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Who is Sharpless in Madama Butterfly?
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Madama Butterfly
Italian composer Giacomo Puccini, 1908.
In Giacomo Puccini's opera Madama Butterfly, Sharpless is the American consul stationed in Nagasaki. He is a baritone character who serves as a voice of reason and moral concern throughout the story, often attempting to warn Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton about the potential consequences of his actions regarding Cio-Cio-San.1