Overview
Synopsis
M. Butterfly tells the story of a French diplomat posted in China, Rene Gallimard, who is brought to ruin and, eventually, convicted for espionage, after a twenty-year affair with a Beijing Opera diva. The diva, citing her Chinese modesty, manages to never appear naked in front of Gallimard. Thus, not only had Gallimard failed to recognize that this lover was a spy; he'd also failed to recognize that "she" was, in fact a he. The singer spies on Gallimard for the Chinese government, using Gallimard's own fantasies of submissive oriental femininity to deceive and manipulate him. Loosely based on the real-life relationship between French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and male Peking opera singer Shi Pei Pu, David Henry Hwang's award-winning drama also draws inspiration from Puccini's opera, Madama Butterfly.
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Context
In 1986, playwright David Henry Hwang heard the story of Bernard Boursicot, a French diplomat convicted of espionage, who believed that his lover Shi Pei Pu (a Peking Opera singer) was a woman. Hwang was fascinated: How could someone not know their lover’s gender? As Hwang stated in his afterward to M. Butterfly: “I therefore concluded that the diplomat must have fallen in love not with a person, but with a fantasy stereotype.”
Using this fantasy stereotype layered with Puccini’s opera
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Act One
It is present day, a Paris prison. In his cell, Rene Gallimard remembers Song Liling, whom he remembers as his “Butterfly.” Song dances, first to a traditional song from Peking Opera, then the music transitions to Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. Gallimard turns to the audience and describes his cell, acknowledging the tape recorder in front of him so that he might record his story. He ironically notes that now he is a celebrity, that he is discussed worldwide at cocktail parties.
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Character Portrayals
See StageAgent members who have performed roles in M. Butterfly.
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Guide Written By:
Cindi Calhoun
Theatre teacher, director, writer, and seamstress