The Metropolitan Opera's 2025-26 season of Saturday matinee broadcasts continues on March 14 with a live performance of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly."
The beloved tragedy stars soprano Aleksandra Kurzak as Cio-Cio-San, a Japanese girl who leaves behind her family and her life as a geisha to enter what she believes is a true and lasting marriage to an American naval officer. British tenor Adam Smith makes his Met broadcast debut as Lieutenant Pinkerton, who believes their marriage is just a harmless amusement. The cast also features mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano as Cio-Cio-San's loyal maid Suzuki and baritone Quinn Kelsey as Sharpless, the American consul in Nagasaki. Carlo Rizzi conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus.
Listen to the broadcast of "Madama Butterfly" on Classical IPR at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, 2026.
Read the synopsis from the Metropolitan Opera.
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Want even more behind-the-scenes access? Each week, Met Opera chorus member Katherine DeYoung brings you exclusive looks at the sets, costumes and fun production facts on our Instagram. Follow @classicalipr on Instagram to catch her video dispatches and get an insider’s perspective.
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From the Met: "Puccini achieved a new level of sophistication with his use of the orchestra in this score, with subtle colorings and sonorities throughout. But the opera rests squarely on the performer of the title role: on stage for most of the time, Cio-Cio-San is the only character that experiences true (and tragic) development. The singer must convey an astounding array of emotions and characteristics, from ethereal to fleshly to intelligent to dreamy-bordering-on-insane, to resigned in the final scene."
Composer: Giacomo Puccini
Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa, Luigi Illica
CAST
Cio-Cio-San: Aleksandra Kurzak
Suzuki: Jennifer Johnson Cano
Pinkerton: Adam Smith
Sharpless: Quinn Kelsey
