MADAMA BUTTERFLY – PUCCINI
Presented on Jun 8, 10, 14, 16 at the Gaiety Theatre Dublin and on Jun 20, 23 at the Opera House Cork as part of the Dublin Grand Opera Society’s Spring Season
Edy Amedeo – Cio-Cio San
Bruno Rufo / Ettore Babini[Jun 10] – Pinkerton
Clara Betner – Suzuki
Alberto Oro – Sharpless
Gabriele deJulis – Goro
Loris Gambelli – Bonze
Ernesto Vezzosi – Yamadori
Vittorina Magnaghi – Kate
Adolfo Camozzo / Napoleone Annovazzi[Jun 20, 23] – Conductor
Maria Sofia Marasca – Producer
The opera was also presented in Cork
Harold Johnson returned [to the Cork Opera House] the following night for “Madama Butterfly” and was even more moved than on the Monday, mainly because of the shattering performance by the Italian soprano Edy Amedeo as Butterfly. All I can say is that the acting and the singing left me almost speechless.’ Again, the Opera House was less than half filled. He could only attribute it to poor advertising by everyone concerned. He was delighted to learn, however, that by Thursday night there was a clamour for tickets and the house was full to capacity for the rest of the week. He decided to do everything in his power to ensure that the DGOS was invited back to Cork to present a week’s season every spring. What Johnson did not know however was that the visit by the DGOS to Cork might never have taken place because the society and the management of the Opera House found it almost impossible to come to an agreement about guarantees. The majority of the members of the DGOS management committee were strongly in favour of the visit taking place but Colonel O’Kelly hesitated until such time that the Opera House manager Bill Twomey and director Gus Healy came up with acceptable terms. Both O’Kelly and Donnie Potter were worried about the amount they could lose on the visit and it was further agreed that the society would not be asked to meet the salaries of members of the Radio Eireann Symphony Orchestra. While the society’s week of opera in Cork was voted an artistic success, as a commercial proposition it was far from satisfactory. Subsequent minutes of management meetings reveal that for months afterwards there were arguments between the Cork Opera House management and the DGOS about certain costs to be met such as outstanding overtime payment for the backstage Opera House staff. Donnie Potter says that correspondence continued for some time and it was finally agreed that before another visit could take place a special committee should be formed in Cork to ensure that the DGOS incurred no losses on any future visit. ‘We were being realistic,’ Potter added, ‘and made it known to the Opera House management that Cork itself must make a major contribution towards our costs. Bill Twomey and Gus Healy agreed to this but unfortunately another visit would not take place until 1971: To Harold Johnson, this was a great pity as it left the city once again starved of grand opera. At shareholders’ meetings he persistently asked when could they expect the next visit by the DGOS. ‘It didn’t make sense to me at the time that the DGOS wanted to come and somehow Cork itself wasn’t able to meet its modest guarantees.’ Members of the DGOS chorus have very happy memories of that 1967 visit, such as the warmth of the audiences, the receptions put on for them by the breweries and the overall sense of camaraderie the visit generated. Paddy Brennan says they all looked forward to Cork in that June and made a holiday out of it. Tom and John Carney felt it was good for the society to tour and it helped to inject a great team spirit. They were able to relax and in their free time visit scenic spots and have fun. Dick Hanrahan liked the Opera House as a venue and thought the acoustics there were excellent. ‘When the theatre was packed, as it was for the final three nights of our visit, there was an exciting atmosphere and a buzz of excitement. The Italian artists told me they loved the theatre and Cork itself. It was friendly and I remember there were a few late night restaurants where we could dine.’ To Florrie Draper and Maura Mooney it was akin to a week’s holiday and like the other choristers were hoping that the society could bring opera there every year. ‘I think we owed it to Cork,’ said Miss Draper, ‘as many of the opera-goers there could not come to Dublin to see our spring season presentations.’ Aileen Walsh had no doubt that Colonel O’Kelly wanted to visit Cork regularly but he had to be cautious as the society just could not afford to lose money. ‘I think that Bill was right in asking the Cork people to prepare the way for us and have certain guarantees in place. It was a pity though that four years went by from 1967 to 1971 without another visit.’
(Extracted from “Love and Music: The Glorious History of the Dublin Grand Opera Society” by Gus Smith, 1998)
Opera in Ireland 