Puccini’s ‘exotic inspiration’: the unusual source of Madama Butterfly’s melodies revealed
The unexpected source of two of the most significant musical themes in Puccini’s masterwork Madama Butterfly has been revealed by an American music scholar. Writing in the Journal of the Royal Musical Association , W. Anthony Sheppard of Williams College claims that Puccini drew directly on Westernised versions of two different Chinese folk tunes – as reproduced in music boxes – during the composition of Madama Butterfly, rather than any traditional Japanese melodies. Sheppard also claims to have