Although appearing only a small part, mezzosoprano SARA-MARIA SAALMANN received great reviews for her interpretation of KATE PINKERTON in Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" at Staatstheater Meiningen, staged by Hendrik Müller: ",,, During the brief appearance of Sara-Maria Saalmann as KATE PINKERTON, who masters very convincingly the arrogant habitus of some US-Americans, one regrets above all ,that she has so little to sing..." "...Sara-Maria Saalmann as his wife KATE PINKERTON embodies the perfectly styled arrogant American girl, who wants to deal with this troublesome story in a distanced manner and with as little fuss as possible. Also this supporting role is effectively and excellently cast and Sara-Maria Saalmann impressing..." "...All in all, Meiningen could celebrate a remarkable ensemble performance. Sara-Maria Saalmann unfortunately only made a brief appearance as Pinkerton's wife KATE. ..." "... One is impressed by the vocal and theatrical artistry of the singers; even in the smaller roles.... Huge applause and cheers at the end..." (concerti, nmz, der opernfreund, die mainpost) photo: Christina Iberl PERFORMNACES: 12-04-2ß24 14-04-2024 17-05-2024 26-05-2024, 3pm 08-06-2024 15-06-2024 More information: https://www.staatstheater-meiningen.de/produktionen/madama-butterfly.html?ID_Vorstellung=9742&m=612 WEBSITE HENDRIK MÜLLER: www.AYNpmn-Sara-Maria- Saalmann.blogspot.com

First reviews for stage director HENDRIK MÜLLER's production of Puccini's "Madama Butterfly" at Staatstheater Meiningen, which surpised with its end. "Congenial - This is, how you get young people into opera!" "...Once again, director HENDRIK MÜLLER and his congenial team,that opera can inspire. With every new production of , it is not so much the what of the story that is exciting, but the how. There is no historical realism, that forces Puccini's successor into a corset, because that would leave this opera in rigor mortis, in terms of plot and characters. Cio-Cio-San is undoubtedly the main character, but she does not always have to be seen as the pitiable victim. This is precisely director HENDRIK MÜLLER's idea of his Butterfly. The fantasy and dreams of this young woman dominate everything from the very first moment. With a huge video projection of her face in black and white, in which the eyes already tell a story, you are drawn into her psyche and from then on you can no longer escape this immense fascination and obsession. HENDRIK MÜLLER stages everything precicly, and the result is a magical symbiosis between dramatic acting and highly emotional music, a very appealing surrealistic stage set and the changing colours and the changing colours of the sky in the background. American and Japanese clichés are used with a wink, without appearing ridiculous or even silly. MÜLLER and his team once more transform grand opera into grand cinema, without kitsching it up.... .... When the curtain rises, one sees amazed the gentle landing of an astronaut from the starry sky as we know it from the landing on the moon in 1969. The American flag on foreign soil becomes a symbol of hope.... ..... Pinkerton's house, by the way, an interesting slanted tableau in shades of pink with various levels, steps and a view over a railing into the horizon. This setting will remain and only change through light and colour.... .... In contrast to the imaginative kimonos and the elaborate hairstyles and masks the groom with his Trump hairstyle in a smart pink and green striped suit looks like a comic figure. .... Because Cio-Cio San has secretly converted to Christianity in order to "Americanise" herself, she is cursed by the priest Bonzo and poured all over with slime...3 Years have passed ... An US ship arrives... Are appearances deceptive or has Pinkerton really returned to his wife and child? It was just a dream. And again the huge video projection of Butterfly's face appears, mask-like, but the language of the eyes is different: disappointment, sadness and pain quietly erase every emotion... .... The sparing actionism of the direction leaves room, to consciously perceive the music in every phase of the events.... ... This new production leaves a glowing impression, enthusiasm, huge applause and respect. How do you get young people into the theatre? Like this!..." ."..Madama Butterfly is in the land of manga.... .... timelessly exotic fantasy world ... Construction of hermetically sealed cloud cuckoo land .... The heroine's loss of reality... The director's idea of setting the action in a fantasy world, is ingenious: Barbie and Ken in the world of Japanese manga comics: Pinkerton lands as an American astronaut on the quirky roof garden of his future estate, encounters all kinds of amazingly costumed creatures, but views the whole thing with an arrogant 'America first' gesture and returns at the end with an American Barbie. Cultural arrogance - satirically exaggerated. This provides colourful fantasy images against a truly threatening cloudy backdrop.... The ending is powerful... Huge cheers..." "... Puccini's tear-jerking tragedy Madama Butterfly is staged by HENDRIK MÜLLER and his team at Staatstheater with ironic exaggeration and clear criticism of the USA... ....Family idyll under the US banner. In this ambience in front of a projected sky, between the twinkling stars at night and colourful clouds, director HENDRIK MÜLLER tells the story in a quite conventional way, with small references to the present, such as a toy space shuttle for the son of Pinkerton and Cio-Cio San. Even the replacement of the old rich prince Yamadori by a pop singer with a boy band also points in this direction... ... Here Butterfly is a woman, who is by no means just the victim, but is pursuing her own (life) plan. This includes breaking with her family and with her family and her origins as well as well as the use of a child to push through her plans... The fact that the son only appears in the dream of the family idyll as a living child, and otherwise only as a doll .... is also part of the great distancing from the sentimental, tear-jerking image of the opera... Cheers for the music, the protagonists .... and the production team .... " "... Hendrik Müller (director) brings Pinkerton to Japan, but not as a naval officer across the sea. Here he floats in from above. From outer space. In a space suit, he lands in the world of Cio-Cio San.... ... When her relatives arrive, led by her priest uncle Bonzo, who breaks up the wedding ceremony with a veritable curse, with which he casts out Cio-Cio San, it becomes clear that this is an outdated society itself desperately fighting against its downfall, i.e. its transition into the modern age... ... This is unmistakable on the stage. A house with a Far Eastern feel, almost sunken, with a sloping roof terrace on which a starry banner has been planted like after the first moon landing... .... The director uses exaggeration to create a distance from the staging cliché of this opera, which premiered in 1904.... (e.g. there is) a puppet substitute for Butterfly and Pinkerton's son. He only becomes a living person in the dream sequences of the family idyll under the twinkling stars at night. Butterfly, of course, sets her son without any particular scruples as a weapon in the struggle to realise her life plans, which, as we all know, she fails at... ... As self-confident in the play ... as Cio-Cio San upgrades to Turandot format, she is less a young victim, but rather a pathological case of denial of reality. A somewhat quirky, but definitely an approach worth considering..." (der opernfreund, concerti, nmz, die mainpost) PERFORMNACES: 12-04-2ß24 14-04-2024 17-05-2024 26-05-2024, 3pm 08-06-2024 15-06-2024, 7:30pm More information: https://www.staatstheater-meiningen.de/produktionen/madama-butterfly.html?ID_Vorstellung=9742&m=612 WEBSITE HENDRIK MÜLLER: www.AYNpmn-Hendrik-Mueller.blogspot.com