Madama Butterfly

Opera and music

Eternal longing for a love lost in Puccini's devastating opera. A standout triple cast includes Elena Stikhina, Hrachuhí Bassénz and Asmik Grigorian as the innocent and idealistic Cio-Cio-San and Saimir Pirgu, SeokJong Baek and Joshua Guerrero as her callous lover. Henrik Nánási conducts.

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A performer wearing a kimono holds a basket in one arm and tends to tall flowers with the other on a well-lit stage with a bright blue backdrop. They are performing in The Royal Opera's production of Madama Butterfly.

How to watch
Dates and cast
About
Synopsis
Creatives
Discover
Reviews
Access and resources

How to watch

Watch on stage Stream at home

Not yet on sale

General booking opens on 10 February 2027

Priority booking dates

Booking Period 3 26/27

Dates

4 - 24 July 2027

Location

Main Stage

Approximate timings

The performance will last approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one interval.

Accessibility

Audio Described
Captioned
BSL Interpreted
Touch Tour

Expand all dates

Sunday 4 July, 5:00 pm

Monday 5 July, 11:30 am

Tuesday 6 July, 7:30 pm

Show all dates until 24 July 2027

Guidance

Parental guidance recommended.

This performance contains stylised depictions of suicide. There are references to imperialism and colonialism throughout.

Language

Sung in Italian with English surtitles, which are displayed on screens above the stage and around the auditorium.

Generous support from

Exceptional philanthropic support from

Royal Ballet and Opera Principal The Julia Rausing Trust

Generous philanthropic support from

David and Molly Lowell Borthwick

Schools' Matinees are generously supported by

Schools' Matinees are generously supported by The Taylor Family Foundation, The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation and David and Molly Lowell Borthwick

Production generously supported by

Co-production with

Gran Teatre Del Liceu, Barcelona

Synopsis

The story of Madama Butterfly

When young geisha Cio-Cio-San marries American naval officer Lieutenant Pinkerton in Nagasaki, Japan, she believes they are making a binding promise for life. Soon after, Pinkerton departs for the US. Years pass with no sign of his return, but still Cio-Cio-San waits, longing for the day his ship will sail into the harbour.

Read the full synopsis

Creatives

The artists and creatives behind the production

Music

Giacomo Puccini

Libretto

Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica

Directors

Moshe Leiser, Patrice Caurier

Set Designer

Christian Fenouillat

Costume Designer

Agostino Cavalca

Lighting Designer

Christophe Forey

Discover

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly remains a deeply moving – and troubling – story, fatally bound up with the destructive forces of imperialism. With a breathtaking score that includes Butterfly’s aria ‘Un bel dì, vedremo’ (‘One fine day’) and the famous Humming Chorus, the enduring work is as entrancing as it is heart-breaking.

The Making of a Classic

The history

Puccini was entranced by David Belasco’s play Madame Butterfly (based on a popular short story by John Luther Long) when he saw it in London in 1900. He collaborated with librettists Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa (with whom he had created La bohème and Tosca) to adapt Cio-Cio-San’s tragic tale for the operatic stage. Although the premiere at La Scala, Milan, in 1904 was poorly received, that same year Puccini revised and restaged the opera for performances in Brescia, to great acclaim. Madama Butterfly quickly became a hugely popular opera with performers and audiences alike, and remains one of Puccini’s best-loved works.

Love transcending borders

The music

Puccini drew on Japanese folk melodies for the score, one of his most evocative and atmospheric. In Act I, Cio-Cio-San expresses her radiant happiness in ‘Ancora un passo’, and she and her beloved Pinkerton rapturously declare their love for each other in the passionate duet ‘Viene la sera… vogliatemi bene’. In Act II, set three years later, the dominant mood is one of yearning; in her Act II aria ‘Un bel dì vedremo’ Cio-Cio-San longs for the ‘fine day’ when her husband will return to her.

To find out more about Madama Butterfly and its history at the Royal Opera House read The Evolution of Butterfly.

Aria highlight: 'Un bel dì vedremo'

Gallery

A performer wearing a flowing white Kimono with long brown hair stands on a dark stage beneath a tree, with their arms raised forwards. At the other side of the stage sits a small child. They are performing in The Royal Opera's production of Madama Butterfly. (1 of 6) — Lianna Haroutounian as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, Royal Opera ©2022 ROH. Photograph by Yasuko Kageyama

A performer wearing a blue suit sits on their knees on stage. Another wearing a brown suit with a beige dress jacket leans on a cane next to them. They are performing in The Royal Opera's production of Madama Butterfly. (2 of 6) — SeokJong Baek as Pinkerton and Andre Schuen as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, The Royal Opera ©2024 Marc Brenner

A performer in a long white flowing Kimono jumps into the arms of a performer wearing a naval military uniform on stage. They are performing in The Royal Opera's production of Madama Butterfly. (3 of 6) — Asmik Grigorian as Cio-Cio-San and Joshua Guerrero as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, The Royal Opera ©2022 Tristram Kenton

A performer in traditional Japanese Kimono sits in front of four windows that are lit with different colours. They are performing in The Royal Opera's production of Madama Butterfly. (4 of 6) — Eri Nakamura as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, The Royal Opera ©2022 Tristram Kenton

A performer wearing a Kimono holds a large bowl and picks from flowers scattered around a well-lit stage with a bright blue backdrop. They are performing in The Royal Opera's production of Madama Butterfly. (5 of 6) — Hongni Wu as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, The Royal Opera ©2024 Marc Brenner

A group of performers stand on a brightly lit stage with a backdrop painted with purple mountains. The scene shows a wedding between two of the performers - one wears a white kimono and traditional headdress and the other wers a US Navy officer uniform. They are performing in The Royal Opera's production of Madama Butterfly. (6 of 6) — Madama Butterfly, The Royal Opera ©2024 Marc Brenner

Reviews

Accessibility and resources

There is lift access and step-free routes to over 100 seats in the Stalls Circle, Balcony and Amphitheatre. There are 10 steps or fewer to some seats in the Stalls Circle, Balcony, Amphitheatre and the Donald Gordon Grand Tier. All seats in the Orchestra stalls are accessed by 9 steps or more.

We have an assistive listening system available to use. Surtitles, captions and translations in English are displayed on screens above the stage and around the auditorium.

Join our Access Scheme for priority access to tickets and to inform us of your access requirements.

See our Accessibility page for more information or view a visitors guide (PDF, 12.0 MB).