(2) videos
La Fanciulla del West, Puccini's best, least-known opera, recently turned 100. The rollicking spaghetti Western — which takes place during the California Gold Rush — premiered December 10, 1910, at New York City’s Metropolitan [...]Opera. But despite its initial success, it didn't prove to be as popular as La Bohème, Tosca, or Madama Butterfly.
In celebration of the opera’s centennial, Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, in conjunction with the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, hosted “Fanciulla 100: Celebrating Puccini,†a symposium that featured numerous musical experts and historians. The conference concluded with a three-person panel led by Walfredo Toscanini, grandson of original Fanciulla conductor Arturo Toscanini; writer and music historian Harvey Sachs, author of Toscanini (1978), Reflections on Toscanini (1991), and The Letters of Arturo Toscanini (2002); and Cheryl Green, great-grand niece of David Belasco, whose play The Girl of the Golden West inspired Puccini to write Fanciulla.
Hosted by the College of Fine Arts and the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center on December 6, 2010.
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La Fanciulla del West, Puccini's best, least-known opera, recently turned 100. The rollicking spaghetti Western — which takes place during the California Gold Rush — premiered December 10, 1910, at New York City’s Metropolitan [...]Opera. But despite its initial success, it didn't prove to be as popular as La Bohème, Tosca, or Madama Butterfly.
In celebration of the opera’s centennial, Boston University’s College of Fine Arts, in conjunction with the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center, hosted “Fanciulla 100: Celebrating Puccini,†a symposium that featured numerous musical experts and historians, including set and costume designer John Conklin. An instructor at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and artistic advisor to the Boston Lyric Opera, Conklin has designed for the Metropolitan Opera, the New York City Opera, the New York Shakespeare Festival, and Broadway and off-Broadway productions.
In the video above, Conklin recalls David Belasco, whose 1908 play The Girl of the Golden West inspired Puccini’s opera. “Belasco is remembered most for his connection with Puccini,†he says, “and this celebration of the premiere of Fanciulla brings him back into the limelight.â€
Hosted by the College of Fine Arts and the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center on December 6, 2010.
More info