This September, Perth will set the stage for a world premiere that reimagines one of opera’s most enduring stories. From 5 to 20 September 2025, West Australian Ballet will be back at His Majesty’s Theatre for Butterfly Effect – Alice Topp’s first full-length ballet, with music played live by West Australian Symphony Orchestra. The work breathes new life into Giacomo Puccini’s score, fusing it with original music by Jessica Wells to tell the story of Charlie, a contemporary Australian army medic navigating love, motherhood and social change. For Topp, the creative spark came from wanting to shift the narrative from tragedy to resilience, inspired by the women shaping today’s world.
Premiering in a city where arts and landscape are deeply intertwined, Butterfly Effect draws energy from Perth itself – from the vast skies and coastal light to the dynamic creative talents of West Australian Ballet’s dancers. For travellers, it’s an invitation to experience the city’s cultural heartbeat, where evenings at the theatre pair naturally with days spent under the gum trees of Kings Park or watching the sun melt into the Indian Ocean.
Here, Topp reveals her inspiration for Butterfly Effect and shares tips for experiencing Perth like a local.
Madame Butterfly first appeared as a short story by American writer John Luther Long in 1898 before becoming a one-act play, and later a celebrated opera by Giacomo Puccini. Its story has since inspired many more works – including the musical Miss Saigon. What drew you to reinterpret this tale as a contemporary ballet?
I have long been inspired by the extraordinary Puccini score, but I’ve always felt conflicted about its associated troubling story. The idea of transforming an iconic old score and releasing it into a new world with new ideas was inspiring for me. It gave me the opportunity to create a contemporary world that better reflects the climate, landscape and concerns of today and flip the script on a lot of recurring narratives in the ballet world. To create a story where the female protagonist chooses survival and freedom gave me the opportunity to represent the inspiring women in our lives today.
Butterfly Effect takes place six generations on, in contemporary Australia. How is your main character, a young army medic named Charlie, directly or indirectly related to Long’s original character, Cho-Cho San, who falls in love and has a child with a US Navy lieutenant who later abandons her?
In creating our new leading “butterfly”, we explore the idea that our protagonist Charlie might have an ancestral connection with the original Cho-Cho San. The ending of the Luther Long story, opposing the familiar tragic opera finale, sees Cho-Cho San instead take flight with her young son. This gives birth to possibilities and explores what happens next. Whilst our story does not cover this chapter between the generations, the suggestion of historic DNA gives us context, distances us from the original story and gives us a new world for our modern butterfly to inhabit.
You’ve described the ballet as a modern reimagining – in what ways have you updated or subverted the original narrative for today’s audience? How did you capture such an emotionally complex story through movement alone, without any words?
Our story is less of a reimagining and more of a completely new tale with a distant echo of the original narrative. The score is a new Puccini hybrid score – fusing the old sound with original new music by composer Jessica Wells, reflecting the new world we live in and addressing issues of today. Choreography for me is physical conversation – essentially a body language. We have embarked on a journey of discovering ways where these emotions – grief, loss, joy, love, pain, ecstasy – are felt in the body and from there worked on creating a dance dialogue that translates those words into the fabric of the movement.
This is your first full-length ballet, and the world premiere takes place in Perth in September. How has the city’s creative energy and landscape shaped or inspired your choreography, especially in this production?
I am constantly inspired by the artists at West Australian Ballet and by the dynamic, visually arresting Australian landscape. In creating this story with West Australian Ballet, we’ve been injecting the extraordinary artistic voices of the company artists into the tapestry of the work, designing and sculpting the characters around very real, lived experiences. The artists have drawn from their own experiences to shape and mould these people we are bringing to life. The choreography we are developing is fresh, innovative and inspired, harnessing and reflecting the vibrant, creative energy of the state of Western Australia.
What should viewers keep an eye out for?
I am hoping that viewers will be surprised at how an old art discipline like ballet can be fused with contemporary storytelling to deliver ideas on stage that might not usually be associated with ballet. Ballet gets a reputation for being all tutus and tights, so I hope the modern shift prompts people to reassess their idea of what ballet is! The entire company can dive deeply into new movement we’ve co-created together, giving the chance for every dancer to shine.
For travellers flying into Perth to see the world premiere, what else would you recommend they experience in the city’s arts and culture scene right now?
There’s so much to do in Perth right now. I am hoping to find time in my schedule to see the Terracotta Warriors at Western Australia Museum Boola Bardip or visit the Art Gallery of Western Australia for the “Elise Blumann: Music in Motion” exhibition.
For those visiting Perth for the first time, can you recommend a one-day itinerary to experience the city like a local.
I love visiting Perth; there is something to do for every taste. Personally, I love to have a wander among the beautiful trees of Kings Park – which also has a great view of the Perth skyline. If I am here in the summertime, catching a performance of Ballet at the Quarry is high on my list, and I think everyone should finish off a day with fish and chips on the beach, watching a beautiful West Australian sunset once in their lifetime.
When you travel on Singapore Airlines, what are your favourite destinations and what do you enjoy the most about the airline?
I flew on Singapore Airlines last year, accompanying my partner Tim Rogers on a tour to the Maldives and I loved every part of the SIA journey. The meals, the inflight viewing and the cabin crew made the experience such an enjoyable and comfortable one. Later this year I have the opportunity to choreograph a piece with Singapore Ballet and am excited to jump on Singapore Airlines again for this journey!
For more information on Singapore Airlines’ flights to Perth, visit singaporeair.com.
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