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{{Short description|2017 opera by John Adams}}
{{italicstitle}}
{{italic title}}
'''''Girls of the Golden West''''' is an [[opera]] in two acts with music by [[John Adams (composer)|John Adams]] and a [[libretto]] by [[Peter Sellars]]. The [[San Francisco Opera]] commissioned the work jointly with [[Dallas Opera]], the [[Dutch National Opera]] (De Nationale Opera) and [[La Fenice|Teatro La Fenice]] in Venice. As of June 2016, Adams was composing music to accompany the libretto.<ref name="2016-06-14 Press Release">{{Cite press release
{{Infobox opera
|url=http://sfopera.com/about-us/press-room/press-releases/girls-west/#sthash.QSpSe8x5.dpuf |dead-url=yes
| name = Girls of the Golden West
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006164634/https://sfopera.com/about-us/press-room/press-releases/girls-west/
| genre = [[Opera]]
|archive-date=October 6, 2017
| composer = [[John Adams (composer)|John Adams]]
|title=San Francisco Opera to Present World Premiere of 'Girls of the Golden West'
| image =
|author=San Francisco Opera |date=June 14, 2016
| caption =
|access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref> The opera was premiered in San Francisco on November 21, 2017.<ref>{{Cite web
| librettist = [[Peter Sellars]]
|url=https://sfopera.com/1718season/201718-season/goldenwest/
| language = English
|website=San Francisco Opera |title=Girls of the Golden West
| based_on = {{Based on|Letters|[[Louise Clappe]]}}
|access-date=November 22, 2017}}</ref>
| premiere_date = November 21, 2017
| premiere_location = [[San Francisco Opera]]
}}


'''''Girls of the Golden West''''' is an [[opera]] in two acts with music by [[John Adams (composer)|John Adams]] and a [[libretto]] by [[Peter Sellars]]. The [[San Francisco Opera]] commissioned the work jointly with [[Dallas Opera]], the [[Dutch National Opera]] (De Nationale Opera) and [[La Fenice|Teatro La Fenice]] in Venice. The opera was premiered in San Francisco on November 21, 2017.<ref name=SF>{{Cite web|url=https://sfopera.com/1718season/201718-season/goldenwest/|publisher=San Francisco Opera|title=''Girls of the Golden West'' – production details|access-date=October 26, 2018}}</ref> The running time is 160 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boosey.com/pages/opera/moredetails?musicid=58145|publisher=Boosey & Hawkes (music publishers)|title='John Adams Girls of the Golden West|access-date=January 21, 2023}}</ref>
The opera is inspired by the 1851/1852 letters of [[Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe]], who lived for a year and a half in the mining settlement of Rich Bar (now [[Diamondville, California]]) during the [[California Gold Rush]]. Clappe published the letters under the [[pen name]] Dame Shirley.<ref name="Shirley Letters">{{Cite book|title = The Shirley Letters|last = Shirley|first = Dame|publisher = Peregine Press|year = 1970|isbn = |location = |pages = }}</ref><ref name="Smith-Barazini">{{Cite journal|url = |title = Out of The Shadows Louise Clappe's Life and Early California Writings|last = Smith-Barazini|first = Marlene|date = Winter 1999–2000|journal = California History|accessdate = November 10, 2014|doi = |pmid = }}</ref> The libretto is also sourced from other literature of the period, including newspaper articles and the writings of [[Mark Twain]]. Adams wrote, "To be able to set to music the authentic voices of these people, whether from their letters or their songs or from newspaper accounts from their time, is a great privilege for me." Sellars, who will also direct the opera, conceived the libretto while doing research for a production of [[Giacomo Puccini]]'s 1910 opera ''[[La fanciulla del West]]'' (often translated into English as ''The Girl of the Golden West'' ), which also deals with the gold rush period. According to Sellars, "These true stories of the Forty-Niners are overwhelming in their heroism, passion and cruelty, telling tales of racial conflicts, colorful and humorous exploits, political strife and struggles to build anew a life and to decide what it would mean to be American."<ref name="2016-06-14 Press Release" />


