Video Art to Capture Flight of `Madame Butterfly’

The Trieste Verdi Theater will stage what is expected to be a visually stimulating rendition of Giacomo Puccini’s ``Madame Butterfly’’ for its first tour in Korea. The original cast and crew of the top Italian theater will present the opera next week at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts.

The performance is part of the Trieste Verdi’s cultural exchange with the Sejong Center -- a welcoming news since the theater is known here as the debut stage of Korean prima donna Sumi Jo. Lorenzo Fratini, who will conduct the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, said in an email interview with The Korea Times that the project is an ``extremely important endeavor’’ and ``will help the growth of two major theaters of the East and West.’’

Director Giulio Ciabatti
Courtesy of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts

``Madame Butterfly’’ has been among the most frequently staged repertories since its premiere in 1904, but the upcoming production will be unique and in sync with modern times by featuring digital stage sets inspired by the video art of the late Paik Nam-june. Art director Pier Paolo Bisleri said he is an ardent fan of the world-renowned Korean artist. Moreover, director Giulio Ciabatti explained that the medium expresses the essence of the story and fulfills both artistic and technical purposes.

The director aims to focus on the romance and despair of Madame Butterfly rather than on cultural or political issues that mark the original piece. ``The most important reason for choosing video art is because I wanted to express the noble human spirit rather than Asian customs and character. I also wanted to depict loneliness and emptiness of the human condition rather than the spatial manifestation of time,’’ he said. >>More