Under the baton of Gao Weichun, chief conductor of the opera house, and directed by veteran soprano Li Dandan, the shows are being held to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the national opera house.

Both operas have been among the repertoire of the central opera house since the 1950s: La Traviata premiered in 1956 while Madame Butterfly debuted two years later.

But it was not until July in 2001 that La Traviata was sung in Italian and last May that Madame Butterfly was rendered in Italian. The soon to-be-seen productions are the latest Italian versions.

Directed by artists from the former Soviet Union, La Traviata was the first Western opera performed by China's central opera house. Later, in 1979 and 1993, the national opera house restaged the opera twice and both performances evoked hearty responses from audiences and critics.

In order to display the original Italian flavor and mark the 100th anniversary of the death of renowned Italian musician Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901), the opera house invited well-known conductor Riccardo Capasso and director Gianfranco De Bosio from the birthplace of opera to restage the work in Italian in July 2001.

Bosio recreated the Parisian demi-monde, a hedonistic world where the life of pleasure affords no place for the frailties of the human heart.

Based on Dumas' The Lady of the Camellias, it is a compelling tale of love, sacrifice and death.

The courtesan Violetta sacrifices her love for Alfredo to protect the honour of his family. Later, reunited, they dream of their future life together, but she dies in his arms.

One of the most popular operas of all time, Madame Butterfly is based on a true incident as reported in Nagasaki newspaper shortly before World War I.

Puccini considered it one of his most beloved compositions, along with La Boheme.

His love and devotion to the character Butterfly is evident in the magnificent arias he created for her, including the ravishing "Un bel di" and the joyous "Tuttii fior." Puccini's music finds its way into every heart that experiences it.

Madame Butterfly passionately explores the consequences of obsessive devotion.

Pinkerton, an American navy officer, falls in love with a Japanese girl, Cio-Cio-San, known as Butterfly, and goes through a ceremony of marriage with her despite the warnings of the American consul.

Pinkerton goes back to the US, but Butterfly waits for his return with their child, Trouble, and her maid Suzuki.

Pinkerton returns with his new American wife and soon learns he has a son. The grief-stricken Butterfly kills herself.

The music is emotionally powerful, expressive, immediate and theatrical.

Puccini scores melodic motifs, harmonic dissonance, long melodic lines and sophisticated orchestration.

Both of the sopranos, Ma Mei as Cio-Cio-San and Yao Hong as Violetta, rose to fame even before they enlarged their reputation by being engaged in the Three Tenors' concert in the Forbidden City in June, 2001.

Violetta's part is a musical roller coaster full of dazzling leaps, sparkling ornamental flourishes and rapturous lyricism.

Yao makes the singing role sound effortless, not only negotiating its challenging obstacle course of technical difficulties, but doing so with power, authority and emotional commitment.

Yao's acting has an air of apparent simplicity and she appears to make no effort to dramatize the situation physically, with the color of her voice depicting every emotion and sensation she is experiencing.

Her performance might be attributed in part to her nearly two years' study of Italian, which has helped her overcome the language barrier and learn more about the opera's original style.

Compared to Yao's Violetta, Cio-Cio-San is one of Ma's signature roles, which she has performed at home and abroad over a dozen times in recent years.

"Cio-Cio-San is the character I love best among all those I have performed," said Ma, winner of the 1997 Miami International Vocal Competition.

"It is a challenge for my voice and performance, for she commands the stage throughout the show."

Ma is a mature and touching soprano in her role as Cio-Cio-San, said Li Jinwei recently after watching a rehearsal for the upcoming shows.

Li, now in her 70s, once performed the role in the 1950s.

(China Daily January 8, 2003)