What is the haunting piece used in the final scene?
For the final scene, Jackson and Walsh use Puccini’s serene “The Humming Chorus” from MADAME BUTTERFLY. The tone of the piece is an extrapolation of the calm, peaceful resignation conveyed prior to this scene by Juliet’s aria. Coupling “The Humming Chorus” with the premonition of the violent and bloody murder is ironic in the extreme; the effect is an almost intolerable heightening of anticipation, dread and suspense in the viewer. The piece begins quietly, as the girls pause for a “last supper” with Honora in the Victoria Park teashop, and continues as they accompany her down the muddy path in extreme slow motion, almost floating, serene and dreamlike. The piece finally ends and there is a brief silence. Then the girls tearfully bludgeon Honora to her death. In a shocked stupor after the real-life murder, the girls stated to witnesses at the tearoom that everything seemed like a dream, and they would soon be waking up. “The Humming Chorus” occurs late in the third act of MADAM BUTTERF
