Word: fanciulla
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...only three years ago saw a rancorous strike senselessly deprive thousands of printers and journalists of jobs, and New York of a great newspaper, talk of the Met's going out of business was chilling indeed. Considerable damage has already been done. Two promising revivals-Puccini's Fanciulla del West and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin-have already been lost even if the Met opens, as it still conceivably could, in a month. Herbert von Karajan's new Siegfried, which must be done in November or not at all, seems likely to be scratched too. Though...
...house in Manhattan's Lincoln Center. General Manager Rudolf Bing, 64, cocked an expert ear at all the noise and reported: "We're in great shape." Then the kids settled down for a performance of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West, the first show in the new quarters, which open officially in September...
...mastering 25 major roles as he developed from a lyric tenor to a lirico spinto (midway between lyric and dramatic). He is not identified with any single role, but ranging between the romantic bel canto flights of Lucia di Lammermoor and the more declamatory style of Turandot or La Fanciulla del West, he has created some memorable characterizations: Don Jose in Carmen, Rodolfo in La Boheme, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto...
...reason that Fanciulla failed to catch on permanently is that it was not truly a singer's opera: moving in the direction of Turandot, Puccini at the time was experimenting with more complex harmonies, increasing the importance of the orchestra and giving the singers fewer of the swooning set pieces that illuminated works like Boheme. And although the libretto is no more farfetched than that of many another opera, it falls strangely on American ears attuned to Hollywood and TV westerns...
...Fanciulla opens, a crowd of gold miners surges into the Polka ("A Real Home for the Boys"), order "veeskey" and proceed to drink a toast ("Veils Fargo!" shouts one sport; "Ip! ip!" reply the miners). The most unpopular man in the place is Sheriff Jack Ranee, who divides his time between lusting after Minnie, the Polka's owner, and pursuing a bandit named Ramerrez. In Act I, Minnie falls in love with Dick Johnson, a stranger in the Polka, invites him up to her place on the mountain only to learn in Act II that he is Ramerrez. When...