In our previous Butterfly Process session with Dr. Kunio Hara, we gained insightful historical context about the genesis of Madama Butterfly, as well as tracing its performance history through the evolving social and geopolitical conditions to the present day. This second session unpacked Orientalism and Cultural Appropriation which are two very significant topics that play a heavy hand in understanding the dynamics at play with why Madama Butterfly can often be problematic. To tackle the conversation from multiple perspectives, BLO invited a panel of academics, artists, and presenters to show historical and scholarly context alongside real feedback from creatives in [...]

Contextualizing Butterfly  Welcome to The Butterfly Process blog! My name is Phil Chan, I am the cofounder of Final Bow for Yellowface and since 2017, we have been working to improve how to represent Asians on the stage (yes, we are the folks who de-yellowfaced The Nutcracker). Though my work has primarily been ballet, I am a self-professed opera queen. So, I was intrigued when BLO invited me to lead a year-long conversation around the issues raised when producing Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, a work I love but have always been slightly uncomfortable with. As my creative practice consists [...]