OPERA: THE GIRL OF THE GOLDEN WEST

The Girl of the Golden West is the world’s first spaghetti western. Set just after the California Gold Rush of 1849, La Fanciulla del West is the love story of Minny, a saloon maid (the delightful Anke Hopner) and a mysterious bandito (performed by Carlo Barricelli). Puccini wrote La Fanciulla del West in 1910 upon completing his three most famous operas: Madama Butterfly (1904), Tosca (1900) and La Boheme (1896). Commissioned to be the first opera at the New York Met, The Girl of the Golden West lacks the memorable arias of Puccini’s better known works, with the possible exception of Ch’ella me credo which is movingly sung by Barriceli in the third and final act, just as he is about to be hung from the gallows, reprieved and set free to ride off into the sunset with Minny. Director Nigel Jamieson projects old black and white western movies onto the set to create a signature Jamieson multimedia production (Honour Bound and Gallipoli). Set designer Michael Scott-Mitchell creates a massive saloon hall with wooden rafters, panels, floor boards and wooden tables befitting any boot scooting barn. But in the end it is Puccini’s lyrical score and mesmerising orchestral music as conducted by Arno Volmer which transports you to the pristine foothills of the Sierra Madre.

Until Aug 6, Sydney Opera House, $95-350, 9318 8200, opera-australia.org.au