Unlike plenty of other recent 3D efforts (John Carter, Titanic, Beauty & The Beast, the list goes on), Puccini’s classic Madam Butterfly, staged by the Royal Opera House last year following the success of Bizet (which was also filmed and released in 3D, in 2011), makes for an absorbing watch. The beautiful and smart minimal stage set enables the characters to come alive in 3D and, under Julian Napier’s assured direction, viewers are allowed in on the actors’ expressions for a more dramatic reading of the piece. Plus, Puccini’s tragic and soaring score sounds better than ever in this stage-to-screen version, filmed in front of a live audience.

We are first introduced to American naval officer Pinkerton James Valenti and his consul Sharpless (Lice), who forewarns the former that a fling and inevitably, marriage, to Cio-Cio-San is going to be a disaster. For Pinkerton, this is just a casual affair, but for her, it’s an act of faith for which she must renounce both family and religion. The second act takes place three years later, when we learn that Pinkerton had deserted her. The still hopeful Cio-Cio-San is devastated when she finds out that Pinkerton has a second wife back in the US and returns to Japan only to reclaim their son, who was consummated during their brief affair. And in the powerful final act, she renounces all hopes in a dramatic fashion.

Chinese opera star Zhang Liping may be a tad too old (42!) to play a 15 year-old. Her fine voice certainly carries the piece throughout. Her transformation into a delusional, heartbroken woman towards the end is far more convincing than her forced coquettish demeanor during the first act. She embodies her role with such raw emotions that by the time the film ends, viewers are completely immersed in her character. Valenti also does a fine job as the awe-struck and swaggering Pinketon, but at the end of it all, it is Puccini’s timeless music that holds the whole thing together—its culminating tragedy still as impactful and unforgettable as it was decades ago.