I don’t look at my heroines from the outside. Soprano Asmika Grigoryan – in the opera Madama Butterfly live from New York / Diena

The Lithuanian singer has already conquered the stage of Europe’s most prestigious theaters, concert halls and festivals, but she is only making her debut at the Metropolis Opera in the role of Cho-Cho-san. This season, Asmika Grigoryan has already performed in the role of a selflessly loving geisha at the Verona Arena and at the Royal Opera House in London, on June 15 and 20 she will sing this part at the German Opera in Berlin.

“I am happy that I made my debut at the Metropolitan Opera with Madame Butterfly – this is one of the most important operas in my life. My mother sang Cho-Cho-san when she was pregnant. I played the child of Cho-Cho-san and Pinkerton in a play starring my parents (soprano Irena Milkevichute and tenor Gegam Grigoryan – JJ). This opera has a great emotional significance in my life,” says Asmika Grigorjana.

“On stage, I never play another person, I don’t look at my heroines from the outside – it’s always me. I try to follow the score exactly, following all the composer’s instructions, and in this music I tell my story, reveal my feelings. That’s how I treat all roles. I don’t see Cho-Cho-san as a character that I have to play, I see her as myself, as if I would be in the situation that this character is in,” explains Asmika Grigoryan, who is considered one of the brightest and most captivating actresses in musical theater today. Her performance in this Puccini opera is praised by critics for her lyricism, empathy, nuance and spontaneity. In her acting and singing, Asmika Grigorjana is able to be very believable in borderline situations of conflicting emotions.

It premiered 120 years ago Madame Butterfly the action takes place in the Japanese port city of Nagasaki at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. “Some things in life don’t change. For example, the power of great emotions. Opera is a genre that emphasizes the importance of feelings. People have always given free rein to their emotions, so this story does not get old,” believes the Lithuanian singer.

Cho-Cho-san has been played by many divas at the Metropolitan Opera: Renata Tebaldi, Renata Scotto, Teresa Stratas, Martina Aroijo, Raina Kabaivanska, Leontine Price, Katrina Malfitano, Kristine Opolais and others.

Currently Madame Butterfly in New York under the leadership of Chinese conductor Xian Zhang. The audience once again has the opportunity to see the touching production of the British film and theater director Anthony Minghella, which has been playing since 2005/2006. seasons of the year. US Navy officer Pinkerton is sung by American tenor Jonathan Tetelman.

The role of Cho-Cho-san and Pinkerton’s child in the show is given to a bunraku doll. Bunraku puppet theater is a sophisticated theater art form that originated in the 17th century in Osaka. Most traditional bunraku plays have historical plots that deal with the conflict between social duty and human emotion. There are still many practitioners of bunraku theater in Japan, and the tradition was inspired by British puppetry Blind Summit Theatre founders Mark Downs and Nick Barnes. Operas Madame Butterfly for the production, they have created bunraku-style puppets that play not only Cho-Cho-san’s child, but also the title character himself in the dream scene. A bunraku puppet has no strings (typically one-half or two-thirds the size of a real person) and is operated by three specially trained masters, each responsible for a specific body part.

Latvian viewers’ interest in Madame Butterfly live shows are so big that the cinema Forum Cinemas has announced an additional session on May 18 at 17.30 (the performance will be shown on the recording).

Information: metopera.org, forumcinemas.lv