Giacomo Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West
Saturday, October 27, 10:55AM
Run time 3:33/two intermissions
(Act I 59/Intermission 41/Act II 48/Intermission 38/Act III 27)
World Premiere: Metropolitan Opera, New York, 1910. Puccini’s “American” opera, based on David Belasco’s play The Girl of the Golden West, had its glamorous and highly publicized world premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, with the composer in the audience. The drama is set during the California Gold Rush, and the girl of the title is one of Puccini’s most appealing heroines—a strong, independent woman determined to win the man she loves. Although it fell out of favor with audiences for a few decades following its original success, Fanciulla has rebounded in popularity in recent years and is now counted among Puccini’s best works.
Soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek sings Puccini’s gun-slinging heroine in this romantic epic of the Wild West, with the heralded return of tenor Jonas Kaufmann in the role of the outlaw she loves. Tenor Yusif Eyvazov also sings some performances. Baritone Željko Lučić is the vigilante sheriff Jack Rance, and Marco Armiliato conducts.
Adult $21 ♦ Student $11
Sponsored locally by The Wayland Henry Cato Jr. Foundation with additional support from the Christine Gempp Love Foundation, the Thickman Family Foundation, Isabel Wallop, Lollie Benz Plank, and Dr. Victor & Janet Ashear
