Aria- Madama Butterfly

For those of you reading this blog who are not in my class, here is a link to the video that I will be discussing in this post. 

After watching this animated version of Un Bel Di from Puccini's Madama Butterfly, I decided I first needed to look up the translation of the lyrics to better understand what she is saying. Here is the translation I found from an aria database

Un bel dì, vedremo   One good day, we will see
Levarsi un fil di fumo    Arising a strand of smoke
Sull'estremo confin del mare  Over the far horizon on the sea
E poi la nave appare   And then the ship appears
E poi la nave è bianca.   And then the ship is white
Entra nel porto, romba il suo saluto. It enters into the port, it rumbles its salute
Vedi? È venuto!    Do you see it?  He is coming!
Io non gli scendo incontro, io no. I don't go down to meet him, not I.
Mi metto là sul ciglio del colle  I stay upon the edge of the hill
E aspetto gran tempo    And I wait a long time
e non mi pesa a lunga attesa.  but I do not grow weary of the long wait
E uscito dalla folla cittadina  And leaving from the crowded city,
Un uomo, un picciol punto  A man, a little speck
S'avvia per la collina.   Climbing the hill.
Chi sarà? Chi sarà?   Who is it? Who is it?
E come sarà giunto   And as he arrives
Che dirà? Che dirà?   What will he say? What will he say?
Chiamerà Butterfly dalla lontana He will call Butterfly from the distance
Io senza far risposta   I without answering
Me ne starò nascosta   Stay hidden
Un po' per celia,    A little to tease him,
Un po' per non morire   A little as to not die.
Al primo incontro,   At the first meeting,
Ed egli al quanto in pena  And then a little troubled
Chiamerà, chiamerà :   He will call, he will call
"Piccina - mogliettina   "Little one, dear wife
Olezzo di verbena"   Blossom of orange"
I nomi che mi dava al suo venire. The names he called me at his last coming.
Tutto questo avverrà,    All this will happen,
te lo prometto    I promise you this
Tienti la tua paura -    Hold back your fears -
Io con sicura fede lo aspetto.  I with secure faith wait for him.

Pjotr, the director, followed the lyrics pretty closely in his interpretation of this heart wrenching aria, but not in an obvious way. He really showed the long wait that Cio Cio San (Madama Butterfly) had to endure before seeing the return of her love. Her dedication and obsession over her love is shown through her wait on the hill. She had a baby, continued to where the hat he gave her, and never left that hill. The baby that she had was still attached to her with the umbilical cord. To me, the cord represents Cio Cio San's inability to let go of that passionate experience she had with her love. As the daughter grows up, they roam the hills, but they never stray too far from that spot that he left her. As soon as the ship returns to shore, Cio Cio San runs to the top of the hill to wait for him. He doesn't come to greet her right away, but she never seems to lose hope. It isn't until he comes with a new girl and a carful of random children, and he takes Cio Cio San's daughter from her does the umbilical cord. 


When the cord is ripped, it is as if the hope and dedication that she felt towards him is also ripped from her. She walks away from the hill, and goes to a place on the side that is "off-set." While she takes herself apart, the music of the aria is playing. The music did not play loudly throughout the entire video. The music grew louder and more apparent during times of intense emotion. Another image that was seen during times of high emotion was the butterfly. The butterfly sat on Cio Cio San's head after her relations with her love. The butterfly is also shown at the end after she takes herself apart in the flashback on the top of the hill. 




Overall I really think that this animated interpretation of Un Bel Di really captured the emotion of the aria.Many of us know the intense emotions that come with love. The hope that we feel and the devastation that can come when our faith in another isn't realized can consume us.