The Listener’s Guide – Illusion, Power, and Puccini: Decoding M. Butterfly

The Listener’s Guide examines how David Henry Hwang’s *M. Butterfly* reworks Giacomo Puccini’s *Madama Butterfly*. This pre-performance lecture considers how the later work dismantles familiar operatic conventions and uses illusion, identity, gender, imperialism, and power to expose the ways fantasy and romantic self-deception can obscure reality.

The discussion also explores how *M. Butterfly* transforms Puccini’s tragic motifs into a critique of perception, desire, power dynamics, and the assumptions people bring to relationships and cultural representation.

When: Saturday, November 14

Showtimes: 4–6 PM

Run time: 2 hours

Venue: The Italian Cultural Society of Washington D.C., 4833 Rugby Ave, Suite 201, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. The source page lists the event as in person.

Tickets: Price not available

Refund policy: Refunds are available up to 7 days before the event.

Organizer: The Italian Cultural Society of Washington D.C.