A guileless Japanese girl gives up everything to marry a lieutenant in the US Navy. But when he suddenly leaves the country, she is determined to wait patiently until he sails back into harbour. The last of Puccini’s ‘big three’ operas, Madama Butterfly is as beautiful as it is heartbreaking. Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian sings the title role in this colourful production from the Royal Swedish Opera set amongst the glitz and kitsch of postwar Japan.
Don Jose
Seebühne (or floating stage), with its 7,000 seat open-air amphitheatre, is the location for the French composers most successful opera. With a set designed by British artist Es Devlin, who has designed sets for stars such as Adele, U2, Take That and Kanye West, the stage sits on the water near the shores of the stunning Lake Constance in Austria. This romantic and dramatic setting regularly welcomes opera lovers from all over the world, where the productions are extravagantly original and innovative and frequently use the waters of the lake as an extension of the stage.
