‘Povera Butterfly!’ Even when flickering a trifle mistily in black and white, even when voice and lips so very nearly synchronise (but not quite), even when Butterfly seems to move in slow motion and Pinkerton is little more than a set of very white teeth, when Goro is a caricature and the Bonze a nightmare: even then, it works.

It worked for me perhaps a little later than usual. ‘Triste madre!’ There’s always a point where Butterfly catches you unawares. This time it was at this tragically factual exclamation, and then the gradual change of Butterfly’s mind, drawing towards the sad acceptance of ‘E sia’ and the sublime address to Kate Pinkerton: ‘Sotto il gran ponte del cielo.’ Anna Moffo, always touching yet rarely going further than that, begins to acquire stature. What a strange role it is: we want our Butterfly to have freshness of voice and beauty of presence, yet the part needs also such emotional maturity and vocal strength. Well, Anna Moffo, aged 24, is here a very good Butterfly (lovely, for instance, her ‘Rinnegata e felice’, ‘da bene un bambino’ and ‘Dormi, amor mio’), even if not a great one.

Renato Cioni seems to think Act 1 requires him to flash his dentures more or less throughout, but there’s nothing the matter with his singing. Afro Poli, as Sharpless, almost makes the opera his, and that takes some doing. At 54, his voice is still beautiful and impeccably produced making us believe he is the man himself. He is one veteran: Gino del Signore is another, and Aristide Baracchi, from the original cast of Turandot (he was the Mandarin) is vintage. Oliviero de Fabritiis had conducted a few performances, too, notably the Dal Monte-Gigli Madama Butterfly of 1939. I rather wished he’d got the old 78 stop-watch in view here.