Why there were tears for Ukraine and a fragile butterfly at an emotional night at Portsmouth's Kings Theatre

THE last two times I’ve come away from the Kings Theatre in Southsea I’ve been filled with happiness and festive cheer having fitted in an end-of-2024 double of The Pompey Panto and Christmas with Anton Du Beke (my wife made me go, honest...).

But I experienced a much more sobering experience late yesterday as I trudged through the fog-shrouded streets around Albert Road having witnessed a fantastic night of the opera which came with a rousing and unexpected finale. The mournful sounds of the fog horns from the Solent certainly added to the occasion as I returned to my car.

Puccini’s Madama Butterfly is a tear-jerker at the best of times. But the fact that last night’s Ellen Kent Production was with the Ukrainian Opera and Ballet Theatre in Kyiv added a level of poignancy. Members of the Kings crowd were already on their feet and applauding as the cast returned to the stage at the end of the performance to take their well-deserved bows. But then a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag was unfurled from one of the balconies and two members of the orchestra stood up holding another as their national anthem played, proudly sung by many of the company.

As one, the whole of the theatre came to its feet in rapturous applause which continued long after the anthem had finished. Tears were shed among the audience and from some of those on stage and these were still being dabbed away as we made our way out of the building. It was an incredible end and a fitting tribute not only to the five-star show but the fortitude of those present as they continue to hope for peace in their homeland.

But, back to the show. I can’t say I’m an opera buff. It wasn’t a staple of my childhood although I came to love it both through a growing appreciation of the arts as I aged and through introductions by more mainstream sources. Whether British Airways using The Flower Duet in its ads or the BBC’s iconic use of Nessun Dorma for Italia ‘90 you realise great operatic music is all around us. I have to admit, slightly shame-faced, I first came to Madama Butterfly through the most unusual source of the late Malcolm McLaren. The punk rock guru had already moved on to Buffalo Gals and Double Dutch when he released Fans, an album fusing opera recordings with 1980s R&B. It was there I fell in love with Butterfly’s haunting Un bel di Vedremo.

And the aria was there in all its original and impassioned glory last night as the Kings brought opera to the city this week, with Verdi’s La Traviata on Tuesday night and Madama Butterfly last night. And what a show it was, unravelling the tragic tale in two acts of Japanese geisha girl Cio-Cio San - the eponymous Madama Butterfly - and her love for and ultimate betrayal by United States navy lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton.

The set throughout was the couple’s Nagasaki marriage home in centre stage surrounded by its garden of flowers and ornaments. It provided a simple but effective backdrop - including the most dramatic scene played out in silhouette behind the house’s screen doors - to the incredible performances on stage. Standout was Elena Dee as Madama Butterfly but the supporting stars were definitely Yelyzaveta Bielous as her maid Suzuki and Iurie Gisca as US consul Sharpless. I couldn’t stop myself seething at times as Davit Sumbadze pledged his false and fleeting love for his 15-year-old bride in the role of Pinkerton and then was completely swept by sadness in act two as Cio-Cio San waited with expectation and excitement for the doomed return of Pinketon after a three-year absence.

So all in all a most dramatic night at the Kings who I applaud for bringing opera - even without the help of Malcolm McLaren - to the city.