In the Wings: Backstage glimpses with Boston Lyric Opera

Voicing Quietness: Madama Butterfly and the Perception of East Asian Women

“We keep our heads down and work hard, believing that our diligence will reward us with our dignity, but our diligence will only make us disappear. By not speaking up, we perpetuate the myth that our shame is caused by our repressive culture and the country we fled, whereas America has given us nothing but opportunity.” -Cathy Park Hong, Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning In a sound world dominated by high Cs and virtuosic coloratura runs, qualities such as volume, presence, and dimensionality are prized in a voice. The entrance of the leading lady of the opera is applauded; [...]

By Allison Chu|2022-04-01T16:12:09-04:00April 1st, 2022|

For the Community: The Perspectives of Artists and Audience

How many variations of the fairytale, Cinderella , can you name? There’s Rhodopis from ancient Greece, Ye Xian from ancient China, Perrault’s Cendrillon and Walt Disney’s Cinderella , to name a few . This familiar rags-to-riches story has inspired each generation to find a new “twist” in the story to make it resonate with their local audience. With its multicultural history, it’s easy to continue to adapt a story like Cinderella, which has undergone many variations over time, yet somehow still manages to hold its plot and structure. However, it is a much greater challenge to reimagine a work, like [...]

By Phil Chan|2022-04-02T13:45:40-04:00March 18th, 2022|

Diving Deeper: A Dialogue about Orientalism

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 [...]

By Phil Chan|2022-02-16T10:45:36-05:00February 16th, 2022|

Contextualizing Butterfly

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 [...]

By Phil Chan|2022-02-16T10:39:44-05:00February 16th, 2022|

Harbors and Horizons: Gender, Voice, and Ritual in Svadba

Quick: when was the last time you saw an opera with hardly any men in it? In Ana Sokolović’s Svadba, the (virtual) curtain rises on a world which is beyond the male gaze – at least temporarily. It is the eve of a wedding. A bride, Milica, is surrounded by her wedding attendants, a group of friends and relatives. In this production, their actions take place under the watchful, caring eyes of the Ancestors, a group of female storytellers who guide their preparations for the festivities to come. From a cottage perched on land’s limit by the seashore, and on [...]

By Lucy Caplan|2022-01-25T17:34:59-05:00January 25th, 2022|

The Richness of Svadba: Exploring the Sounds of Serbian Music

Svadba is a piece that has followed me around for quite some time. I was always intrigued by it and was glad when BLO invited me to conduct their production, which is an opera film with dance. And thus, began not only my study and preparation for Svadba, but also familiarizing myself with the folk music of my own country, Serbia. My first memories of Serbian folk music seem very distant, and I believe it was probably something that fell into my ear on a late Sunday afternoon while watching TV when I was about six years old. One thing [...]

By Daniela Candillari, Svadba conductor|2022-01-25T17:29:16-05:00January 25th, 2022|

Virtual Stages: Learning to Engage in a Pandemic

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the world as we knew it. New guidelines for public life were put in place, impacting every corner of our society. Doors closed, programs were canceled, gatherings were banned, and the arts sector was all but decimated. We found ourselves pondering: how can the arts survive if we are not allowed to perform, and our audience is not permitted to watch?Yet, seemingly overnight, a virtual world rapidly developed and became the new normal. Companies, artists, and everyone really, dove headfirst into cyberspace and started innovating. Suddenly, our daily activities became available online, including work, [...]

By Dassi Lipnick|2022-05-23T15:46:01-04:00May 14th, 2021|

The Fall of the House of Usher & Uncanny Truths of American Identity

Rumor has it that Edgar Allan Poe modeled the House of Usher on a dwelling in Boston with a gruesome secret. The Tremont Street home of eighteenth-century bookseller Hezekiah Usher (located just a few blocks from the house where Poe was born, in 1809) was demolished in 1830, and two bodies were said to have been discovered in the basement, locked in a ghastly embrace. But that is just a rumor. The precise origins of Poe’s celebrated story remain elusive – like so many elements of the work itself. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is shrouded in uncertainty. [...]

By Lucy Caplan|2022-05-23T15:45:35-04:00January 25th, 2021|

Opera Education Grants Self-Acceptance

Opera Education Grants Self-Acceptance: A Perspective of a Former Over-Thinker In the summer of 2015, I embarked on my journey to become an opera singer. I was accepted to The Boston Conservatory for vocal performance, and I honestly thought my career would be an easy shot from there. However, I found myself nervously querying my google search engine and coming across articles with titles like So You Want to Be an Opera Singer?, Why It’s More Difficult Than Ever to Become an Opera Singer, and the most inspiring of all I Could Have Been a Great Opera Singer, If I [...]

By Haley Bryant|2021-09-20T13:51:49-04:00July 14th, 2020|

Norma Study Guide Preview

Don’t have time to read through the whole guide? Here’s 5 Know-Before-You Listen facts to read before you listen to the Norma broadcast. What’s the plot? The Druid priestess Norma is in love with Pollione, a Roman leading the army occupying their land in Gaul. She finds out he has betrayed her for another virgin of her temple, Adaglisia. Having two kids with Pollione, Norma struggles with her loyalty to love or her land. Real or myth?: The story is set against the Gallic Wars, as the Roman’s sought to conquer more and more land around 50 B.C. The Druids [...]

By BLO Staff|2021-09-20T13:51:22-04:00April 6th, 2020|