Ballet explores Eastern value

Madam Butter-fly, Puccini's most famous heroine, has touched millions of hearts with her tragic story about a Japanese girl who "marries" an American naval officer, a real cad who deserts her. Her arias are heart-reading.

Now "Madam Butterfly" has metamorphosed into a ballet that is inspired by Butterfly's Eastern world and the tension between East and West.

The UK's Northern Ballet Theater (NBT) will stage its enormously popular "Madam Butterfly" Wednesday and Thursday at the Shanghai Grand Theater. The Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by Nigel Gaynor from Australia.

The "Butterfly" tale is well known; Puccini's classic premiered in 1904. A young Japanese woman, whose beauty is likened to that of a butterfly, enters into a temporary marriage with callous, and married, Lieutenant Pinkerton. She loves him deeply, believes it is a genuine marriage, forsakes her religion and culture, and bears a child.

Pinkerton sees it as temporary, the "marriage" is a convenient convention that men can renew every month. He deserts, she waits, he returns years later with his American wife. Butterfly commits ritual suicide, reaffirming her Eastern cultural values. Pinkerton and his wife take the child.

Principal dancers are Chiaki Nagao as Butterfly and Darren Goldsmith as Pinkerton.

NBT artistic director David Nixon, who created the ballet, is married to a Japanese-American ballerina, has frequently visited Japan and is keenly aware of persistent cultural differences. His "Butterfly" premiered in 1994.

He believes the audience needs to understand where Butterfly comes from, what passionate freedom means and why her death by harikiri or seppuku remains heroic.

"If we only judge her by Western morality, we cannot fully appreciate her dilemma, determination and ultimate return to her family's heroic path for ultimate freedom from the life that had descended upon her," he says.

The ballet blends Japanese-style dance with classical ballet, capturing the pain and passion of the conflict between Butterfly's Japan and Pinkerton's America that lies at the heart of the tragedy.

"Many people are familiar with the opera 'Madam Butterfly,' yet few know that Puccini was a dance habitue who knew various popular dances in France and Italy at the time," says Nixon.

"Traces of dance were found in most of his works such as the English waltz in 'La Boheme' and the Japanese dance music in 'Madam Butterfly.' This makes it possible to combine traditional Japanese dance into the music."

Nixon became interested in "Madam Butterfly" in 1983 when he wanted to create a piece showcasing the dramatic possibilities, grace and elegance of Yoko Ichino, then his partner at the National Ballet of Canada. They soon wed.

"I became her Pinkerton, and she became my wife," says Nixon.

When Nixon became artistic director of NBT in 2001, he was looking for the right choice for a first work of the company. He wanted to capture the audience by both continuing the style of his predecessor Christopher Gable and showing a new direction. He was again drawn to "Madam Butterfly."

"Having visited Japan many times and being married to a Japanese American, the cultural differences between East and West were clear to me," he says.

His ballet version explores Butterfly and her world.

Northern Ballet Theater founded in 1969 is one of the four major British ballet companies.

Date: January 3 and 4, 7:15pm
Venue: Shanghai Grand Theater, 300 People's Ave
Tickets: 200-800 yuan
Tel: 021-6217-2426/6217-3055