Organization

Singer

Soprano

Eva-Maria Westbroek

Minnie

Baritone

Lucio Gallo

Jack Rance

Tenor

Zoran Todorovich

Dick Johnson

Roman Sadnik

Nick

Bass

Diogenes Randes

Ashby

Stephen Gadd

Sonora

Jean-Léon Klostermann

Trin

Leo Geers

Peter Arink

Bello

Pascal Pittie

Harry

Ruud Fiselier

Harry Teeuwen

Happy

Patrick Schramm

Jim Larkens

Tijl Faveyts

Billy Jackrabbit

Mezzo-soprano

Ellen Rabiner

Wowkle

André Morsch

Jake Wallace

Roger Smeets

Jose Castro

Francois Soons

The Pony Express rider

Conductor

Carlo Rizzi

Stage director

Nikolaus Lehnhoff

Set designer

Raimund Bauer

Costume designer

Andrea Schmidt-Futterer

Lighting designer

Duane Schuler

Choreographer

Denni Sayers

Dramaturge

Klaus Bertisch

De Nationale Opera

Orchestra

Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest

Others

Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera

La fanciulla del West -  (The Girl of the Golden West)

Amsterdam

Netherlands

Dutch National Opera & Ballet

La Fanciulla del West by Puccini, the first western lyric opera, was performed in Amsterdam in 2009, staged by Nikolaus Lehnhoff. In this version, which is now available on medici.tv, the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest is conducted by Carlo Rizzi. Eva Maria Westbroek plays the part of Minnie and Lucio Gallo plays Jack Rance.

Six years passed between the triumph of Madame Butterfly (1904) and that of La Fanciulla del West (1910). A few years before, Puccini had achieved international fame thanks to La Bohème (1896) and Tosca (1900). Giacomo Puccini composed La Fanciulla del West (The Girl from the West) while travelling through America. The first performance, conducted by Arturo Toscanini at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, was a major success, as proven by the fifty curtain calls at the audience’s behest. The social event represented by the performance brought the composer new success, although it must be recognised that, today, his opera is not as popular as La Bohème, Tosca, Madame Butterfly or even Turlandot. Any opera aficionado can hum the tunes of these famous works, which is not the case for La Fanciulla del West.

The opera tells the tale of gold miners, their loves and their adventures. Minnie is well-liked and runs a bar frequented by the miners. The sheriff only has eyes for her. But, when the mysterious Dick Johnson arrives in town, Minnie falls in love with him instead.

The Cloudy Mountains are not the setting for Nikolaus Lehnhoff's staging, which transposes the plot into 1950s USA. The mining district of 1849-1850 is replaced by the Wall Street stock market and gold miners become regulars at an underground bar. In the pit, the orchestra, conducted by Carlo Rizzi, manages to do justice to Puccini's rich composition without ever drowning out the singers.

La fanciulla del West

Public

The Girl of the Golden West

Approved

Production booklet

Further reading