different times of day. The panels’ simplicity enhances this flexibility, avoiding distraction while revealing or concealing characters as needed. On occasion, the shifting spaces create a sense of cinematic perspective, as though the audience watches through a camera’s zoom lens.
“This effect contributes to a cinematic leavening throughout, something the production’s director, Daisy Evans, uses for emotional immediacy.”
Author’s Summary
Celine Byrne delivers a commanding and emotionally immediate performance as Cio-Cio-San in Irish National Opera’s visually striking and fluid staging of Madama Butterfly.