La fanciulla del West

Puccini La fanciulla del West opera to a libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini. Directed 2011 by Giancarlo del Monaco. Stars Deborah Voigt (Minnie), Lucio Gallo (Jack Rance), Marcello Giordani (Dick Johnson or Ramirrez), Tony Stevenson (Nick, the Bartender), Keith Miller (Ashby, the Wells Fargo Agent), Dwayne Croft (Sonora), Hugo Vera (Trin), Trevor Scheunemann (Sid), Richard Bernstein (Bello), Adam Laurence Herskowitz (Harry), Michael Forest (Joe), David Crawford (Happy), Edward Parks (Larkins), Philip Cokorinos (Billy Jackrabit), Ginger Costa-Jackson (Wowkle), Oren Gradus (Jake Wallace), Jeff Mattsey (José Castro), and Edward Mout (Pony Express Rider). Nicola Luisotti conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Donald Palumbo). Set and costume design by Michael Scott; lighting design by Gil Wechsler; musical preparation by Gildo di Nunzio, Donna Racik, Steven Eldredge, Joseph Colaneri, Carrie-Anne Matheson, and Milos Repicky; fight direction by B. H. Barry; assistant stage direction by Gregory Keller, Jonathon Loy, Louisa Muller, and Elena Sacconaghi-Marzoni; dramaturgy by Paul Cremo. Directed for TV by Barbara Willis Sweete; Music Producer was Jay David Saks; Supervising Producers were Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park; Producers were Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik. Released in 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: A-

La fanciulla del West had its world premiere at the Met in 1910 with Puccini in the audience and Toscanini conducting. In 2010, the Met celebrated the centenary of of the premiere by reviving a 1991 production from Giancarlo del Monaco with extremely beautiful traditional sets and costumes. This staging probably follows the original libretto and score as closely as current taste would allow. If you don't know the opera, this is the version to get first. It's easy to follow; after you have seen it several times, you will know the work well. Then you can better enjoy the updated version of La fanciulla from the Netherlands Opera, which gives you some different things to think about and is a hoot to boot. By the way, Lucio Gallo plays sheriff Jack Rance in both shows.

Here's an odd YT clip that's a series of "slides" about this production. Activate the CC button for commentary by Deborah Voigt:

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Feb 25. We have just completed one of our most ambitious reviews: Einstein on the Beach opera, the surreal 4 and 1/2 hour cult legend. Kudos, encomiums, and accolades to Opus Arte for giving us this authoritative and weirdly fascinating recording, which we grade A+. Absorbing and learning Einstein is uniquely challenging. We try to help out by providing aids not included in the keepcase materials: an accurate libretto and a list of segments in the opera with correct Opus Arte time stamps. Good luck!

We have some other good grades with an A for the recent Met The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles) and a B- for an earlier The Pearl Fishers from Naples. Also, we recently gave an A- for the new Don Quixote from the Vienna State Ballet.