In early 20th-century Japan, U.S. Navy Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton inspects the house he's rented from a marriage broker. The broker, Goro, has arranged for him to have three servants and a geisha wife, Cio-Cio-San, also known as Madama Butterfly. Pinkerton is captivated by the delicate Cio-Cio-San. She’s heard singing happily about her wedding. In a private moment, Cio-Cio-San shows her new husband her few possessions and expresses her desire to adopt his Christian faith. The Imperial Commissioner officiates the wedding, and the guests celebrate. The festivities are interrupted by Cio-Cio-San's uncle, a Buddhist priest, who angrily denounces her for abandoning her family’s traditions. Left alone together in the moonlight garden, her husband comforts her, and they sing of their love.
