Atlanta Opera Community Conversation - Madama Butterfly

Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is undergoing a fascinating metamorphosis. The work is beloved by many but also faces challenges as it changes to be more inclusive and thoughtful in our modern world. In this Community Conversation, artists and community members discuss challenges with Asian and Asian-American stereotypes in the piece and offer food for thought to audience members who may be grappling with these issues for the first time.

Panelists

• Tomer Zvulun (General & Artistic Director, Atlanta Opera)
• Yasuko Sato, Soprano (Cio Cio San, Madama Butterfly)
  
• Nina Yoshida Nelsen, Mezzo Soprano (Suzuki, Madama Butterfly)
  
• Julius Ahn, Tenor (Goro, Madama Butterfly)
  

Moderator

• Jessica Cork (Vice President, Community Engagement and Corporate Communications, YKK Corporation of America & Chair, The Japan-America Society of Georgia)
  

Hosted By

Monarch Plaza - 3414 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30326

1st Floor Conference Room

Directions & Parking - www.bakerdonelson.com/atlanta

After entering the Monarch Plaza driveway off of Peachtree Road, veer to the left to access the building's parking deck and park in any open parking spot. The event will be held on the first floor of the Monarch Plaza building so parking on the first 1-2 floors is highly encouraged - you can disregard visitor parking spots as this event will be held after hours so any open spots are available for your vehicle. Parking is $6/hour and can be paid upon leaving the parking garage after the event.

The Atlanta Opera’s presentation of Madama Butterfly in November 2022 provides an opportunity for discussion and reflection on a beautiful and beloved, but also troubled work of art.

The Atlanta Opera will produce a series of events and community conversations along with partners such as the Japan American Society of Georgia to contextualize and create a safe space for open-eyed exploration of Madama Butterfly. Fundamentally, this is an opera written in the first decade of the 1900’s by a European man, which reaches our modern ears and understanding in a different way.

Our goal is to ensure that audiences and performers of all races and ethnicities have the resources to think critically about the work. Community programming both live and digital will be announced as they are finalized over the summer.

In the meantime, here’s what we’d like you to know:

• Our cast includes Japanese and Asian-American performers, and their participation and representation is important to us. We realize that their experiences bring much to their performances, and that these experiences are unique and their own.
• Inclusion is not only important on stage but off stage, as well. We will bring in advisors to guide our production and ensure respectful staging and conversation in the rehearsal process. Specifically, a movement consultant.
• The Atlanta Opera admires colleagues who acknowledge and embrace the work that must be done to present Madama Butterfly successfully. We will learn from and be guided by their efforts.