# Masala Butterfly Libretto Question



## Bellinilover (Jul 24, 2013)

Can anyone here tell me why, in some performances and recordings of Puccini's MADAMA BUTTERFLY, Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton is referred to by Cio-Cio-San as "B.F. Pinkerton" and other times as "F.B. Pinkerton"? 

I'm thinking the switch must have to do with something like the Japanese language putting second names first?


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

> Pinkerton's forenames are the subject of some confusion. At the premieres in Milan and Brescia, he is introduced as "Sir Francis Blummy Pinkerton," but by the third revision of the libretto in 1906, he is presented as "B.F. Pinkerton." The 1907 Ricordi score, considered authoritative, lists the role as "F.B. Pinkerton", but during the wedding ceremony, the Commissario refers to the Lieutenant as "Benjamin Franklin Pinkerton."


source: https://theopera101.com/operas/butterfly/


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## Meyerbeer Smith (Mar 25, 2016)

_Masala Butterfly_, aka _Lakme_?


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Sounds delicious, but not with sushi.


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