Puccini and the Music Boxes

ABSTRACTThis article reveals the source for two major themes in Madama Butterfly – one associated with Butterfly herself, the other with her patrimony. The assumption has been that Puccini based these themes on Japanese melodies, but his source was actually a Swiss music box playing Chinese tunes. Specific moments in the opera indicate that Puccini was aware of the titles of these tunes. The sound of music boxes in Butterfly and Turandot suggests previously unnoticed connections between these operas. The music-box melodies may be traced to Fritz Bovet's transcriptions. Puccini encountered ‘Jasmine Flower’ on these boxes, and in Turandot reaffirmed its status as the token of Chinese music.

摘要：本文揭示了歌剧《蝴蝶夫人（Madama Butterfly）》中两大核心主题的来源——其一与蝴蝶夫人本人相关，其二则与她的出身背景相关。此前学界普遍认为普契尼的这些主题取材自日本旋律，但实际上其灵感来源是一台播放中国曲调的瑞士音乐盒。歌剧中的特定段落表明，普契尼知晓这些曲调的名称。《蝴蝶夫人》与《图兰朵（Turandot）》中出现的音乐盒音效，暗示了这两部歌剧此前未被注意到的关联。这些音乐盒曲调可追溯至弗里茨·博韦（Fritz Bovet）的转录乐谱。普契尼在这些音乐盒中邂逅了《茉莉花（Jasmine Flower）》，并在《图兰朵》中再次确认了其作为中国音乐代表符号的地位。