Anthony Minghella and Madama Butterfly: A Conversation with Sir Mark Elder

Anthony Minghella’s production of Puccini’s acclaimed Madama Butterfly at theMetropolitan Opera in 2006 starred Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domâs in the titularrole of a fifteen-year-old (in Act I) girl from Nagasaki who converts to Christianity to marry awesterner only to learn that it is no more than a marriage of convenience for him. Acclaimedfor Academy-Award winning films such as The English Patient and The Talented Mr Ripley,Minghella also had several plays to his credit and was as much a master of stagecraft as hewas of cinema.The production was conducted by Sir Mark Elder, who has been the music director of theEnglish National Opera (1979-1993) and the Hallé Orchestra (1999-present) as well as thePresident of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (2014-present). The following conversation,conducted shortly after Anthony Minghella’s death, contains Sir Mark’s reflections onworking with Minghella and on the challenges associated with bringing Puccini’smasterpiece to the stage.