(bright upbeat music) (gentle soprano music) - One of my favorite things about opera is the fact that it has so much history that it is so musically-centered.

And music is something that is such a universal language, and I really think it is something that really connects humanity.

To be able to tell a story like "Madam Butterfly," and put it in a container that makes us think about how we consume the stories that we tell, it's magical.

There's nothing like it.

(gentle soprano music) - I think the reason this masterpiece is very important, not only to the Asian community but to all humanity, because it is a story about love and sacrifice.

(gentle soprano music) - "Madame Butterfly," it's essentially a naval officer, visits Nagasaki, Japan, in the turn of the century, and marries and buys a Geisha woman, impregnate her, leaves her.

Three years later, we find out she's pregnant.

He comes back, takes the child, and she decides to kill herself at the end.

- I think, I see this story as a warning to make sure people understand that every human is a human.

Make sure you're realizing every action you make and decide has consequences.

- To me, it is timeless in the way that white man visits nation land and wreaks havoc on young women.

I think that that is a pretty universal tale throughout our world history, and the way that the directing and design team has interpreted this production, really leans into the fact that this is a story told from the lens of white men.

The original play, the original source material, the opera itself, the libretto and the music, comes from a very particular single lens on a culture and a nation in which they did not set foot.

And now, we know a little bit more about how we interpret and want to share other cultures.

And so, this production really dives into what was the historical context, and now what is our context currently in 2023 that we can really tell the story in a more authentic way.

(gentle soprano music) - There are many unique and fresh aspects of this production.

For example, I would say, the director's interpretation that brings the game world in this story.

- This production, instead of being a soldier in 1900 showing up to Japan and staking his claim, he is a modern guy looking for the release from the real world.

And in so, being in this virtual reality game, he's creating this life.

And so, the consequences, to him, seem not like a big deal because "Ah, it's a video game.

These are video game characters."

And as the story progresses, you see he's seeing more of the humanity, and he's starting to find a little bit of that regret.

- "Madame Butterfly" is an example of Orientalism in which the viewpoint of the Asian woman is one in which is seen as submissive servile, any of the myriad of stereotypes for Asian women is really highlighted actually in the way that the story is written for that character.

And the way that this production deals with that in a container that feels resonant and representative of the people telling the story, so an entirely Japanese-American directing design team.

To have this story told from their perspective, it took years actually of collaboration, of conversation, of interrogation, of why should we even do this piece?

Do we feel represented in this piece?

And if not, how would we tell the story in a way that makes us feel represented?

And that is the result.

This production is the result of those conversations.

(gentle soprano music) - We're finally considering groups like the AAPI that deserve their stories to be told without the filter of I can tell you your story better than you can.

And this has been a great production to be part of because of an all-Japanese or Japanese American creative team that are allowing their viewpoints or viewpoints of their families.

- Something that was really significant for the directing design team was the representation and the authenticity of giving urgency to butterfly, giving urgency to the female Asian perspective in this opera.

- This story is based on the love and sacrifice, and I think, the production want to show and talk about the freedom also.

So it could be a kind of a warning of AI, artificial intelligence.

So the audience can enjoy these concepts, absolutely, the music, and modern Japanese culture.

- It's really important to have the Japanese historical fashion be correct, so that we're taking it out of this lens of a white man who has never seen it, just kind of making it beautiful in his mind, and putting it into real world.

The "Madame Butterfly" costume designer is Maiko Matsushima.

And the details that she found and her knowledge of Japanese fashion, and historical Japanese fashion, was really important to this piece.

You get that full Japanese feeling of the beautiful Geishas and all of that spectacularness, but then there's moments, there's accessories, so to speak, colors that are more neon that pulls you into that virtual reality world.

So you get the best of both worlds.

(gentle soprano music) - It has been one of the most significant joys of my career so far.

To be a part of this production, it's just such an honor to tell this story in this way that gives so much urgency that represents truly authentically and in a way that is a risk.

It's truly a risk, but one that creates dialogue and one that really brings it to a modern age.

I absolutely am proud of it, I'm honored by it, and I am so overjoyed to continue telling this story.