The Cagliari Opera House is focusing on internationalization and is bringing together Sardinian talents in an Italian-Chinese cultural exchange project.
With these words, Superintendent Andrea Cigni introduced the new production "Butterfly Lovers." The three-act opera, with libretto and music by Andrea Granitzio, a Cagliari-born artist and composer, will be performed at the Lirico in the summer of 2027, before traveling to China as part of a tour of the Cagliari Foundation's major opera houses.
The costumes are by the prestigious Alghero-born designer Antonio Marras, the sets by Cagliari-born architect Pierandrea Angius, and the jewelry by Nuoro-born architect Flavio Manzoni. These works were created with full respect for the dramaturgy and Chinese folk tradition.
"This is the first opera to feature Pinuccio Sciola's sound stones, my personal tribute to the great artist," said Granitzio.
The opera will be directed by Giovanni Pasini. It draws inspiration from the folk legend of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai—the two protagonists, a tenor and a soprano—dating the Song Dynasty (960–1278 AD) or, even earlier, the Tang Dynasty (618–906 AD), and is set during the Jin Dynasty (265–420 AD). There are five characters, plus a chorus and a dance company for the wedding procession scene: Zhu Yingtai (soprano), Liang Shanbo (tenor), Maid (contralto), Yingtai's mother (soprano), and Yingtai's father (bass). Known as the "Chinese Romeo and Juliet," the legend of "Butterfly Lovers" carries a universal message that spans time and cultures, inspiring traditional theatrical performances and, more recently, animations, TV series, films, and musical compositions, most famously the concerto for violin and orchestra by Chinese composers He Zhanhao and Chen Gang.
A group of six cities led by Ningbo, twinned with Verona under the name "Butterfly Lovers," has applied to UNESCO to have this legend recognized as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Five characters, along with the chorus and a dance troupe for the wedding procession scene, feature: Zhu Yingtai (soprano), Liang Shanbo (tenor), the Maid (contralto), Yingtai's Mother (soprano), and Yingtai's Father (bass). The opera's three acts symbolically reflect the three life stages of a butterfly: silkworm, chrysalis, and adult.
