How do you de-Italianize an opera singer so that he appears more American. This is the challenge for Tenor Franco Martorana who plays Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Village Players this coming June.
Franco was born in Europe and even though he lives in Chicago, he is thoroughly culturally Italian. So how do you approach a grand role of Italian opera where the character is an American guy?
During the first rehearsal of Madama Butterfly, the director Carl Ratner told Franco to “stop being so Italian.” For Franco this means walking casually, being a bit sloppy and not having Butterfly’s perfect manners. He even has to learn not to hold up his arms for his big high notes.
Speaking of movement, in our next blog, we’ll learn how the first meeting with the Japanese movement consultant went for Butterfly and Suzuki. Here is another clash of opera tradition: the Italian diva forced into a geisha’s body.
If you were writing an opera in Italian about an American and Japanese couple, what words would you use? Butterfly? Puccini also uses two well known English names. Pinkerton’s full name is none other than Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton or B.F. Pinkerton.
The “B.F.” became a problem for productions in England because B.F is short for “bloody fool.” To avoid howls of laughter from the audience, English productions often refer to him a F.B. Pinkerton. There is a similar problem in Germany where Pinkerton sounds a lot like a bad word. So in German productions, Pinkerton is called Linkerton.
The other English word? It is the name of Pinkerton’s naval ship: the Abraham Lincoln, which is the answer to our trivia question from last week.
In other news, Director Carl Ratner is scheduled to speak at the Oak Park Library on Thursday May 31 at 7:30 about the opera. He will be playing key parts of the score and providing his commentary.
Remember: Butterfly opens June 8 at Village Players Theatre in Oak Park and runs to June 24. To purchase tickets visit village-players.org or call the box office at (866)764-1010.