Madama Butterfly Review: Celine Byrne Captivates as Cio-Cio-San
In Irish National Opera’s staging of Puccini’s 1904 masterpiece, Celine Byrne portrays Cio-Cio-San as confident and resilient, rather than naive or fragile. Her performance anchors the production with depth and clarity.
The opera’s brisk overture flows into a casual exchange about traditional Japanese houses, their sliding partitions, and suspended walls. This fleeting detail becomes central to the visual language of the show.
Stage Design and Atmosphere
For this coproduction with Scottish Opera, designer Kat Heath transforms that architectural motif into a striking set built from enormous movable panels. These towering structures, both neutral and adaptable, fill the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre’s vast stage and shift smoothly between expansive and intimate scenes.
- The panels’ mobility allows for dynamic visual storytelling.
- Jake Wiltshire’s lighting gently manipulates color, mood, and time of day.
- Despite their scale, the design enhances focus rather than distracts.
At moments, the moving panels evoke the sensation of a cameraman’s lens—zooming in or panning away—adding a subtle cinematic texture that director Daisy Evans uses to heighten emotional engagement.
"Their sheer size is arresting and imposing, and their capacity for movement yields both intimate spaces and deep, exaggerated ones."
Emotional and Visual Harmony
Evans balances visual precision with emotional immediacy, allowing Byrne’s clarity of voice and characterization to stand out against the set’s fluid backdrop. The result is a performance that feels both grounded and visually alive.
Author’s summary: Celine Byrne’s commanding Cio-Cio-San leads a visually stunning and emotionally resonant production defined by inventive design and cinematic rhythm.