Baltimore Opera Company presents La Fanciulla del West

Baltimore Opera Company presents La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) by Giacomo Puccini Saturday, October 9 – 8: 15 pm Wednesday, October 13 – 7: 30 pm Friday, October 15 – 8: 15 pm Sunday, October 17 – 3: 00 pm

Giacomo Puccini (1858 -1924) 1876 – A performance of Verdi’s Aïda in Pisa inspires him to focus on opera composition. 1880 – begins study with Ponchielli at conservatory in Milan. 1883 – Le villi, written for a composition competition, fails to win even an honorable mention, but is produced by a group of influential friends in 1884. The performance is well-received by critics and audiences and results in music publisher Ricordi offering him a contract.

Giacomo Puccini (1858 -1924) Operas: Le villi (1884) (The Willis) Edgar (1889) Manon Lescaut (1893) La bohéme (1896) (The Bohemians) Tosca (1900) Madama Butterfly (1904) La fanciulla del West (1910) (The Girl of the Golden West) La rondine (1917) (The Swallow) Il trittico (1918) (The Trilogy) (Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi) Turandot (1926)

Giacomo Puccini (1858 -1924) Puccini’s works each manage vividly to evoke a specific locale which becomes as much a part of the story as the characters: Le Villi (1884) (The Willis) - Germany’s Black Forest Edgar (1889) - medieval Flanders Manon Lescaut (1893) - 18 th century Paris and Louisiana La bohéme (1896) (The Bohemians) - 1830 s Bohemian Paris Tosca (1900) - Rome, 1800 Madama Butterfly (1904) - modern-day Japan

Historical Background: The California Gold Rush John A. Todd, "James Wildon Marshal, " ca. 1884. California Historical Society, Photography collection, FN-13223, VIP 05409. Martin Behrman, "Marshall in front of Sutter's Mill, " gelatin silver copy photoprint from a daguerreotype. Artistic Source: Carleton E. Watkins after an 1849 daguerreotype attributed to Robert Vance. California Historical Society, Photography, Martin Behrman Collection, FN-12015, VIP 01403. January 24, 1848 – James Marshall discovers “some kind of mettle” in the tailrace of he’s building for John Sutter.

Historical Background: The California Gold Rush Henry R. Robinson, "A Gold Hunter on his Way to California, via St. Louis, “ ca. 1849, lithograph. California Historical Society, Fine Arts collection, FN-16057. Nathaniel Currier, "The Way They Go to California, " 1849, lithograph. California Historical Society, Fine Arts collection, FN-00033. May 12, 1848 – Sam Brannan comes to San Francisco, waves a bottle of gold dust in one hand his hat in the other, and shouts “Gold! Gold from the American River!” The Gold Rush has begun.

Historical Background: The California Gold Rush By late summer, over 6, 000 “Forty. Eighters” are working the gold fields. From a daguerreotype taken at Nevada City, CA, in Oct. , 1850, showing a 30 ft. shaft for gold mining. L(reading letter): Capt. J. Sewall Reed. Foreground (washing gold): Capt. E. D. Wadsworth. California Historical Society, Photography, George E. Lyman Collection, FN-24881. "Group of miners, " daguerreotype. California Historical Society, Photography collection, FN-23581, VIP 05302.

Historical Background: The California Gold Rush Concerned about regulating and securing their claims, miners took matters into their own hands, forming more than 500 selfgoverning mining districts. Each district had an elected recorder whose duties were to keep a record of all claims in the district and to settle disputes over contested claims. John Prendergast (attr. ), "James Stuart Hung by the Vigilance Committee on Market St. Wharf, On the 11 th of July 1851 – Immense Multitude Present -- 500 of the Vigilance Committee on Duty at the Execution, " 1851, lithograph. Justh Quirot & Co. , lithographers, San Francisco. Published by Justh Quirot & Co. , San Francisco. California Historical Society, bequest of Templeton Crocker, Fine Arts collection, FN-04141. Harrison Eastman, "The Miner's Ten Commandments, " 1853, wood engraving. Anthony & Baker, engravers, San Francisco. Published by James M. Hutchings, Placerville, California Historical Society, Fine Arts collection, FN-30782. Each district adopted its own unique mining codes. The codes defined such things as the maximum size of claims, the process of filing them, the necessity for continually working them, and what constituted the abandonment of a claim.

Historical Background: The California Gold Rush Fewer than 5% of California’s Gold Rushers left richer than they’d come. Songs expressing the loneliness and despair of the homesick miners were common. The Lousy Miner It's four long years since I reached this land, In search among the rocks and sand; And yet I'm poor when the truth is told, I'm a lousy miner in search of shining gold. […] (DETAIL ) - "Mining in Auburn Ravine in 1852. " California Historical Society, Photography collection, FN-13679. Oh, land of gold, you did me deceive, And I intend in thee my bones to leave; So farewell, home, now my friends grow cold, I'm a lousy miner in search of shining gold. Due to the mass immigration caused by the Gold Rush, California easily qualified for statehood. President Millard Fillmore signed the bill admitting California as a free state on September 9, 1850.

La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) Libretto by Guelfo Civini and Carlo Zangarini Based on the play by David Belasco (1905) Composed 1908 -10 Premiere: December 10, 1910, Metropolitan Opera, New York Emmy Destin, Enrico Caruso, Pasquale Amato Arturo Toscanini, conductor

“Hello, Nick!” Act I “Mistress Rance, fra poco”

“Hello, Minnie!”

“Dove eravamo? ” The Bible Lesson (excerpt) “Minnie, dalla mia casa” “Laggiù nel Soledad”

Act II “Oh, se sapeste” The Poker Game

Act III “Ch'ella mi creda libero e lontano” Minnie to the rescue Finale

Baltimore Opera Company presents La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the Golden West) by Giacomo Puccini Saturday, October 9 – 8: 15 pm Wednesday, October 13 – 7: 30 pm Friday, October 15 – 8: 15 pm Sunday, October 17 – 3: 00 pm To order tickets, call (410) 727 -6000 or visit www. baltimoreopera. com.