La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910.
In Puccini's musical canon, Fanciulla followed Madama Butterfly, which was also based on a Belasco play.
La fanciulla del West was commissioned by, and first pe...
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La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by David Belasco. Its highly-publicised premiere occurred in New York City in 1910.
In Puccini's musical canon, Fanciulla followed Madama Butterfly, which was also based on a Belasco play.
La fanciulla del West was commissioned by, and first performed at, the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Its premiere was on December 10, 1910 with Met stars Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn for whom Puccini created the leading roles of Dick Johnson and Minnie. Also in the cast was Pasquale Amato, the Met's leading Italian baritone, as Jack Rance. The Met's music director Arturo Toscanini conducted.
This was the first world premiere of an opera at the Met, and it was initially well received in the United States. It was never quite as popular in Europe, however, except perhaps in Germany. There it...
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