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She'll be comin' around the mountain

The Wild West blazes to life in an action-packed Puccini revival

By Frank Kuznik
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
May 2nd, 2007 issue

COURTESY PHOTO
It's Eva Urbanová to the rescue in this spirited production that draws on Hollywood archetypes of the Old West.
The first of a Puccini pair on the spring opera calendar opened at the National Theater a few weeks ago with six-guns blazing. La fanciulla del West (Girl of the Golden West) is one of the composer’s mature works, premiering to great acclaim at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera in December 1910. Later this month the State Opera will offer an interesting contrast with Manon Lescaut, Puccini’s first big success when it premiered in Turin in 1893.
For now, La fanciulla is a reminder of everything grand about grand opera, a boisterous production with a big cast and elaborate sets and plenty of period flavor. The music calls to mind the drama of Tosca and the heartbreak of Madama Butterfly, with all the melodramatic panache of Puccini’s early-20th-century work. And for once the National Theater has avoided grafting on any cultural quirks or gimmicks, presenting a strong, straightforward version of a neglected opera that stands very well on its own.
La fanciulla del West

When: May 4 and 7 at 7
Where: National Theater
Tickets: 50–930 Kč, available through Ticketpro and at the venue
Sung in Italian with English and Czech titles

The story, based on a play by American director and playwright David Belasco (who also provided the source material for Butterfly), is set in the Sierra Nevadas during the gold rush. Every man in town pines for Minnie, the tough, chaste saloonkeeper who is saving her first kiss for her true love. When she finds him, he turns out to be a bandit, setting up a dramatic conclusion with Minnie rushing to save her man from an angry mob determined to wrap a noose around his neck.
Is it the subject matter that makes La fanciulla so immediately accessible to an American viewer? Perhaps, but director Jiří Nekvasil plays to American sensibilities with a clever framing device: A grainy film projection that shows a number countdown projected on a scrim at the beginning of the opera, and another clip that announces “The End” as the final curtain comes down. Much of what happens in between is like watching an old Hollywood Western, set against dramatic John Ford mountains and a trompe l’oeil saloon where John Wayne or Gary Cooper would feel right at home.
Though nearly all the characters in the opera are men, once Minnie arrives, halfway through the first act, the stage belongs to her ­— as does the rest of the opera. Two singers are alternating in the role: Eva Urbanová, the reigning queen of Czech opera singers, and Anda-Louise Bogza, a National Theater regular. While there’s no arguing with Urbanová’s world-class voice, the local sentiment for her doesn’t always translate — she’s simply too old for parts like this or Rusalka, which she sang at the State Opera last year. Bogza, who sang at the second premiere April 7, was outstanding, passionate yet controlled and dominant in both character and voice.
But the key to the music is conductor John Fiore, an American who blew everyone away with his command of Wagner’s Ring score in the full-cycle production staged at the National Theater two years ago. He’s just as good with Puccini, if a little heavy-handed at times; Minnie’s initial appearance and first kiss come off more like bursts of thunder than emotional swells. Overall, though, the orchestra once again sounds superb under his baton, and the music dramatic and lively, perfect for the cinematic overlay.
The staging also has its awkward moments, but overall Nekvasil does a good job of sorting out some complicated crowd scenes in the first act and then going with the material. Left on its own, La fanciulla tells an engrossing, fast-paced story supported by a colorful, inventive score. Dressing it up and then getting out of the way lets the opera speak for itself, which this production does to great effect.
Fans of the American Wild West may find it a bit jarring to see cowboys singing in Italian and gold prospectors obediently gathering for Bible class. But only for a minute. Then La fanciulla is great fun, with all the familiar elements given a fresh burnish on a foreign stage and Puccini’s music as timeless and captivating as ever.

Frank Kuznik can be reached at fkuznik@praguepost.com


Other articles in Night & Day (2/05/2007):

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