The Greek National Opera is set to present French director Olivier Py’s new production of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.”

The production will mark his first staging of “Madama Butterfly” with a production that places the orchestra onstage and fills the outdoor venue with the aesthetics and colors of America and Japan. GNO conductor Vassilis Christopoulos will lead the opera which is set to star Korean soprano Anna Sohn in her GNO debut as Cio-Cio-San, Italian tenor Andrea Carè in his GNO debut in the lead role of Pinkerton, Alisa Kolosova as Suzuki, Dionysios Sourbis as Sharpless, Diamanti Kritsotaki as Kate Pinkerton, Yannis Kalyvas as Goro, Haris Andrianos as Prince Yamadori, Petros Magoulas as Bonzo, Petros Salatas as Yakuside, and others.

In a statement Py said, “’Madama Butterfly’ is generally considered a melodrama lacking in political depth, set in a fantastical Japan. Since the 19th century, librettists and composers have tended to shift contemporary societal problems to other, faraway places. The hope is that the power of Puccini’s political message shall be apparent in our staging, and that this incongruous work shall no longer be considered some sad and sentimental story in a saccharine setting, but rather a powerful piece of political discourse that portends the death of a world.”

Performances will take place at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus on June 1, 4, 7, & 10, 2023.