Based on a play by David Belasco, Madama Butterfly concerns the disastrous results of a young American naval officer's marriage to a pretty geisha. Scorned by the La Scala audience at its 1904 premiere, the opera was revised by Puccini and afterwards met with a brilliant success that continues to this day. The heartrending story, combined with the composer's inspired use of musical color effects to evoke the exotic Japanese setting, make it one of the world's most popular operas. This authoritative vocal score—including all the vocal parts, a piano reduction of the full score, and the complete libretto in Italian and English—offers musicians an indispensable rehearsal aid and a fine addition to their score libraries.