Mariposa
Mariposa: a Queer Tragedy Inspired by Puccini’s Madame Butterfly
Under the flickering neon lights of a distant Caribbean port, a local rent boy and a foreign sailor fall ominously in love in choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra’s inventive reimagining of Puccini’s seminal opera. DeNada Dance Theatre’s Madame Butterfly is immersed in a mist of Havana smoke, within which a young man is asked to sacrifice his gender in exchange of love and a better life.
Mariposa is an operatic dance drama that transports Puccini’s Orientalist libretto to post-revolution Cuba, to a dockland world of faded showgirls, hopeful rent boys, troubled sailors and santeria spirits. Engulfed in a tropical storm of repressed desires, this brand new production is a passionate and deeply moving exploration of what we are ready to sacrifice in order to be loved and accepted.
Set to an original score by Spanish composer Luis Miguel Cobo, which takes its inspiration from Caribbean sounds as well as Puccini, with libretto by French- Indian writer Karthika Nair, with designs by Ryan Laight and lighting by Barnaby Booth.
“★★★★”
“There is nothing like Pons Guerra’s work elsewhere on the British stage”
“Pons Guerra’s Mariposa is full of vivid images, super choreography, and impressive and thoughtful characterisation.”
“The man who wears the uniform of a sailor is in no way pledged or bound to obey the rules of prudence”
—Jean Genet, Querelle of Brest
DeNada Dance Theatre in Mariposa: dancers Harry Alexander, Stan West, Corey Annand, Michael Márquez and Jaivant Patel. Photography by Emma Kauldhar
“The combination of tenderness and savage disappointment make Mariposa a powerful, if disturbing, show.”
British Theatre Guide
Trailer for Mariposa: a Queer Tragedy Inspired by Puccini’s Madame Butterfly
Carlos Pons Guerra talks to One Dance UK about the inspiration for Mariposa
Carlos Pons Guerra talks to Dance Europe about queering Madame Butterfly
“A trans Madama Butterfly that will linger in the mind and will take a lot of beating.”
Credits
Choreography and direction: Carlos Pons Guerra
Music: Luis Miguel Cobo
Libretto: Karthika Nair
“Best of all, it’s a great piece of storytelling; one I suspect most are unlikely to forget.”
Design: Ryan Laight
Lighting: Barnaby Booth
Rehearsal director: Yen Ching Lin
Producer: Sarah Shead
Technical manager: Josh Tomalin
“Bold and thought-provoking, it does not flinch from any kind of potent imagery or radical ideas.”
Original cast:
Mariposa: Harry Alexander
Leonora Stapleton as Madame Gertrudis. Photo by Joe Armitage
Preston: Stan West
Gertrudis: Jaivant Patel
Kate: Corey Annand
Imle: Michael Márquez
Ochún: Jaivant Patel
Premiered at Birmingham Hippodrome, September 2021
Commissioned by Birmingham Dance Hub and Spin Arts, with further support from DanceXchange, Arts Council England, the British Council, Northern Ballet, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Yorkshire Dance
Featured
Jaivant Patel as Madame Gertrudis and Harry Alexander as Mariposa. Photo by Emma Kauldhar
ABOUT Mariposa
Mariposa is choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra’s new production for DeNada Dance Theatre.. In collaboration with composer Luis Miguel Cobo and writer Karthika Nair, it presents a queer and Hispanic reimagining of Puccini’s seminal opera, Madame Butterfly.
Set in Cuba during the 1970’s-1980’s, the work is part tragedy, part soap opera, part fable, full of elements of magic realism and Yoruba (African animist religions brought to the Caribbean by slaves, such as voodoo) spirituality. Like Puccini’s opera, Mariposa explores the sexual politics of colonialism and race, offering a queer lens to this operatic archetype.
Drawing on classical ballet, contemporary dance and Cuban/Dominican folk dance, this is a truly innovative retelling of a classic opera that sheds light on the harshness of life for the homosexual and transgender community in the Hispanic Caribbean.
What are we ready to sacrifice for love? What are ready to give up, to change in ourselves, to destroy or create, to be accepted by our loved one? These are the questions that run through the heart of the work in this passionate, at times darkly comical, and emotive narrative that will captivate dance, opera and general audiences alike.
Technical Details
Running time: 1.40 hours including interval
Age guidance: 12+
Company: 5 dancers, 3 artistic staff
Suitable for midscale theatres or larger small scale theatres
Available for international touring
Download dossier here
Download tech spec here
Carlos Pons Guerra describes the ideas and process behind Mariposa