It is almost a decade since Madama Butterfly was last seen at Covent Garden, the longest absence, apparently, since Puccini's everyday story of American imperialism arrived there in 1905.
It would be heartening to report that the Royal Opera's new staging, directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier and conducted by Antonio Pappano, has been worth the wait, but that is not so. This is a show as half-baked in its conception as it is mediocre in its realisation, so that it often seems more like the umpteenth revival of an old production than anything new.
Christian Fenouillat's set conceives Butterfly's house as a white, wood-framed box, defined by blinds that slide up to reveal a series of increasingly garish backdrops: we begin with a photographic view of Yokohama harbour and proceed, via a stylised Japanese landscape covered in what looks like pink candyfloss, to kitsch flower arrangements and a cherry tree whose blossom is steadily stripped away as Butterfly dies. Presumably it is meant as a metaphor of her own psychological journey, but the imagery is banal and uninteresting, and the direction of the action lacks focus and perception.
Even with such shaky dramatic foundations, the evening could still have been redeemed by strongly projected central characters. There is no doubt that the Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domas can sing the role, but she gave little visual indication of knowing what it entailed dramatically.
In a production that takes refuge in pared-down naturalism, there could have been some effort to get her to walk in a convincing small-step Japanese way, rather than striding around the stage, and the coquettishness in her opening exchanges with Pinkerton is entirely out of place. From that point, she seems a calculating predator rather than an innocent victim, and the flapping-wings motions she makes as she dies are gruesomely tacky.
With the exception of Enkelejda Shkosa's nicely judged Suzuki, though, nobody moves or acts well. Marco Berti's Pinkerton sounds right, but he is wooden and uncommunicative, while Lucio Gallo's Sharpless leaves a vacuum in the drama where a conscience is required. The smaller roles could be dropped into any traditional production of the opera without adjustment.
After a scrambled start, Pappano settled down to produce a lithe transparency in the orchestral sound and watchful support to the singers. He provides the foundation on which a memorable Butterfly could be built, had there been any worthwhile production to complement it.
· In rep until April 5. Box office: 020-7304 4000.
