Giacomo Puccini: Intermezzo Sinfonico from Madama Butterfly

Puccini's symphonic flair is also expressed in his later operas in various Intermezzi sinfonici, such as in Act II (Part 2) of Madama Butterfly. In such moments he describes the mental life of his stage characters without any words. Cio-Cio-San's impatient wait for her husband turns into a passionate love dream that suddenly bursts at the end. The melody of the great love duet of Act I reappears hymnically in this interlude. While Pinkerton and Cio-Cio-San were still tenderly reassuring each other of their love, the music in the intermezzo becomes ecstatic and becomes a fantasy of the title character Cio-Cio-San.