‘Love cannot kill: it brings new life.’

On a starlit night in Nagasaki, these are the words spoken by American naval officer Pinkerton to young geisha Cio-Cio-San. But as they both learn, words and promises carelessly spoken can have indelible consequences.

With a score that includes Butterfly’s aria, ‘Un bel dì, vedremo’ (‘One fine day’) and the ‘Humming Chorus’, Giacomo Puccini’s opera is entrancing and ultimately heart-breaking. Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s exquisite production takes inspiration from 19th-century European images of Japan.

Language:  Sung in Italian with English subtitles

Running time: 3hrs and 10 minutes (including one interval)

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Music: Giacomo Puccini

Libretto: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica

Directors: Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier

Set designer: Christian Fenouillat

Costume designer: Agostino Cavalca

Lighting designer: Christophe Forey

Conducted by: Nicola Luisotti

Cio-Cio-San: Maria Agresta

Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton: Joshua Guerrero

Sharpless: Carlos Álvarez

Suzuki: Christine Rice

Goro: Carlo Bosi

Royal Opera Chorus

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House