The Girl of the Golden West by Puccini, P 04 nov 2007, Alates (2007/2007), Juhatatud Stewart Laing, Dirigent Joseph Swensen, Tobias Ringborg, Malmö Opera, Malmo, Sweden

An opera in a western setting is not the norm. But La Fanciulla del West actually takes place in a gold digging camp in California around the gold rush of 1849. A tough and harsh environment where there are only two women among all men. Stewart Laing has previously directed two acclaimed productions at Malmö Opera - Faust (2005) and Dead Man Walking (2006) and then as now also responsible for scenography and costume. When asked if it will now be a "Wild West opera", Stewart Laing answers: - Instead of using the clichés of Western films, I have turned to first-hand sources that describe what life was like in North America during the days of the gold rush. How laborious and dirty it was, how prejudices flourished, how unfair the justice system was and how it could be for the few women who existed in this extremely male-dominated environment. But Stewart Laing also wants to convey the modern feeling that existed, a feeling that everything was new, everything was possible. - The story of the Wild West is North America's creation myth, says Laing, and tells that he wants the country to be literally built in front of the audience.