“ARIA” (“Madame Butterfly” in 11 minutes) (Blog 3)

“ARIA” (“Madame Butterfly” in 11 minutes) This past week the “Art & Technology” class at the University of Tampa focused it’s lens on the study of Opera. Opera has a rich history stemming from Italy around 1600 at the beginning of the Baroque Period. It’s traditions and innovations in technology have been defining characteristics of the art form. Using technologies that didn’t exist just a hundred years ago, Opera has found new ways to be expressed and delivered to audiences around the world. Through the study of Opera’s history, we gain better understanding of the context in which it developed and changed, as well as the direction it will move in the future. “Madame Butterfly” is an opera by Italian compser Giacomo Puccini. According to Britannica.com, Puccini was introduced to the story in 1900 while attending a play in London written by David Belasco (American theatrical producer and playwright). The story for this 0ne-act play was “…derived from a short story of the same name, by American author John Luther Long, of a Japanese girl’s ill-fated love for an American sailor”. Puccini acquired the operatic rights with the help of his publisher, Giulio Ricordi. The first performance of the opera, which included only 2 acts, and was not well received. Puccini split the second act into two along with other extensive revisions before reintroducing the opera in 1904. By 1906, 2 more revisions had been made, bringing the metamorphosis of the opera to its “definitive form”. Nearly 100 years after Puccini transformed “Madame Butterfly” into an opera, soviet born Pjotr Sapegin took her to the screen. His award winning 2001 animated short tells the story of Butterfly and Pinkerton in just 11 minutes. Sapegin displays masterfully crafted stop motion with an incredibly artistic flair. The animations reveal a sense of movement and humanity on a level above anything I’ve previously seen. “Aria” masterfully tells the story of a native Japanese girl and the American Sailor that she has fallen in love with. It’s also a story of loss and deep sadness, ending with the suicide of the main character. The music of Puccini also plays an important role in the story as well as the emotional impact it evokes. “Aria” is peppered with many clever representations and story telling devices.In Sapegin’s portrayal, music is played by a grampophone, which is given to Madame Butterfly by Pinkerton before he leaves on his ship. The tie in from the baby’s scream to the high sustained singing of the Soprano was also quite clever. Several other clever tools are used to tell the story in a very artistic and emotionally impactful way. Soon after Pinkerton leaves, Butterfly finds that she is pregnant. “Aria” uses a goldfish in a fishbowl to portray the young developing baby in it’s mother’s womb. As the glass on the fishbowl breaks, so doe’s Butterflies water, which is spilt on the shore and returns to the ocean. While “Aria” isn’t capable of telling the entire story of “Madame Butterfly”, I believe it captures the essence and emotion of the story that Puccini intended. Pjotr Sapegin’s work displays some very strong visualization of a serious nature, such as child birth and suicide, made possible by the use of technology. Stop motion, wire frame dolls, creative lighting and camera work, and masterful editing and sound design contributed to the overall impact of this work. A quick search on IMDb reveals that Sapegin has released at least 10 other works. I’m definitely looking forward to checking out more of his work! Sources: https://www.nfb.ca/film/aria_en/ https://www.britannica.com/topic/Madama-Butterfly https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0764535/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0302274/?ref_=nm_knf_t3