La fanciulla del West
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| Title: | The girl from the golden west |
| Original title: | La fanciulla del West |
Caricature by Enrico Caruso during the rehearsals for the premiere of La fanciulla del West |
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| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Giacomo Puccini |
| Libretto : | Guelfo Civinini , Carlo Zangarini |
| Literary source: | The Girl of the Golden West by David Belasco |
| Premiere: | December 10, 1910 |
| Place of premiere: | New York City , Metropolitan Opera |
| Playing time: | about 2 hours |
| Place and time of the action: | California, 1849–1850, the time of the gold rush |
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La fanciulla del West is an opera by Giacomo Puccini . The libretto was written by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by David Belasco .
It premiered on December 10, 1910 at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City . The conductor was Arturo Toscanini , the male lead sang Enrico Caruso , the part of Minnie Emmy Destinn . The German premiere at the Deutsches Opernhaus in Charlottenburg, which at that time did not yet belong to Berlin, was conducted by Ignatz Waghalter .
action
place and time
The opera is set in a gold rush camp at the foot of the Cloud Mountains in California during the gold rush of 1849 and 1850.
first act
The gold diggers spend their evenings in a tavern called Polka belonging to the gold digger camp. Sheriff Rance, who is in love with the innkeeper Minnie, and agent Ashby also arrive, both on the hunt for the robber Ramerrez. The landlady Minnie, the only woman in the camp, is venerated by everyone and also gives the men Bible lessons. The postilion arrives and delivers a telegram to Ashby in which a Spanish woman promises to reveal Ramerrez's hiding place. A new guest also appears who calls himself Johnson from Sacramento . He and Minnie remember a previous meeting, and that's why the gold diggers are friendly to the stranger. When the gold diggers leave the tavern, Johnson stays behind. He learns from Minnie that the gold diggers have given her the gold supplies for safekeeping. Johnson falls in love with Minnie and abandons his original plan to steal the gold. Both arrange to meet for the night.
Second act
In her room, Minnie prepares for Johnson's visit. She tells him about her life, and Johnson brings the conversation to love. The two then passionately declare their love for each other. When Johnson is about to leave, three shots from outside the window hold him back. The sheriff and three gold diggers visit Minnie; Johnson is hiding. The sheriff is worried about Minnie: The foreign Spaniard is the wanted robber Ramerrez. Minnie sends the men away to chase Johnson, but she also shows Johnson the door. As soon as he's outside, a bullet hits him. Minnie's love awakens again and she hides the wounded man in the attic. But Johnson reveals a drop of blood to the returning sheriff. Minnie suggests that a game of poker between her and the sheriff should determine Johnson's fate. She wins the game with the help of a wrong card.
Third act
Some of the gold diggers wait for the others in a clearing in the forest, they all hunt the robber Ramerrez. A rumor arises that the man he was looking for has once again escaped. Eventually Ashby appears with Johnson tied up. The noose is already around his neck when Minnie rushes up on a horse, takes advantage of the general surprise and stands in front of Johnson with a revolver: She wants to kill Johnson first and then herself if people don't let go of him. She recalls what the gold diggers owe her. Little by little the men are overwhelmed by emotion and agree to pardon Johnson. Minnie and Johnson leave the country to start a new life elsewhere.
To the music
In contrast to most of Puccini's other works, such as La Bohème , Madama Butterfly or Turandot , the opera has hardly any catchy and well-known arias. The only exception is Johnson's aria Ch'ella mi creda from the 3rd act. In this composition, Puccini placed more emphasis on a dramatic, constantly evolving musical representation of the plot. As in all of Puccini's operas, there is a well-composed form that appears even more concentrated due to the extensive lack of arias and solo numbers.
The opera is relatively rarely on the program - at least in German-speaking countries. In Italy, too, it lags behind the success of more famous operas by Puccini.
Orchestral line-up
Orchestra with large woodwinds: 4 flutes (4th piccolo ), 4 oboes (4th English horn ), 4 clarinets in Bb (4th bass clarinet ), 4 bassoons (4th contrabassoon ), 4 horns , 3 trumpets in F, 4 trombones , 2 harps , percussion ( large drum , snare drum , cymbals , tambourine , triangle , tam-tam , glockenspiel ), timpani , celesta , strings
behind the stage: tubular bells , wind machine , harp ("with paper between the strings, imitating a banjo ", see Beckmesser harp )
on the stage : " Fonica " (an instrument with three vibrating metal plates developed for the opera by the instrument maker Romeo Orsi , today played on a vibraphone ), whistle
literature
- András Batta (Ed.): Opera. Composers, works, performers. Könemann, Cologne 1999, ISBN 3-8290-2840-7 .
- Rudolf Kloiber , Wulf Konold , Robert Maschka: Handbook of the Opera. 11th edition. Bärenreiter / dtv, Kassel / Munich 2006, ISBN 3-423-34132-7 .
Web links
- La fanciulla del West : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- La fanciulla del West (Giacomo Puccini) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
- Giacomo Puccini's La Fanciulla del West - 100 Anniversary of World Premiere
- David Belasco: The Girl of the Golden West in Project Gutenberg ( currently not usually available for users from Germany )
Le Villi (1884) | Edgar (1889) | Manon Lescaut (1893) | La Bohème (1896) | Tosca (1900) | Madama Butterfly (1904) | La fanciulla del West (1910) | La rondine (1917) | Iltretico (1918) consisting of Il tabarro , Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi | Turandot (1926)