Photos from the Vancouver Opera Madama Butterfly

Although the Vancouver Opera performance of Madama Butterfly is now over, I finally found the pictures of the stage and the backstage area that I took during the backstage tour that the VO was kind enough to invite me along on.

The first shot here is of the stage from what I believe to be Stage Left. If memory serves me correctly, when facing the audience from on the stage is the way to tell stage directions…if I am incorrect I am sure someone will correct me.

As one of my fellow bloggers pointed out, the stage reminded her of a 1960s game show stage. I couldn’t help but think of Maxwell Smart and his Agent 88 routine.

On the stage there was a like a stage within the stage. The oval-shaped platform was where the majority of the dramatic action took place.

And if you look closely at the raised oval, you can see the little red bits of tape on the floor. That is so that the actors know just where to stand during a scene. The Director of Artistic Planning, Tom Wright, told us that in some of the big New York Broadway shows the stages actually have multi-coloured LED lights built into the stage.

As we exited the stage the stage props were pointed out to us. They are all neatly arranged on a table with labels in place so that they are ready to be used in the performance.

Also backstage were the multi-coloured umbrellas that the women would be carrying onto stage. It was nifty to see the way that stage props are constructed out of the simplest, and yet most effective materials.

And then there was the butterfly. Each time Madama Butterfly appeared on stage, this butterfly was also on stage.

Finally, perhaps the coolest part of the backstage tour was seeing the desk/work station of the individual who is in charge of the entire performance. As you can see in the picture below, they have a binder with everything about everything. They also have a little switch that when they switch it on the conductor knows to prolong a musical break in the performance. They obviously only do this if there is a problem on stage that needs to be addressed before the show can continue.

Overall, I was very impressed with the way that the organization of the Vancouver Opera treated me and my blogger colleagues. The show was a gorgeous production that was a joy to see. Very much looking forward to the coming season!!