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Sorrow has a more fully choreographed role than usual in this production. Tyler Christopher Backer’s winning performance proved that a real, vibrant child is always preferable to a puppet, even one as expertly manipulated as that in Anthony Minghella’s beautiful production at the Metropolitan Opera. Because of the boy’s vital role as an inquisitive, romping little character instead of the merely symbolic pawn (either wooden or human) he often is, Cio-Cio-San’s love for her son felt particularly real, and the terrible loss facing them both all the more devastating.
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V. Schweitzer for the New York Times (2008)
Mirror of full NYT Article (rendering is a bit buggy)