Opera Trip to Venice: Gran Teatro La Fenice Madama Butterfly and Il barbiere di Siviglia

Included

• Journey by Car Rouge, 2+1 seating
• Music tour escort from/to Switzerland
• Accommodation in a carefully selected 4* hotel
• 3 x BB (room/buffet breakfast)
• Water taxi to the hotel and back
• 1 x speciality dinner including wine
• 1 x opera ticket, 1st category
• 1 x opera ticket for the Palazzo
• Walking tour of Venice
• Admission and guided tour of the Doge's Palace
• Priority admission to St Mark's Basilica
• Car Rouge audio system

Hotels

4* Hotel Saturnia, Venice

4* Hotel Saturnia, Venice

4* Hotel Saturnia, Venice

About the operas

Giacomo Puccini: "Madama Butterfly" – Japanese tragedy

" Un bel di, vedremo levarsi un fil di fumo sul' l'estremo"

In New York, Puccini saw David Belasco's play, a dramatisation of a Japanese short story by John Luther Long. He was fascinated by the geisha tragedy and the Far Eastern setting. The libretto was written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The composer familiarised himself with records of Japanese folk songs and attended the Japanese tragedy "Sada Yacco" in Milan. Following his marriage to Elvira Bonturi in January 1904, "Madama Butterfly" premiered at La Scala in Milan on 17 February. It was a "fracasso", a flop, which turned into a triumph only after the opera had been revised.

The setting is the port city of Nagasaki around 1900.

The marriage broker Nakodo Goro shows Franklin Benjamin Pinkerton, an officer on the US Navy ship "Lincoln", his "Nido nuzial", which he wishes to buy. Sharpless, the US consul in Nagasaki, admires the view over the mountains and the harbour. Pinkerton raves about free love, while Sharpless calls it "un facile vangelo", an easy gospel. Goro praises love that can be bought for next to nothing ("per nulla sol cento yen"). In his aria "Amore o grillo", Pinkerton wonders whether it is love or a mere whim that draws him to the butterfly with the delicate figure of a "paravento". Cio-Cio-San, alias Butterfly, praises the scent of spring and sings of her wealthy background, which turned to poverty after her father's death and forced her to make her living as a geisha at the age of 15. The arrival of her relatives amuses Pinkerton. From the sleeves of her kimono Butterfly conjures all manner of trinkets: "fazzoletti, pipa, cintura, fermaglio, specchio, ventaglio" (handkerchiefs, pipe, belt, brooch, mirror, fan) and finally "una cosa sacra", a gift from a Mikado to her father, presented with the gesture of a slit belly. She shows Pinkerton her "ottokè", her little dolls representing the souls of her ancestors. Were she to be chosen as his wife, she would convert to the Christian faith. Uncle Bonzo, a Buddhist priest, must not find out, however. Il commissario permits Pinkerton to marry "alla damigella Butterfly del quartiere d'Omara-Nagasaki". She already calls herself Madama F.B. Pinkerton. Bonzo interrupts the celebrations. Condemning her as a traitor to her faith, he curses her soul and disowns her with the curse: "Kami sarundasico!"

Pinkerton comforts her. She feels "rinnegata e felice" (cast out and happy). He sees her as a "giocattolo", a plaything, while she raises herself up as the "Dea della luna".

Impoverished, the maid Suzuki and Butterfly long for Pinkerton's return. She sings the aria of yearning: "Un bel di... (One fine day we shall see a thin trail of smoke rising over the sea in the east). Holding Pinkerton's picture and his promise to return, she asks Sharpless: "Quando fanno il lor nido in America i pettirossi" (When do the robins build their nests in America?). His answer is evasive: "No ho studiato ornitologia". Goro wants to pair her off with the wealthy Prince Yamadori of Omura. Sharpless reads Pinkerton's letter, in which he calls her a "bel fior di fanciulla", and asks her what she would do if he did not return even after four years. Her answer: "Tornar a divertir la gente col cantar oppure meglio morire!" She presents her son with the blue eyes and blond hair. A cannon shot announces Pinkerton's return. Butterfly is beside herself. Roses are to welcome him. But he does not come alone, but with his wife Kate. He wishes to bid farewell to the blossoming home of joy and love ("Addio, fiorito asil di letizia e d'amor"). She hands her child over to Kate and stabs herself.

Gioacchino Rossini: "Il barbiere di Siviglia"

"Largo al factotum" – Il fortunatissimo barbiere

The Roman Cesare Sterbini wrote the libretto based on the comedy of the same name by Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais, published in Paris in 1775. Gioacchino Rossini composed his comic opera in 26 days. It premiered on 20 February 1816 at the Teatro della Torre Argentina in Rome under the composer's direction. Supporters of the earlier opera by Giovanni Paisiello disapproved of the new setting, until Rossini prevailed and, as a brilliant opera buffa, it has dominated the programmes of Europe's stages to this day.

The setting is Bartolo's house in Seville.

The miserly old doctor Dottore Bartolo has designs on his ward Rosina and her inheritance. Under the pseudonym Lindoro, Count Almaviva also courts her. To achieve his aim, the Count bribes the barbiere Figaro. Rosina's music teacher Basilio spins an intrigue with slanderous accusations against the Count. Rosina shows her affection in a little note which she passes to Figaro for Almaviva. Disguised as the singing teacher "Don Alonzo", Almaviva gains entry to the Dottore's house. The deception is uncovered and Almaviva is thrown out. A notary is hurriedly summoned to seal the marriage to Bartolo. The bribed music teacher is also invited as a witness to the signing. In the end, Bartolo's guardianship has served its purpose. Almaviva rewards him by leaving him Rosina's dowry, while the Dottore sends the united couple on their way with heavenly blessings ("Andate pur, che il ciel vi benedica").

In his "Barbiere", Rossini pulls out all the stops of cheerful, comic styles in song and accompaniment, with a small orchestra modelled on Mozart (pairs of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, trombones, plus strings, percussion and guitar). Rosina's cavatina "Una voce poco fa" is regarded by mezzo-sopranos as the ultimate test of coloratura. With the baritone title role, Rossini created a worthy successor to Mozart's Figaro in the comic repertoire, while the Count, as a heroic tenor, embodies the higher social standing and Bartolo, in a deep bass, plays the quirky, comical old man through to the happy ending.