“Madama Butterfly” fuses modern and classic seamlessly into one Lyric Opera masterpiece. On March 22nd, 2026, the main cast and orchestra outdid themselves with raw emotion and soul-stirring vocals for the Giacomo Puccini’s classic.

The melodramatic opera, which is set in present-day/early 20th Century Nagasaki, Japan, starts with a man named B.F. Pinkerton (Evan Leroy Johnson) in his room getting ready to start a new virtual reality game. After choosing the one with Madama Butterfly, he’s whisked into a colorful world of traditions, family, and romance. Under the alias of a U.S. Navy Lieutenant, Pinkerton meets his game bride, Madama Butterfly aka Cio-Cio-San (Karan Son). She shows him her prized possessions, he meets her friends and family, and gets hitched in a fantasy world by the Imperial Commissioner (Christopher Humbert, Jr) and Official Registrar (Sankara Harouna). The fun-filled occasion is rained on by a relative wedding crasher. Uncle The Bonze (Jongwon Han), who accuses Cio-Cio-Cio of abandoning her roots and curses the virtual couple. His words ignite backlash from the wedding party against Cio-Cio-San.

After Pinkerton protects his bride from The Bonze and the crowd, the happy couple enjoy their first night together and the game ends.

Three years later, the audience meets Pinkerton and his real life bride, Kate Pinkerton (Alexis Peart). She is upset with all his constant gaming. He is neglecting their relationship, because he seems completely obsessed with Madama Butterfly’s world. He starts observing Cio-Cio-San and even incorporates a letter into the game to big farewell to his virtual wife.

Game character Cio-Cio-San mirrors her human gamer and is obsessed with him returning to play. She searches for his military ship and is consumed by the desire to see him again. Their virtual love has resulted in a reward of a son. She longs for the family to be reunited.

Pinkerton’s letter is given to Cio-Cio-San via U.S. Consul Sharpless (Zachary Nelson). However, she is too excited to hear Sharpless’ complete narration of the letter. Joyous preparations begin for Pinkerton’s grand return when she spots an American military ship arriving. Cio-Cio-San, her maidservant Suzuki (Nozomi Kato), and son happily decorate their home and wait patiently for Pinkerton’s arrival.

Time passes, and the realization of Pinkerton never returning starts setting in. The maidservant even shows signs of distress. In the real world, Kate Pinkerton is so fed up with her husband’s gaming addiction, she starts playing the game herself. The married couple eventually join the game together, and Pinkerton returns to Madama Butterfly’s home with his wife. Chaos ensues when Cio-Cio-San learns of Pinkerton’s new relationship status and makes a heartbreaking decision regarding her own future.

The updated “Madama Butterfly’ story is genius! Lyric Opera’s Chief Artistic Administration Officer, Matthew Ozawa directed this production alongside a Japanese and Japanese American creative team. Today’s audience can easily relate to Pinkerton’s gaming love quickly turning obsession. The virtual reality game, which was meant to innocently entertain him, becomes a stumbling block in his new marriage and threatens his real life happiness. This opera also pays homage to its roots by singing every song in Italian.

Conductor Domingo Hindoyan keeps viewers captivated throughout the entire show. The pieces range from classic tunes to modern-day gaming alerts. The entire cast and crew deserves a standing ovation for every show due to superior vocals, evocative acting, and gorgeous moving background sets. This is a must see!

“Madama Butterfly” is currently playing at the Lyric Opera House in Chicago, IL until April 12th, 2026.

A special thanks to The Silverman Group and the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the press passes and images.