Madama Butterfly

This is a wonderful example of why Dorothy Kirsten was considered one of the great singing actors of her time. She manages to sound like the 15-year-old Cio-Cio-San, shy, but filled with delight as she begins her new life as the wife of U.S. Navy Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton (Eugenio Fernandi). As the tragedy of her abandonment unfolds, Kirsten conveys all the raw emotion without losing the transparent sheen of her voice. And with the great Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting, there is emotion galore.