THE BUTTERFLY PROJECT

バタフライ・プロジェクト
蝶々夫人のバラード

About

Puccini’s famous opera, Madama Butterfly, is reimagined by interdisciplinary creator-performer Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野 (they/them) into THE BUTTERFLY PROJECT 蝶々さんのプロジェクト, joined by new media artist and sound designer Andrea Wong (she/her) in 2023. As a constantly living and evolving work since 2019, THE BUTTERFLY PROJECT highlights the original intention of these appropriated melodies and brings them into the 21st century with live and recorded sounds, electronics, and classical singing in both Italian and Japanese.

RECENT PERFORMANCE PHOTOS

July 12, 2023 at 7:30 pm
Walter Hall, University of Toronto
Presented by Toronto Summer Music Festival and Amplified Opera
Additional artist: Andrea Wong, new media sound artist

Photos by Lucky Tang

The Origin Story

In January 2020 I had the privilege to sing my first ever Cio-Cio San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra. For many reasons, this was a meaningful and momentous occasion for me professionally and personally. There’s nothing like the swell of an orchestra behind you to take up your voice and let it soar over top, and an orchestra playing the music of the great Giacomo Puccini is like no other. As a Nikkei (Japanese diaspora) Canadian settler based in Toronto, I also can’t help but think critically of this work and of many other works that exist in the operatic canon that have appropriated many cultures, and perpetuate violence through racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Yet, we still produce these works today, still at times with no critical lenses or discourse to be had. As one of the most famous operas ever to have been written, I have found some peace with singing this role (and other appropriated roles) by creating discourse around the work and being able to use my creativity to live in it and continue to engage with it today. In the original Madama Butterfly, Puccini told the story of Cio-Cio San. In my reimagination, Chōchō-san (蝶々さん) comes back to tell her own version of the story, beginning where that story leaves off.

Why a project?

I call the Butterfly Project a “project” because I don’t think it will ever be finished, nor do I think this type of work should finish: (un)learning and (un)doing, (un)seeing and cultivating an intentional awareness concerning where our most prized canonical works come from. It is only by understanding lived histories and through constant humility that I believe we can find ways to reimagine operas such as Madama Butterfly anew.

Past Performances

Aug 5, 2023 — POWELL STREET FESTIVAL at the Firehall Arts Centre, Vancouver BC
July 26 & 27, 2023 — SIDESTREAM FESTIVAL presented by THEATRE GARGANTUA at The Bank Art House, Welland ON
Jul 12, 2023 — TORONTO SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL at Walter Hall, University of Toronto
Feb 11, 2022 — CONFLUENCE CONCERTS / AMPLIFIED OPERA video presentation and symposium

May 2, 2020 — POCKET PERFORMANCE #MuseumWithoutWalls exclusive at-home video concert presented by the Aga Khan Museum
Mar 6, 2020 — WOMEN FROM SPACE MUSIC FESTIVAL at the Burdock, Toronto
May 8, 2019 — FAUXSTALGIA (Ear Candy by Soundstreams) at the Drake Underground, Toronto with Claire Harris, piano