The Met Presents 100th Anniversary Revival of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West 12/6

Puccini's La Fanciulla del West will return to the Met stage on December 6 for a series of performances commemorating the 100th anniversary of the opera's 1910 world premiere at the Met. Deborah Voigt will sing the title role of Minnie for the first time at the Met, with Marcello Giordani in his role debut as Dick Johnson and Lucio Gallo as the villainous Jack Rance. San Francisco Opera Music Director Nicola Luisotti will conduct his first Met performances of the work, which the composer told The New York Times in 1910 he considered "the best of [his] operas." Giancarlo Del Monaco returns to direct the revival of his 1991 production.

La Fanciulla del West's 1910 debut was the first-ever world premiere presented by the Met. In a Gold Rush mining camp, tough frontier woman Minnie has her sights set on the mysterious Dick Johnson, and nothing-not horses, hangmen, or a high-stakes poker game-can keep her from true love. The performance on Friday, December 10 will commemorate the exact centennial of the opera's historic Met premiere.

When Deborah Voigt first performed the challenging role of saloon owner Minnie last summer at San Francisco Opera, the Associated Press found the role "ideally suited to Voigt's strengths - large, gleaming high notes and a stage presence that radiates an endearing charm," while the San Francisco Chronicle said her "theatrical vibrancy and considerable personal charm" made it "no stretch to imagine an entire troop of miners eating out of her hand." Giordani, who will be singing Dick Johnson for the first time in his career, has sung many Puccini roles at the Met, including leading roles in La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut, Turandot, and Tosca. Reviewing his performance in Tosca, the New York Times proclaimed him "a true Puccini tenor, with warm, throbbing, supple phrasing and some triumphant top notes." Lucio Gallo has sung a varied repertory at the Met that includes Escamillo in Carmen, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore.

Luisotti made his Met debut conducting Puccini's Tosca in 2006, and The New York Times praised him for his "passion" and "ability to bring out every detail of the score." Giancarlo Del Monaco's production, which features sets and costumes by Michael Scott and lighting design by Gil Wechsler, debuted at the Met in 1991 with Plácido Domingo as Dick Johnson. Elisabete Matos will make her Met debut as Minnie on December 22 and Carl Tanner will make his Met debut as Dick Johnson on December 27.

Fanciulla at the Met
The December 10, 1910 world premiere of the opera earned nineteen curtain calls for Puccini, stage director David Belasco, stars Emmy Destinn and Enrico Caruso, and conductor Arturo Toscanini. A review in the New York Herald suggests that the evening was a triumph for all involved: "The event had been looked forward to as socially one of the most brilliant in the history of the house, and the result justified expectation. Miss Destinn in the title role...sang as she never had here before, particularly in the second act, when her vocal art was taxed to the utmost. Mr. Caruso, as Dick Johnson, had one of the best rôles that has ever fallen to his lot. Mr. Toscanini seemed to have poured all his artistic self into the conducting. Seldom has such team work among great artists been seen and heard. In a word, it was the kind of premiere of which older Europe would have been very proud and of which New York would have been envious."

The opera has been revived at the Met ten times. Destinn and Caruso repeated their successful performances in the opera for three consecutive seasons following the premiere. Maria Jeritza took on the role of Minnie in 1929 and 1930 revivals. A new production starring Leontyne Price and Richard Tucker opened the 1961 season, with Dorothy Kirsten and Franco Corelli assuming the lead roles in 1965. Renata Tebaldi, who had recorded the role but never performed it onstage, sang her first Minnie at the Met in a popular 1970 revival. Del Monaco's production premiered in 1991 with Plácido Domingo as Dick Johnson.

Live Broadcasts Around the World
La Fanciulla del West will be experienced by millions of people around the world this season in movie theaters, on the radio and on the internet, through distribution platforms the Met has established with various media partners.

The January 8 matinee of La Fanciulla del West will be transmitted to more than 1,500 movie theaters in more than 40 countries globally as part of The Met: Live in HD series.

The opening performance on December 6 will be broadcast live on Metropolitan Opera Radio on SIRIUS channel 78 and XM channel 79, as will the performances on December 14, December 22, January 3, and January 8.
The opening performance on December 6 will also be available via internet streaming at the Met's web site www.metopera.org. The January 8 matinee at 1:00 p.m. will be broadcast live over the Toll Brothers-Metropolitan Opera International Radio Network.

 

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