La Fanciulla del West

Giacomo Puccini’s “American” opera, La Fanciulla del West, made its glamorous and much-publicized world premier in 1910 at the Met with the composer seated in the audience.

This romantic epic of the Wild West takes place in the mountains of California during the Gold Rush between 1849-1850 in a fictional setting, which features a combination of mythic and gritty realistic elements.

Most of the action in this three-act opera centers around the Polka Saloon where miners gather to drink, sing and play cards. It is there that Sherriff Jack Rance confesses his love to the gun-slinging heroine, Minnie— “Minnie, della mia casa” —but she spurns him, determined to win the man she loves, Dick Johnson. She does, but learns later he is the outlaw bandit being hunted. In the end, thanks to the mercy given by the miners, the couple rides away to start a new life together.

La Fanciulla del West was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera with Met stars Enrico Caruso and Emmy Destinn for whom Puccini created the leading roles of Dick Johnson and Minnie.

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