Tribune Arts, Irland, 5. April 2009

Karen Dervan

Madama Butterfly

Rating: 4/5 It is little short of a miracle that EMI saw this mammoth project through to its unimaginably expensive conclusion, having sworn five years ago the label would not release another full-scale opera recording. Angela Gheorghiu, debuting in the title role, is the disc's biggest selling point but not the highlight; the splendour of her soprano is always a joy but here it becomes the imperative of her interpretation, with the emotional and psychological depths of Butterfly thus explored rather superficially. Jonas Kaufmann's Pinkerton and Enkelejda Shkosa's Suzuki are more sensitive to the veiled nuances of their characters, while Pappano's delivery of the orchestral score is the very epitome of intuitive sensitivity.