Kaleidoscope

San Francisco Opera’s department of Diversity, Equity and Community presents Kaleidoscope, a digital and "walking" exhibit in the War Memorial Opera House during our June 2023 performances of Giacomo Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. Join us in the opera house or in the digital exhibit below to explore the beauty, controversy, and historical context of this operatic classic.

Madame Butterfly

Scan this QR code with the Actionbound app to start the walking exhibit in War Memorial Opera House; or, explore the articles, photos and commentary below.

Responses from the Asian Opera Alliance

Artists from the Asian Opera Alliance share their perspectives on Madame Butterfly as professionals in the industry.

Image: Chorus women from Madama Butterfly, San Francisco Opera, 1989.

Read Responses

From San Francisco Opera's production of Madame Butterfly, 1989.

San Francisco Opera's Madame Butterfly, 1989

Articles from Scholars in Residence

Madame Butterfly: A Controversy by Nick Ishimaru

What is Cultural Appropriation? by Nick Ishimaru

Yellowface in Western Theatre by Dr. Yining Lin

Images of Asian Women in Opera by Dr. Yining Lin

American Expansion and Imperialism by Dr. Yining Lin

Salvaging Classics by Nick Ishimaru

Image: Dorothy Kirsten in Madama Butterfly, San Francisco Opera, 1950. (Strohmeyer)

Learn More About Our Scholars

Images from the Archive

Browse the many iterations of Madame Butterfly through the years at San Francisco Opera.

1931

Madama Butterfly Cast, 1931. Photo: Morton.
1934

Eve Grunninger and Toshiko Hasigawa, 1934. Photo: Morton.
1950

Chorus Women, 1950. Photo: Strohmeyer.
1966

Teresa Stratas and Dorothy Krebill, 1966.
Madama Butterfly, 1974.
1984

Madama Butterfly, 1984.
1995

Cast of Madama Butterfly, 1995.
1995

Madama Butterfly, 1995.
2007

Madama Butterfly, 2007.
2010

Madama Butterfly, 2010.
2013

Madama Butterfly, 2013. Photo: Cory Weaver.
2016

Madama Butterfly, 2016.