After watching David Belasco's play The Girl of the Golden West on his 1907 visit to New York, Puccini resolved to set this somewhat unusual love story of the Wild West to music on the opera stage. The dramatic material proved to be a good choice, with an effectively moving plot that takes viewers to the denouement with a sure hand. The character of Minnie is also a highly suitable addition to Puccini's ranks of heroines: driven by love and passion, she thus has no fear of risking even her own life.
The piece is staged at the Opera House in a production directed by Vasily Barkhatov, who is regularly engaged to work all over Russia and Europe.
CAST
Jack Rance, sheriff
Alexandru Agache
Dick Johnson (Ramerrez), a bandit
Boldizsár László
Nick, bartender
Péter Balczó
Ashby, a Wells Fargo agent
Marcell Bakonyi
Sonora, a miner
Antal Cseh
Trin, a miner
Gergely Ujvári
Sid, a miner
Lajos Geiger
Bello, a miner
Attila Erdős
Harry, a miner
Tivadar Kiss
Joe, a miner
Happy, a miner
Róbert Rezsnyák
Jim Larkens, a miner
Géza Gábor
Billy Jackrabbit, a Red Indian
András Kőrösi
Wowkle, his wife
Lusine Sahakyan
Jake Wallace, a traveling camp minstrel
András Káldi Kiss
José Castro, a mestizo
András Kiss
AUTHORS
Libretto based on David Belasco's The Girl of the Golden West by
Guelfo Civinini, Carlo Zangarini
Director
Vasily Barkhatov
Set designer
Zinovy Margolin
Costume designer
Olga Shaishmelashvili
Lighting designer
Alexander Sivaev
English surtitles
Arthur Roger Crane
Hungarian surtitles
Eszter Orbán
Chorus director
Gábor Csiki
