#la fanciulla del west

[shinelikethunder]

it's one thing to hear the title La Fanciulla del West as one of Puccini's lesser-known operas, it's a whole other thing to learn that it has a solid claim on being the first spaghetti western, that it has an entire named character whose role is Wells Fargo Agent, and that its plot is "what if Tosca had a gun"

[princesssarisa]

Giacomo Puccini famously called the heroines of his operas "little women" (piccole donne). With that in mind, I can't help but think of Little Women and speculate about which Puccini heroine each March sister would like and relate to the most.

Here's what I think:

Meg: Madame Butterfly.

Now of course Meg is never as naïve as Cio-Cio-San, or worshipfully devoted to a good-for-nothing cad. But both she and Cio-Cio-San are loyal to their man even if it means estrangement from family (although in Meg's case, it's just Aunt March, and she relents before long), and both become mothers who love their children enormously. Both are gentle yet strong-willed too, and live in genteel poverty, yet maintain their elegance and dignity.

Jo: Minnie in La Fanciulla del West.

One of Puccini's slightly lesser-known heroines, but a memorable one all the same. Feisty, tomboyish, no-nonsense, sometimes hot-tempered, yet warm, nurturing, and romantic at heart, and good at handling and educating a large number of males (Jo's schoolboys, Minnie's miners).

Beth: Mimí in La Bohéme.

This is obvious. Sweet, gentle, shy, chronically ill, takes great pleasure in simple things, loves to sew, is easy to overlook but adored by the people who know her, and sadly dies young of her illness.

Amy: Manon Lescaut.

Blonde-haired, popular, fond of beauty, elegance, Paris, wealth, and high society, yet a loving, non-shallow person at heart. Of course Amy is no gold digger, but she almost gives in to the temptation to be one... maybe Manon is who she could have been if she had.

@littlewomenpodcast. @thatscarletflycatcher, @fandomsarefamily1966, @joandfriedrich, @tuttocenere, @supercantaloupe

[bluntforceyearning]

His spectacular what ?

[muchadoabout]

Per sempre, Dick! 

EVA-MARIA WESTBROEK & JONAS KAUFMANN  as Minnie & Dick Johnson in PUCCINI: LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST Metropolitan Opera, 2018

[iloveopera9]

Renata Tebaldi

[doyouknowthisopera]

[lesser-known-composers]

I love Puccini's tunes, so hear is one from one of my favourite Puccini operas, La Fanciulla Del West -

Giacomo Puccini : La Fanciulla del West / Act 1 - Mister Johnson, siete rimasto indietro ·

Carol Neblett · Plácido Domingo ·

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden · Zubin Mehta

[liricamundi]

ENRICO CARUSO; *Le Prophete* (Jean de Leyde) MAYERBEER.

ENRICO CARUSO, PONCHIELLI: La Gioconda (Enzo Grimaldo)

ENRICO CARUSO & GERALDINE FARRAR in CHARPENTIER: Louise; January 26th, 1914.

ENRICO CARUSO nei panni di DICK JOHNNSON RAMERREZ e con EMMY DESTINN, nei panni di Minnie, ne PUCCINI: *La Fanciulla del West* , December 10th, 1910 PRIMA ASSOLUTA!!!

Copyright Whitz, Metropolitan Opera House NY

[mstanyawinslow]

[tenorissimi]

Enrico Caruso

Con la sua moglie: Dorothy Park Benjamin ALT. Ne: Rigoletto, La Fanciulla del West , Tosca, I Pagliacci. Colori: Luz Butron Soprano LBS 23 ALT. Copyright ©️ A. Dupont

[operacascadia]

It's highly likely that many opera fans have never heard of Giuseppe Giacomini. Understandable, as he wasn't exactly world famous. He did occasionally appear at the major opera houses, but he was vastly overshadowed by the Big Three tenors. The three major label recordings of his that I know of (a Tosca with Carol Vaness, Cavalleria rusticana with Jessye Norman, and Norma with Renata Scotto) make me feel like he was cast only because Pav, Dom, and Car weren't available.

But he was giving exceptional performances in smaller houses. Looking a bit like an accountant, his voice did not match his body. He had a real spinto voice, (unlike Pavarotti and Carreras), and he had high notes, (unlike Domingo).

Perhaps his voice is best heard in this rendition of "Ch'ella mi creda" from La fanciulla del West by Puccini. When he starts off, his low notes are so deep and dark, you'd almost swear he was a baritone, but his strong high notes leave no doubt as to his actual fach.

It's an absolutely masterful piece of singing. I have never heard a better performance of this aria.

He passed away in 2021 at age 80, but his art lives on.

[4operalove]

Mario del Monaco nei panni di Dick Johnson Ramerrez in *La Fanciulla del West* (PUCCINI), Teatro alla Scala di Milano, stagione lírica, 1956/57.

Tutti i Diritti di Autore per *Teatro alla Scala di Milano*

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

thinking about la fanciulla del west poker scene again

[edelweisscowboy]

puccini my beloved and his red dead redemption opera

okay so about the opera i went to see last week......... boy am I in love!! not only am i an opera/history of music nerd but it also happens this one's about cowboys!! Puccini thank you so much for making this one, you know me so well.

the name's la fanciulla del west and let me tell you i was so invested, like when act 2 finished i was so impatiently waiting for the intermission to be over.

earlier that day i was also joking about going to red dead redemption: the opera and funnily enough i was quite surprised when the plot was centered around an outlaw wanting to redeem himself to be able to love and live freely.

anyways, i'm reccomending. i'm linking it here if you want to check it out. i almost cried with che faranno i viechi miei. i don't know if choruses just make me specially sentimental or if it's the living abroad student knowing fully well that i will never get to go back to my hometown to work and will forever be separated from the home i grew up in situation. whatever.

[slowtraincumming]

Caricture of Caruso as Dick Johnson / Ramirez in Puccini's La Fanciulla del West by Enrico Caruso

[opera-ghosts]

Giacomo Puccini died in Brüssel (1858-1924). Here you see a rare program from the Worldpremiere „La fanciulla del West“ 1910 at The Metropolitan Opera. This original castlist is from a Lady that was at this historic evening in the Opera and made this pages full of pics. See the great cast with Caruso, Destinn under Arturo Toscanini.