HOUSTON BALLET DANCES 'MADAME BUTTERFLY' IN KANSAS CITY
PRESENTED BY THE HARRIMAN-JEWELL SERIES

WHAT: HOUSTON BALLET in MADAME BUTTERFLY
Stanton Welch, artistic director and choreographer

PRESENTED BY: HARRIMAN-JEWELL SERIES

WHEN: Tuesday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: MUSIC HALL , downtown Kansas City, Mo. (13th and Central Sts.)

TICKETS: $20, $25, $40, $55, $70. call 816-415-5025 or visit www.harriman-jewell.org

PROGRAM: Madame Butterfly, a full-length ballet by Stanton Welch

HIGH-RESOLUTION IMAGES: |

EDUCATIONAL EVENT: Houston Ballet will offer excerpts from Madame Butterfly in a free "young persons' performance" at 11 a.m. Wednesday, October 17, at the Music Hall. Please contact Heather Forbis at 816-415-5025 for more information.

The Houston Ballet, one of the nation's best ballet companies, dances the full-length story ballet Madame Butterfly at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 16, at the Music Hall (13th and Central Sts.) in downtown Kansas City, Mo.  The Harriman-Jewell Series presents the acclaimed company in Kansas City for a seventh time—the company's last K.C. appearance was in 2005.

The two-act work tells the story of the beautiful geisha Cio-Cio-San who renounces her faith and her family to wed Lieutenant Pinkerton, the handsome, but cynical American naval officer who is betrothed to another. The centerpiece of the work is a ravishing wedding night pas de deux for Pinkerton and Cio-Cio-San, which closes the first act.

Madame Butterfly is Australian choreographer Stanton Welch's first full-length ballet, and was premiered by The Australian Ballet in 1995. "When I first became interested in choreography I was working as an extra with The Australian Opera. While my father drove me home, I would quiz him on various opera stories, searching for the one most suited for ballet. The one he spoke about most passionately, and in the most detail, was later to become my passion; it is the story of Cio-Cio-San and her fatal love for Pinkerton," observed Welch. "Madame Butterfly seems to have been destined for dance ever since Mr. Puccini's conception of the operatic Madame Butterfly in 1903."

Welch's ballet uses the orchestral score of Puccini's opera, in an arrangement by British conductor John Lanchbery. The story of Madame Butterfly originated in the 1887 novel by French author Pierre Loti, entitled Madame Chrysantheme. Loti's book was the basis of an opera by Andre Messager in 1893. In 1898, the short story Madame Butterfly, written by John Luther Long, appeared in Century Magazine. Long's story was based on a real Butterfly whose "husband" had been a British merchant.

On March 5, 1900, Madame Butterfly, a one-act play written by David Belasco, opened on Broadway. The production traveled to London later that year. Puccini was in London for the premiere of Tosca at Covent Garden and saw Belasco's play on opening night. Puccini was so moved by the play that he began work on his operatic Madame Butterfly almost immediately.

Stanton Welch assumed leadership of Houston Ballet in July 2003. He is one of the most sought after choreographers of his generation, having created works for such prestigious international companies as Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Australian Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, and Royal Danish Ballet.

Tickets to the Houston Ballet performance are $20, $25, $40, $55, or $70; please call the Harriman-Jewell Series at 816-415-5025 (or toll free at 888-528-5521). Tickets and event information are also available at www.harriman-jewell.org. The Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation sponsors this downtown Kansas City presentation. Additional financial support for this performance has been provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

Now in its 43rd season, the nationally recognized Harriman-Jewell Series brings acclaimed performers from the worlds of music, dance, and theatre to Kansas City’s downtown venues. In addition to the performances, Educational Events offer free master classes and lectures to allow area community members and students to view artists in an informal setting. Peterson’s Smart Parents Guide to College cites the Series as a prime example of how small colleges “can become centers of culture for an entire region.”

harriman-jewell series: houston ballet web page

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