Puccini's tragic tale of Cio-Cio-San returns to the stage of the Hungarian State Opera between 11 and 22 July 2026, with Gabriella Létay Kiss and Orsolya Ferenczy sharing the title role. Following 178 performances and several highly successful tours across Asia, Miklós Gábor Kerényi's production takes its final bow at the Ybl Palace on Andrássy Avenue during this summer run.
A relationship is often experienced very differently by the two people within it. When those two people come from entirely different worlds, and their bond is shaped by unequal power and social vulnerability, unwavering faith in love is destined to end in tragedy.
The heartbreaking story of the young geisha Cio-Cio-San is made unforgettable by Giacomo Puccini's music of extraordinary dramatic sensitivity. Its best-loved moments, including the aria Un bel dì, vedremo and the famous Humming Chorus, linger long in the memory, embodying the hope and steadfast belief in love that make the heroine's collapse, as she clings to her "temporary marriage", so profoundly moving.
The Hungarian State Opera premiered Miklós Gábor Kerényi's production in June 2000 to mark the company's 1000th performance of Madama Butterfly. Designed by Kentaur with period costumes and sets by Ilona Vágvölgyi, the staging embarked immediately after its premiere at the Erkel Theatre on a 19-venue tour of Japan. It later appeared in Bangkok and, more recently, in Dubai and Taiwan. Having now been performed 172 times, the production will make way after this summer series for a new staging by internationally acclaimed Czech director Barbora Horáková, created this year for the Grand Théâtre de Genève in collaboration with the Hungarian State Opera.
During the summer performances, the title role is sung by Gabriella Létay Kiss, who has portrayed Cio-Cio-San to great acclaim nearly two dozen times in this production, both in Hungary and abroad. For the final performance, Orsolya Ferenczy takes on the title role, whose portrayal of the role previously won critical and public acclaim in Szeged. This autumn, she will also appear as Cio-Cio-San in a new production at the Pécs National Theatre. The role of the American naval lieutenant Pinkerton is performed by the Hungarian State Opera's leading tenors, Gergely Boncsér and Boldizsár László.
Suzuki, Butterfly's devoted maid, is sung by Andrea Szántó and Erika Gál, while the American consul Sharpless is portrayed by Csaba Sándor and Csaba Szegedi. Both Andrea Szántó and Csaba Sándor make their role debuts on the stage of the Opera House. Goro is sung by Péter Balczó, and Prince Yamadori by Barna Bartos. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by István Dénes, Liszt Prize-winning conductor and eternal member of the Hungarian State Opera, with Gábor Csiki serving as chorus director.
Madama Butterfly, directed by Miklós Gábor Kerényi, are performed for the final time at the Hungarian State Opera on 11, 14, 16, 18, 21 and 22 July 2026, with all performances beginning at 6 pm.
Photo by Zsófia Pályi
