It is already known how Madama Butterfly played a significant role in my life. In 2016, I taught myself to sew as I was preparing for my first outing to Puccini’s immortal tragedy. Because of that climactic moment, I hold a great reverence and affection for the opera.

This particular Live in HD Butterfly was probably the best iteration I’ve seen. Much of the weight of that statement is credited to Asmik Grigorian, the Lithuanian soprano with a vast voice, making her long-awaited Met debut. Although I didn’t feel she had the prettiest voice, her acting had me believing that I was Butterfly. When the character was scared, I was scared. During her moments of wild hope, my skin tingled. Vulnerability and despair coalesced into a perfect portrayal. Brava !

Japanese garments being the central focus of Madama Butterfly, my goal for my third time seeing the opera in theaters was to embrace a more modern, accessible approach to costuming by creating something that could be described as “East Meets West”. For this, I turned to Folkwear Patterns and their 129 Japanese Hapi and Haori pattern.

While the authentic appeal of the lined haori attracted me, my practical reasoning knew that dealing with the hanging furisode sleeves would be a nuisance in the long run. The hapi it was !

Choosing the fabric was fun. At first, I looked for old bolts of kimono fabric on eBay, but wasn’t thrilled with the prices or inadequate yardage. Quilting cottons were suggested for the hapi so I checked around on my usual fabric sites. Searching through beautiful prints on Style Maker Fabrics, I found my fabric: a vibrant butterfly print on a teal background. Even more serendipitous, it was made in Japan !

To set off the busy material, I chose a diminutive turquoise cotton from my local quilt shop to serve as the neckband fabric. A striking contrast, don’t you think ?

Designed to be worn over western clothing, the hapi was a stylish topper over a persimmon colored camisole and wide-legged pants, the latter of which was sewn from a beige silk noil. So earthy, so luxe !
To make the pants, I used the Harlow Pajamas pattern, which I first sewed for the Kurzak/Alagna Met concert.

Wearing a cross necklace was indicative of Butterfly’s conversion to Christianity before her marriage to Pinkerton. Thank you, Faith !

Carefully, I threaded my handmade kanzashi hair stick (original to my 2016 outfit) into the chic geisha bun my mother styled for me. Why don’t we wear these more often ?!

Those straight cut, modest sleeves were not a problem at all !

And look at how cute this purse is ! Bought at Cracker Barrel, my mother gave it to me for Easter. Little did she know it would be flying off to Butterfly with me.

Now that the 2023-2024 Live in HD season has wrapped, I can breathe a bit and begin to work on projects for next season, which promises to be a delight. See you there !

Toi, Toi, Toi,

Mary Martha

Cast and Credits:

Madama Butterfly ─ Giacomo Puccini (1904)
Live in HD air date: May 11, 2024

Cast:
Cio-Cio-San ─ Asmik Grigorian
Pinkerton ─ Jonathan Tetelman
Suzuki ─ Elizabeth DeShong
Sharpless ─ Lucas Meacham

Credits:
Conductor ─ Xian Zhang
Production ─ Anthony Minghella
Director and Choreographer ─ Carolyn Choa
Set Designer ─ Michael Levine
Costume Designer ─ Han Feng
Lighting Designer ─ Peter Mumford
Puppetry ─ Blind Summit Theatre
Revival Stage Director ─ Paula Williams
Live in HD Director ─ Gary Halvorson
Host ─ Anthony Roth Costanzo