FULL The Butterfly Process B. Six Episodes Boston 2021 Boston Lyric Opera

This 6-episode performance series explores and celebrates the music of Asian, Asian-American and Pacific Islanders, as well as works influenced by Asian culture. Part of The Butterfly Process, Boston Lyric Opera’s community-wide initiative to reexamine the history and legacies of Madama Butterfly in a modern context, these moving films feature pieces chosen collectively by the artists, along with BLO Artistic Advisor Vimbayi Kaziboni and director Melanie Bacaling, a BLO Emerging Artist Alum. We invite you on this once-in-a-lifetime journey honoring cultural identity and rejoicing in what it means to belong.

Spurred by a postponed production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly for Boston Lyric Opera’s 2020/21 Season BLO began conversations with Butterfly artists, staff, and community aiming to reexamine the history and legacy of this opera in light of ongoing uncertainty of returning to live performances during the ongoing pandemic alongside heightened racism toward Asian communities.

While Madama Butterfly is loved by audiences and remains an essential part of the traditional repertoire, the opera’s history has reputation for portraying inaccurate, harmful representations of Japanese culture, contributing to stereotypes of Asian and Asian-Americans. BLO engaged with artists, board members, community leaders, organizations, and preeminent scholars to discuss Madama Butterfly, particularly around the areas of cultural appropriation, race, and gender stereotypes—and the wide-ranging impact of this opera for Asian artists.

This became known as The Butterfly Process, BLO’s commitment to unpacking the layers of this story and the historical context of the work— and how to incorporate its legacy in a way that celebrates opera as a multicultural art form.