Puccini’s Madama Butterfly Returns to the Met on January 9

Sopranos Ailyn Pérez and Sonya Yoncheva share the role of Cio-Cio-San in their Met role debuts, opposite tenors SeokJong Baek, Adam Smith, and Matthew Polenzani as Pinkerton

Marco Armiliato and Carlo Rizzi take the podium to lead one of opera’s most legendary scores 

New York, NY (December 18, 2025)—The acclaimed Anthony Minghella production of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly returns to the Met stage on January 9 for 15 performances. Ailyn Pérez and Sonya Yoncheva share one of opera’s most tragic leading roles, Cio-Cio-San, with both sopranos making their Met role debuts.

On January 9, the season’s first cast stars Ailyn Pérez as Cio-Cio-San for five performances, opposite tenor SeokJong Baek as Pinkerton in his Met role debut. Also featured in the first run of performances are mezzo-soprano Hyona Kim, in her company debut, as Suzuki and baritone Andrzej Filończyk as Sharpless, following his performances as Joe Kavalier in Mason Bates’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which opened the 2025–26 season and returns in February by popular demand. Marco Armiliato leads from the podium.

Sonya Yoncheva stars as Cio-Cio-San for five performances beginning March 10, returning to the Met after her appearance earlier this season as Maddalena di Coigny in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, opposite tenor Adam Smith in his company debut as Pinkerton. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano stars as Suzuki, and baritone Quinn Kelsey makes his company role debut as Sharpless. Carlo Rizzi conducts.

In the spring, soprano Ailyn Pérez returns as Cio-Cio-San for four performances. Tenor Matthew Polenzani reprises his portrayal of Pinkerton, and Kim and Filończyk once again sing the roles of Suzuki and Sharpless, respectively. Soprano Toni Marie Palmertree sings Cio-Cio-San in the final performance of the run, in her company role debut.

Madama Butterfly had its company premiere on February 11, 1907. Anthony Minghella’s production of Madama Butterfly was first performed on the Met stage on September 25, 2006. The creative team includes director and choreographer Carolyn Choa, set designer Michael Levine, costume designer Han Feng, and lighting designer Peter Mumford, with puppetry by Blind Summit Theatre.

Met Under 40

The Met’s popular young-audience program, Met Under 40, expands this season with discounted ticket options for audiences aged 40 and under in the Orchestra, Grand Tier, and Dress Circle sections for select performances. Special Met Under 40 parties will also be held ahead of the performances of Madama Butterfly on January 21 and March 18, featuring complimentary wine, hors d’oeuvres, and more. For further details, please click here.

Madama Butterfly Worldwide Broadcasts on Radio and Online

The January 9 and March 14 and 19 performances of Madama Butterfly will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on the SiriusXM app. The January 9 and March 19 performance will also be streamed live on the Met’s website, metopera.org. The March 14 performance will also be broadcast over The Robert K. Johnson Foundation–Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

Toll Rush Tickets
The Met Opera app is now available for download on mobile devices, offering users a new way to purchase Toll Rush Tickets via an automated lottery. Lotteries open two weeks prior to a performance, and winners are notified the day before the performance. Learn more about the Met Opera app here.

For More Information

For further details on Madama Butterfly, including casting by date, please click here.