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Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" premieres at La Scala in Milan, Italy

Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The Schickling catalog number is SC 74.

It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther Long, which in turn was based on stories told to Long by his sister Jennie Correll, and on the semi-autobiographical 1887 French novel Madame Chrysanthème by Pierre Loti. Long's version was dramatized by David Belasco as the one-act play Madame Butterfly: A Tragedy of Japan, which, after premiering in New York in 1900, moved to London, where Puccini saw it in the summer of that year.

The original version of the opera, in two acts, had its premiere on 17 February 1904 at La Scala in Milan.

Historical Significance

Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

Key People

Giacomo Puccini

opera composer

Italian opera composer

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  2. German theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (23) weds Serbian physicist and mathematician Mileva Marić (27); divorce in

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  3. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (27) weds Swiss watch heiress Emma Rauschenbach (19), until her death in 1955

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Events After

  1. Conference of 23 industrial trade unionists in Chicago, Illinois, issues the Industrial Union Manifesto, calling for a c

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  2. A large demonstration of workers in St Petersburg, Russia, led by Father Gapon, marches to the Winter Palace with a peti

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  3. General officer John J. Pershing (44) weds Helen Frances

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  4. Albert Einstein finishes his scientific paper detailing his quantum theory of light, a foundation of modern physics

    Albert Einstein (14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist best known for developing the theory of relativity.

  5. Eleanor Roosevelt (20) marries Franklin D. Roosevelt (23) later 32nd US President in New York, & given away by her uncle

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More from the 1900s

First Powered Flight by the Wright Brothers

Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first controlled, sustained flight of a powered, heavier-than-air aircraft near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

science technology

Conference of 23 industrial trade unionists in Chicago, Illinois, issues the Industrial Union Manifesto, calling for a c

Conference of 23 industrial trade unionists in Chicago, Illinois, issues the Industrial Union Manifesto, calling for a convention in Chicago in June and laying the groundwork for the formation of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

death

James Longstreet dies

James Longstreet, Confederate confederate army general, known for confederate army general, died on 1904-01-02.

1st Rose Bowl, Tournament Park, Pasadena, California: Michigan defeats Stanford 49-0; MVP: Michigan fullback Neil Snow

1st Rose Bowl, Tournament Park, Pasadena, California: Michigan defeats Stanford 49-0; MVP: Michigan fullback Neil Snow

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on February 17, 1904?
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. The Schickling catalog number is SC 74. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther Long, which in turn was based on stories told to Long by his sister Jennie Correll, and on the semi-autobiographical 1887 French novel Madame Chrysanthème by Pierre Loti.
Why is Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" premieres at La Scala in Milan, Italy significant?
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
Who was involved in Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly" premieres at La Scala in Milan, Italy?
Key figures include Giacomo Puccini (opera composer).

Explore More

February 17 in HistoryYear 1904