Triumphant and touching

A standing ovation, no less, greeted Miriam Gauci, twice, at the end of her triumphant performance of Puccini’s ‘Japanese’ masterpiece at Gozo’s Aurora Opera House. As I remarked at the end of her highly successful lieder evening at the Manoel Theatre some months ago, hers then was not a comeback but a continuation. If those who missed that event were sceptical as to what she could do with Butterfly after years of not having sung a full opera, such doubts were swept aside after this performance.  She went in to the deep end, because Madama Butterfly is a very tough nut. The soprano taking this role has to be on stage almost all the time through the three acts, here reduced to two by artistic director Enrico Castiglione. However, knowing Gauci’s track record, Madama Butterfly is the role with which she is most indelibly associated. Yes, of course, I love her Mimi, Manon and Angelica – but, the tragic Japanese heroine is a role she brings to life in every imaginable way. Gauci is Butterfly when she sings and acts this role and, meeting her on stage after the performance, she still had not quite come out of it. The emotion was still intense for her and for the public. There were...