Egyptian opera fans recently got to see The Girl of the Golden West, which was aired lived from the Metropolitan Opera in New York to the Small Hall of the Cairo Opera House. It was one of the major events of this season because it was the first time for an Egyptian audience to enjoy this opera and also because the works of Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) are so creative. It was the Metropolitan Opera which commissioned Puccini to composed this opera with an American theme, just as the Opera Aida was composed for Egyptians with an Egyptian theme. La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on David Belasco's play of the same name, just as Madame Butterfly was also based on a Belasco play. The opera has fewer of the show-stopping highlights, that are characteristic of other Puccini works, but the orchestration is impressive and the score is more melodically integrated than is typical of his previous works. The work has been transformed into a movie four times, the most recent being way back in 1938, which is why the Metropolitan Opera presented it again to celebrate its centenary. Puccini's work is Italian in form and American in content. It is an Italian production, in the Italian language and performed by Italian actors, except for the American heroine. It is even conducted by an Italian conductor. The opera revolves around Minnie Falconer. She may be the owner of the Polka Saloon in a California mining camp called Cloudy Mountain, but she is also the town's respected schoolmarm, and she is courted by the gentlemanly but dangerous sheriff, Jack Rance. While the town seeks a bandit named Ramerrez, she falls in love with a handsome young man named Dick Johnson, who she soon discovers is none other than the hunted bandit. When Johnson is shot by Rance, Minnie hides Johnson in her loft, but his whereabouts are revealed to Rance by blood dripping from the ceiling. She agrees to play a game of poker with Rance, Johnson's fate to be determined by the winner. She cheats to win, pulling a pair of aces from her petticoat after distracting the sheriff. However, the miners would still hang Johnson, and only Minnie's pleas spare him. Reluctantly, she agrees to leave her beloved golden hills, and she and Johnson ride off to find a new life. The opera centres on Minnie (soprano), Johnson (tenor) and Sheriff Jack (baritone). The rest of the characters are men, except for Minnie's Indian maid, who appears once in the second act in the second scene. The main character is Minnie, for whom Puccini has forsaken the solo arrays and focused on a unified orchestral composition and dramatic music, influenced by Wagner‘s style, which reminds us of the American cowboy movies. All the lyrics are woven into a dramatic and integral musical textile. Minnie is a wonderful character and the musical score for her is marvellous too, as her voices rises when she gets angry with Johnson, and falls as she starts feeling sorrowful and cries. This high-budget opera has been performed by superstars like the American soprano Deborah Voigt, who has much experience, especially of performing Wagner's works, and has a distinctive style and voice. Voigt was an excellent choice for the role of Minnie, as she looked so expressive and tough while holding a rifle, gambling, riding a horse, defending herself against men. But she was also so romantic and passionate. The final scene, when she challenged the workers preparing to hang her lover, Johnson, was particularly impressive, as she boldly and aggressively held her rifle. At the same time, she submissively begs the miners to have pity on her lover. Then, it's a joy to see her own joy, when her request is answered. The Italian conductor, Nicola Luisotti, who is the director of the San Francisco Opera, skilfully brought out the full beauty of this opera. As for tenor Marcello Giordani, he impressed with his strong voice, as did baritone Lucio Gallo, who cleverly came across as the bad guy, whom the audience loathed because of his attitude towards the hero. The other voices also deserved the applause they got. Meanwhile, the set and costume designer Michael Scott, and lighting designer Gil Wechsler, did a great job of making the audience believe that they'd stepped back in time to the second half of the nineteenth century. Many critics say that, in this opera, Puccini was influenced by Claude Debussy and Richard Strauss, without being in any way imitative, but I can add that he was influenced by Wagner too. I also agree with Puccini, when he said that this was his very best creation.
