La Fanciulla del West DVD 1983 The Royal Opera Covent Garden / Directed by John Vernon, Piero Faggioni / Placido Domingo, Carol Neblett / Conductor Nello Santi / NVC Arts

UPC 5050466835628

MADE IN GERMANY

REGION 2-6 NTSC DVD

AUDIO: Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)

SUBTITLES: English, German, Spanish

TOTAL RUNTIME: 140 MINUTES

English Summary:

Placido Domingo stars in this 1983 production of Giaccomo Puccini's opera about a romance blooming in the midst of the 1849 California Gold Rush. La Fanciulla Del West was staged by the Royal Opera House of Covernt Garden; the supporting cast includes Carol Neblett and Silvano Carroli. The opera was performed in the original Italian, but this video includes English language subtitles.

Piero Faggioni’s highly acclaimed Royal Opera production of The Girl of the Golden West, filmed in 1983, stars the incomparable Placido Domingo and American soprano Carol Neblett. It is considered by many the definitive production of this work. Faggioni’s amazing production brings the opera vividly to life. The realistic timbered sets are by Oscar-winning designer Ken Adam, whose film work includes Dr Strangelove and a number of James Bond films. Domingo’s heroic portrayal of Don Johnson is one of his most popular and one of his favourite roles. The Bible-bashing, gun-toting Minnie is a very taxing role not tackled by many sopranos. Carol Neblett made it her own with her gloriously rich voice and brilliant performance.

directed by John Vernon

featuring

Plácido Domingo

Silvano Carroli

Gwynne Howell

Robert Lloyd

Carol Neblett

Music by Giacomo Puccini

Libretto Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini

After a play by David Belasco

The Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House

Conductor: Nello Santi

Set Design: Ken Adam

Costumes: Piero Faggioni

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 [it] and Carlo Zangarini [it], based on the 1905 play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Fanciulla followed Madama Butterfly, which was also based on a Belasco play. The opera has fewer of the show-stopping highlights that characterize Puccini's other works, but is admired for its impressive orchestration and for a score that is more melodically integrated than is typical of his previous work. Fanciulla displays influences from composers Claude Debussy and Richard Strauss, without being in any way imitative. Similarities between the libretto and the work of Richard Wagner have also been found^. though some attribute this more to the original plot of the play, and have asserted that the opera remains quintessentially Italian.

The opera had a successful and highly publicised premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, in 1910. Nevertheless, while Puccini deemed it one of his greatest works, La fanciulla del West has become a less popular opera within the composer's repertoire, drawing a mixed public reception overall. Despite the plot being a source of significant criticism, the majority of academics and musicians agree in calling it a magnum opus, particularly lauding its craftmanship. The conductor of the work's premiere, Arturo Toscanini, called the opera a "great symphonic poem".