Cynthia Stokes

Theatre and Opera Director

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  • Madama Butterfly
    Opera Company of Philadelphia
    
    
    "…there is ceremonial formality in Cynthia Stokes' stage direction…As in Greek tragedy, the restrained windup made the finale more devastating…Then came one of the best touches of all: As Butterfly bleeds to death by her own hand, does Lt. Pinkerton see her dying seconds? Does Butterfly get to glimpse him just before she expires? Director Stokes did neither. I won't spoil it for audiences who have yet to see it, but with the clean starkness of the sets, her choice has existential depths. Ultimately, the production made you see Butterfly's point of view: Suicide was her sole option."
    
    David Patrick Stearn, Philadelphia Inquirer
    
    "The production of Madama Butterfly by the Opera Company of Philadelphia, which I saw on the last day of its run October 18, was perhaps the most beautiful I’ve ever seen...The denouement was staged with an originality that maintained the opera’s essence..."
    
    Steven Cohen Broad Street Review