Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly debuted in Milan in 1904 to lukewarm reception, however it has since become one of the most renowned operas of all-time. U.S. naval officer B.F. Pinkerton secures a Japanese bride, Cio-Cio San, during his tour in Nagasaki. Pinkerton regards his newly acquired geisha and home merely as pieces of a romantic chapter in his roaming, adventurous youth. Cio-Cio San, or Madama Butterfly, believes unwaveringly that she has found a husband for life, renouncing her Buddhist faith, angering her family, and devoting herself to a new life with her American husband. Time passes, and three years later Cio-Cio San is alone in their home, longingly waiting for Pinkerton's return. Despite advice to the contrary, she prepares to bear his child, confident that he is faithful to her. After their son's birth, Pinkerton finally does arrive. However, he brings along with him his newly-wed American bride. The devastated Cio-Cio San, unable to bear the news, takes her own life, preferring death to a life of shame.
