Puccini’s Madama Butterfly features ravishing music and a heartbreaking story of a loving geisha deserted by a callous American husband. Much- loved soprano Ermonela Jaho sings the title role for the first time at Covent Garden, in Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s stunning production.

The exotic imagery of the Nagasaki setting is drawn from romanticized 19th-century Western ideas of Japan. Puccini’s music brings alive the birdsong of the morning, the ritual of a wedding and the seduction by naval officer B.F. Pinkerton (Marcelo Puente) of his young, innocent bride.

Royal Opera Music Director Antonio Pappano conducts this intense and gripping journey from light and excitement to darkness and self-sacrifice.