“Madame Butterfly” was first presented at the Herald Square Theatre, March 5, 1900. The scenic habiliment in which Belasco attired that tragedy was one of great beauty and perfect taste and it had never been equalled by anything rightly comparable, excepting Augustin Daly’s exquisite setting of “Heart of Ruby” (a play on a Japanese theme adapted by Justin Huntly McCarthy from Mme. Judith Gautier’s “La Marchande de Sourires”), produced at Daly’s Theatre, January 15, 1895,--which was a complete failure: it cost Daly about $25,000 and it was withdrawn after seven performances. Belasco’s Japanese venture, happily, was fortunate from the first, creating a profound impression and achieving instant success. A notably effective scenic innovation was the precedent use of “picture drops,” delicately painted and very lovely pictures showing various aspects of Japan,--a rice field, a flower garden, a distant prospect of a snow-capped volcano in the light of the setting sun, and other views,--by way of creating a Japanese atmosphere before the scene of the drama was disclosed. Blanche Bates embodied the hapless _Butterfly_ and animated the character with a winning show of woman’s fidelity, with a lovely artlessness of manner and speech, and with occasional flashes of that vivid emotional fire which was her supreme attribute. Her personation at first caused laughter and at last touched the source of tears,--but the predominant figure in the history of this play, both at the first and now, was and is that of Belasco: more, perhaps, in respect to “Madame Butterfly” than of any other of his productions it may properly be said that his personality seemed to have permeated every detail of this performance and its environment. This was the original cast: _Cho-Cho-San_ (_Madame Butterfly_) Blanche Bates. _Suzuki_, her servant Marie Bates. _Mr. Sharpless_, American Consul Claude Gillingwater. _Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton_ Frank Worthing. _Yamadori_ Albert Bruning. _Nakodo_ E. P. Wilks. _Kate_, _Mrs. Pinkerton_ Katherine Black. _Trouble_, the child Kittie ----. _Attendant_ William Lamp. _Attendant_ Westropp Saunders. “ZAZA” ABROAD.