Search - Giacomo Puccini, Yves Abel, Cheryl Barker :: Puccini - Madam Butterfly / Cheryl Barker, PO, Yves Abel [in English]

A touching English Butterfly

Ed Beveridge | London, England | 03/27/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Anyone familiar with Cheryl Barker's Butterfly will be interested in hearing this recording. I have heard her in the role twice - in Auckland and London - and her voice has filled out as the years have gone on. She hasn't a large italianate soprano; the sound is too slender somehow. Yet there is the paradox - it has great carrying power and a decent cutting edge to make itself heard above the orchestral climaxes. What really impresses is the sense of vulnerability and moral strength she imparts, making sense of the big moments of the secong act. The sound in Act one is gorgeous (and a super D flat in theentrance aria) and she differentiates impressively between the child-bride and the embittered woman of the two acts.She is surrounded by a mixed supporting cast. Jean Rigby is maternal, warm and affecting as Suzuki. Gregory Yurisich makes Sharpless' dilemma more understandable than usual, rather than being completely ineffectual. Paul Charles Clarke perhaps illustrates Pinkerton's arrogance with a degree of vocal swagger, but the sound is rough-hewn and unlovely save for some moments in the love duet. Stuart Kale's Goro is suitable ingratiating and oily. Abel's conducting is the other chief draw of this set. That he has experience of the score in the theatre means that his pacing is really superb, and the lush orchestration is given its due, the potent intermezzo during the overnight vigil sounding suitably ominous.This won't replace the classic Butterfly recordings, but in the absendce of any new ones recently, and for acceptable diction in an English version, it is certainly worth the (not very high) price. Recommended."

Surprisingly Enjoyable

Robert Elmasian | San Diego, CA USA | 05/02/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I did not think I would enjoy or play this Butterfly as much as I have. Somehow operas sung in English, even those originally composed in English, seem a little bit silly compared to those sung in Italian, French, and German and even Czech and Russian. Butterfly, however, transfers well to English. Just two years after its 1904 premier, the libretto was translated into English and performed with much success, particularly in the United States. After several years, however, the use of an English libretto stopped and this Butterfly is the only commercial recording currently available.



Any performance of Butterfly is critically dependent on the excellence of its title character, and Australian soprano Cheryl Barker is up to the task. She has improved her technique over the years, and, with little doubt, is underrated by those who have failed to adjust opinions fixed some time ago. The Amazon editorial review by Robert Levine is quite correct in saying that Barker sounds under strain in this recording but quite incorrect in saying that she never sounds pretty. In fact, she mostly sings very well and sounds very pretty indeed. However, there are some moments, particularly when Butterfly herself is under strain, in which Barker's voice becomes harsh. The most critical of these times is in the final aria, just before Butterfly's suicide. Barker can and has sung this aria superbly; unfortunately, she does not do it here.



The final aria is the dramatic peak of Madama Butterfly, and I suspect that Barker's lapse in it may have colored Mr. Levine's opinion of the whole recording. Overall, however, Barker's performance is very moving and more than good enough to give English speaking lovers of Madama Butterfly an understanding of the opera that otherwise might be lost in translation.

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