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Madama Butterfly


Madama Butterfly
            Madama Butterfly is an opera composed and written by Giacomo Puccini and sung by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.  It was released in 1904 at the La Scala Opera House in Milan, Italy.  The opera tells the story of a young woman named Cio-Cio, a geisha, who has fallen in love with Lt. Pinkerton, an American soldier.  They have a child and Pinkerton soon returns to his country of origin.  Cio-Cio who is so faithful is hoping that he will return to Japan to spend some time with her again soon. Sadly, everything changes when Pinkerton returns with his girlfriend and takes the child away from Cio-Cio. Whilst the opera does have a moral lesson, there is a lot of mise en scene being represented to set the tone, mood, and theme.
            Mise en scene is used a lot in not just film, but in plays and musicals as well. It features the actors, setting, set design, lighting, decorations, props, costumes and makeup, and more.  The term mise en scene is French for setting things up on stage. That means if the object is being seen on camera, then it is part of being mise en scene. Mise en scene is also used to describe the feeling and mood to the entire play and film at the same time.
            One of the most important items used in mise en scene in set designing. Set design is used to show how the scene or stage set is being decorated. This explains if there are props, furniture, or any other objects being set in this scene. The director who is producing this film or play needs to let the audience know what if any of the objects represent symbols of anything in general or what they mean.
            Lighting is also important in mise en scene as well. There are two types of lighting being used in mise en scene: High-key and low-key. Low-key lighting is used in thriller movies most of the time. It is used to give the scene more of a dark theme to give the audience a terrifying film. This type of lighting focuses more on areas that are very dark and bright. High key lighting is seen mostly in comedy and musicals. Unlike low-key lighting, high-key lighting shifts away from the dark areas that are being used in the frame and focuses more on areas that are brighter. High-key has less dramatic effects than low-key lighting does.
            In Madama Butterfly, there is a lot of conflict and struggles in this opera. What I discovered from this opera, was the main theme of pain and betrayal.  Madame Butterfly gave up her family for Pinkerton and trusted him.  Pinkerton on the other hand, had a very different view about the relationship.  He never intended the relationship to be a long lasting one.  He always had in the back of his mind that he would go back home and marry an American.  Cio Cio was also very patient and hopeful the Lieutenant would return to Japan to see her again and their child.  Sadly he returned with his new American wife and took away their only child. This inflicted a lot of pain on Cio Cio leading her to become depressed and heartbroken. 
            I think the audience were very shocked when they saw this during the premiere of the opera. They found it surprising that Pinkerton could be so cruel in taking away their son from Cio Cio, humiliating her and eventually causing her to take her own life. 
            I think this is an important piece to the chronology of Opera because the piece has some similarities to Shakespeare’s play Romeo & Juliet, but instead of the two people killing themselves, Cio-Cio commits suicide herself after falling into a depression when the Lieutenant took her child from her. This opera is more of a tragedy.
             Back in the early days when the opera was first produced, musical instruments such as the harp, violin, and other orchestral instruments were being used as technology for the music to set the emotion and tone towards the opera.
            If I was able to make this opera into a video game, I would make it similar to the Sonic the Hedgehog games. Instead of Cio Cio getting the child taken away from the Lieutenant, I would have the child and the mother get kidnapped by a T-Rex and taken into the prehistoric era leading the Lieutenant to travel back in time to rescue the child and Cio-Cio and they would live happily ever after.

Works Cited
Moura, Gabe, et al. “LIKE THIS SITE? Follow Us on Facebook for Updates.” Elements of Cinema, 1 July 2014, www.elementsofcinema.com/directing/mise-en-scene-in-films/.
Mypalladium.org. (2019). The Palladium – St. Petersburg, Florida » St. Petersburg Opera: Madama Butterfly. [online] Available at: https://www.mypalladium.org/st-petersburg-opera-madama-butterfly/ [Accessed 12 Feb. 2019].

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