OPERA COMPANY
OF THE YEAR 2013

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LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST
(The Girl from the Golden West)
Giacomo Puccini
1858 - 1924

Opera in three acts
Libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini after the play The Girl of the Golden West (1905) by David Belasco
World premiere December 10th 1910, Metropolitan Opera, New York

Production of the Royel Opera House (Kungliga Operan) Stockholm (December 17th 2011)
Sung in Italian with German surtitles
Duration: c.3 hrs incl. 2 intervals

About the work

»The west is wild … « and life is hard, the place full of danger in times torn between greed and violence: we are at the foot of the Cloudy Mountains in California, in a rough gold prospectors’ camp during the feverish gold rush years of 1849/50, in a veristic scenario with musical elements including jazz-like syncopation, spirituals, gospel, ragtime and cakewalk; a scenario the like of which had never been experienced on the operatic stage before. Games of chance as lifestyle, a »Polka« Saloon as living quarters, shoot outs, lynchings and ritual executions as everyday risks of life in a habitat that belongs to the indiginous Indians. In the midst of all this: the dream of a simple life, of happiness; a »love drama played out before the backdrop of primative people and a free, unspoilt landscape« (said playwrite David Belasco). Puccini used a tried and tested theme, the tussle between two men for the love of a woman.
It ends with former highwayman Dick Johnson and Minnie, popular owner of a saloon, riding off together into the distance, leaving the loser, Sheriff Rance, behind.

Photo gallery

With generous support from the Frankfurt Patronatsverein - Sektion Oper

Performances

Sunday 02.06.2013 19:30 h

Further performances

Opera House
Subscription: series 10

Pre-booking and Pricing

Cast

Conductor
Sebastian Weigle
Director
Christof Loy
Assistant for the Production
Anna Tomson
Stage and Costume Designer
Herbert Murauer
Lighting Designer
Bernd Purkrabek
Video
Hobi Jarne, Nils Fridén, Emil Gotthard
Choreography
Thomas Wilhelm
Dramaturgy of the Production
Yvonne Gebauer
Dramaturgical Assistance
Norbert Abels
Chorus Master
Matthias Köhler

Minnie
Eva-Maria Westbroek
Jack Rance, Sheriff
Ashley Holland
Dick Johnson alias Ramerrez
Carlo Ventre
Nick, Kellner des Saloons "Polka"
Peter Marsh
Ashby
Alfred Reiter
Sonora
Simon Bailey
Trin
Michael McCown
Sid
Bálint Szabó
Bello
Sungkon Kim
Harry
Hans-Jürgen Lazar
Joe
Beau Gibson
Happy
Nathaniel Webster
Larkens
Björn Bürger
Billy Jackrabbit
Carlos Krause
Wowkle
Elisabeth Hornung
Jake Wallace
Franz Mayer
José Castro
Cheol Kang
Postillon
Francisco Brito *

Chorus and Orchestra of Oper Frankfurt

* Member of the Opera Studio

Video