not well received. The premier in Milan was a fiasco, as Puccini's sister, Ramelde, wrote in a letter to her husband: It is very difficult to judge why the version which premiered in Milan left the audience in such disappointment, since it is not that different from the version that triumphed in Brescia just a few months later. Madama Butterfly has been criticized by some American intellectuals for orientalism. Despite these opinions, Madama Butterfly has been successfully performed in Japan in various adaptions from 1914, Puccini's music going relatively unnoticed in respect to the racy libretto. Today Madama Butterfly is the sixth most performed opera in the world and considered a masterpiece, with Puccini's orchestration praised as limpid, fluent and refined. is the most famous aria from Madama Butterfly and one of the most recognizable soprano arias in the world of opera. Recordings Adaptations 1915: A silent film version was directed by Sidney Olcott and starred Mary Pickford. 1919: A silent (tinted) film version (titled Harakiri) directed by Fritz Lang and starring Paul Biensfeldt, Lil Dagover, Georg John and Niels Prien. 1922: A silent color film, The Toll of the Sea, based on the opera/play was released. This movie, which starred Anna May Wong in her first leading role, moved the storyline to China. It was the second two-color Technicolor motion picture ever released and the first film made using Technicolor Process 2. 1931: Concise Chōchō-san by the Takarazuka Revue 1932: Madame Butterfly, a non-singing drama (with ample portions of Puccini's score in the musical underscoring) made by Paramount starring Sylvia Sidney and Cary Grant in black & white. 1940: "Madame Butterfly's Illusion", a 12-minute Japanese silhouette animation film. 1954: Madame Butterfly, a screen adaptation of the opera, directed by Carmine Gallone jointly produced by Italy's Cineriz and Japan's Toho. The film was shot in Technicolor at Cinecittà in Rome, Italy. Starring Japanese actress Kaoru Yachigusa as Cio-Cio San and Italian tenor Nicola Filacuridi as Pinkerton, and with Japanese actors and Italian actors, dubbed by Italian opera singers. 1965: Sao Krua Fah, a 16 mm Thai film starred by Mitr Chaibancha and Pisamai Wilaisak. 1974: Madama Butterfly, a German television adaptation of the opera starring Mirella Freni and Plácido Domingo, directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. 1988: The play M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang is partially based on Madama Butterfly as well as the story of French diplomat Bernard Boursicot and