32
a GrEat loSS
anthony minghella’s first film, Truly,
Madly, Deeply, focused on grief and
loss. Starring Juliet Stevenson, it
displayed his passion for both
emotional intensity and classical
music — a passion which would
culminate in his Madam Butterfly.
‘In Truly, Madly, Deeply he understood
that the rhythms of human speech
connect to complicated internal loss.
the dialogue is extraordinarily
rhythmic, coming from the heart, head
and the mouth. With beautiful music,
it’s the same thing: so many emotions
can be elicited in one movement.’
Juliet Stevenson
mary Plazas as madam Butterfly
In HIS oWn WorDS...
‘Madam Butterfly is a perfectly judged
piece, heartbreaking and full of
emotional authenticity, and one that
appeals to the heart and the head. this
production is being driven by a series
of people I really care about — carolyn
choa, David Parry, michael levine.
collectively we’ve always admired the
austerity of Japanese staging and how
incredible precision is used to achieve
great beauty.’
anthony minghella on
his original 2005 production
‘One might have expected this most
refined and seductive of film-makers
to have graced the Coliseum stage
with a series of beautiful images. What
one hadn’t expected was his total
command of that stage, his thorough
appreciation of what makes opera fill it.
This Butterfly is at once the simplest
and most sumptuous thing we’ve ever
seen in this theatre.’
the Independent
anthony minghella with
carolyn choa
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