Which composer wrote the opera Madama Butterfly, first performed in Milan in 1904?

Giacomo Puccini wrote the opera Madama Butterfly, first performed in Milan in 1904.

The opera is based on a short story by John Luther Long and a play by David Belasco. Its libretto was written by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, who also collaborated with Puccini on several other important operas.

Madama Butterfly premiered at La Scala on 17 February 1904, but the first production was poorly received. Puccini revised the work substantially, and a revised version performed at Brescia later that year was successful and became the basis of the standard repertory version.

The story follows Cio-Cio-San, a young Japanese woman known as Butterfly, and the American naval officer B. F. Pinkerton. “Un bel dì, vedremo” is one of the opera’s best-known arias. The work is often discussed alongside Puccini’s other late operas, including Tosca and Turandot.