Jaho returns to the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Tirana after shining in the lead roles of Manon Lesacat at the Royal Opera House in London and as Mathilde in Rossini’s “Guillame Tell” in Brussels in early 2014
TIRANA, March 27 – Internationally renowned Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho returns home after a seven-year absence to perform one of her favourite pieces, the title role of Cio-Cio San in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.”
Jaho returns to the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Tirana after shining in the lead roles of Manon Lesacat at the Royal Opera House in London and as Mathilde in Rossini’s “Guillame Tell” in Brussels in early 2014.
Speaking in an interview with VoA in the local Albanian service, Jaho said she is looking forward to the opera and dedicates her performance to Albanian women.
“I have always considered the role of Madama Butterfly connected to Albanian women in general because to me, the role of Cio-Cio San, is the embodiment of a woman’s spirit because of loving like a teenage, hoping like a child and self-sacrificing like a prophet. And I can tell you these are extraordinary great virtues which I strongly feel or everyone of us feels in Albanian women, and our mothers for the sacrifices they have made,” said Jaho.
“Maybe this is the common thing I find as woman coming from the Mediterranean and the Balkans. Our expression contains a lot of passion and fire. Maybe this is the characteristic of my theatrical expression through voice as an artist and I feel much more comfortable when performing these roles,” added Jaho.
On her website, Jaho announces she will be performing in Albania at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet on April 3 and 5.
“In Madama Butterfly, Ermonela fulfills another dream by singing the heart-rendering role of Cio-Cio San. It is one of the most difficult roles in opera, too. You need a powerful voice to sing over the large orchestra during a long evening. The role tests the singer’s stamina as Butterfly is onstage for almost three quarters of the opera. She will also have to control her emotions during this very emotional opera,” critics say.
Born in Albania, Soprano Ermonela Jaho was hailed as a “revelation” by the French musical press after her debut as Violetta in La Traviata at L’Opera de Marseille in December of 2005 and has since gone on to debut at major theaters internationally including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, Munich, the Staatsoper Berlin, the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the Zurich Opera, Opera de Lyon, Cologne Opera and many others. She has gained international recognition as one of the finest performers of the role of Violetta and has also been praised in roles such as Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda, Massenet’s Manon and Thais, Marguerite in Faust and as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly.
