Lyric Opera Of Kansas City Presents MADAMA BUTTERFLY Next Month at Kauffman Center

Lyric Opera of Kansas City continues its 61st season with a perennial audience favorite, Puccini's Madama Butterfly. In a stunning traditional production from The Dallas Opera and directed by Ron Daniels in his Lyric Opera debut, Madama Butterfly tells the tragic love story of a young geisha and her doomed marriage to a swaggering U.S. Naval officer.

"One of the most beloved of all operas, Puccini's Madama Butterfly, is full of contrasts. This is a brutal story, based on a real story which occurred in Nagasaki at the end of the 19th century. The sublime beauty of the music contrasts with the ugly, heart-wrenching story, creating a profound and poignant experience," stated Deborah Sandler, General Director and CEO of Lyric Opera of Kansas City. "More than any other treatment of this material, it is the beauty of Puccini's musical gift that that allows us to cry for Butterfly."

Karah Son, making her Lyric Opera debut in the role of Butterfly, has sung the role at Opera Australia, Welsh National Opera and Glyndebourne Festival. Pinkerton will be played by Georgy Vasiliev, who is making his Lyric Opera debut, and recently sang the role at Opera Australia. Kristen Choi, another debut, portrays Suzuki, and has sung the role at Washington National Opera. Daniel Belcher (Silent Night, 2015; Dead Man Walking, 2017), in the role of Sharpless, is a local favorite; and Peixin Chen, who dazzled audiences in Rigoletto earlier this year, returns as The Bonze. Ryan McAdams, who conducted Lyric Opera's The Marriage of Figaro in 2016, returns as well.

The production runs November 3, 7, 9 and 11 at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and will be sung in Italian with English subtitles.