==Composition history==
Sellars's previous collaborations with Adams have included premiere productions of ''[[Nixon in China]]'', ''[[The Death of Klinghoffer]]'' and ''[[Doctor Atomic]]'' (for which Sellars also wrote the libretto).<ref>Michael Cooper, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/15/arts/music/john-adams-and-peter-sellars-again-joining-forces-for-new-opera.html?_r=0 "John Adams and Peter Sellars Again Joining Forces for New Opera"], ''[[New York Times]]'', 14 June 2016, accessed 15 June 2016</ref>
The opera is inspired by the 1851/1852 letters of [[Louise Clappe]], who lived for a year and a half in the mining settlement of Rich Bar (now [[Diamondville, California]]) during the [[California Gold Rush]]. Clappe published the letters under the [[pen name]] Dame Shirley.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Shirley Letters|last = Shirley|first = Dame|publisher = Peregine Press|year = 1970}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Out of the Shadows: Louise Clappe's Life and Early California Writings|last=Smith-Barazini|first=Marlene|date=Winter 1999–2000|journal=California History|volume=78|issue=4|pages=238–261|doi=10.2307/25462581|jstor=25462581|url=http://ch.ucpress.edu/content/78/4/238}}</ref> The libretto is also sourced from other literature of the period, including newspaper articles and the writings of [[Mark Twain]]. Adams wrote, "To be able to set to music the authentic voices of these people, whether from their letters or their songs or from newspaper accounts from their time, is a great privilege for me." Sellars, who also directed the opera, conceived the libretto while doing research for a production of [[Giacomo Puccini]]'s 1910 opera ''[[La fanciulla del West]]'' (based on [[David Belasco]]'s 1905 play ''[[The Girl of the Golden West (play)|The Girl of the Golden West]]''), which also deals with the gold rush period. According to Sellars, "These true stories of the Forty-Niners are overwhelming in their heroism, passion and cruelty, telling tales of racial conflicts, colorful and humorous exploits, political strife and struggles to build anew a life and to decide what it would mean to be American."<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.boosey.com/cr/news/John-Adams-s-New-Opera-Girls-of-the-Golden-West-Announced/100859|title=John Adams's New Opera ''Girls of the Golden West'' Announced|publisher=[[Boosey & Hawkes]]|date=June 2016|access-date=October 26, 2018}}</ref>


Sellars's previous collaborations with Adams have included premiere productions of ''[[Nixon in China]]'', ''[[The Death of Klinghoffer]]'' and ''[[Doctor Atomic]]'' (for which Sellars also wrote the libretto).<ref>Michael Cooper, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/15/arts/music/john-adams-and-peter-sellars-again-joining-forces-for-new-opera.html?_r=0 "John Adams and Peter Sellars Again Joining Forces for New Opera"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 14 June 2016, accessed 15 June 2016</ref>
The opera received a scathing review in ''[[The American Conservative]]''.<ref name="amconreview">{{cite news|last1=Anderson|first1=Bradley|title=Curtain Goes Up on White Male Bashing Opera|url=http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/curtain-goes-up-on-white-male-bashing-opera/|accessdate=December 30, 2017|work=The American Conservative|date=December 20, 2017}}</ref>

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
!Role
![[Voice type]]
!Premiere cast,
21 November - 10 December 2017<br>(Conductor: [[Grant Gershon]])<ref name=SF />
!European Premiere cast,
28 February - 17 March 2019<br>(Conductor: [[Grant Gershon]])<ref name=SF />
!Los Angeles Premiere Cast,
27 & 29 January 2023<br>(Conductor: [[John Adams (composer)|John Adams]])<ref name=SF />
|-
|[[Louise Clappe|Dame Shirley]]
|[[soprano]]
|[[Julia Bullock]]
|[[Julia Bullock]]
|[[Julia Bullock]]
|-
|Ned Peters
|[[bass-baritone]]
|[[Davóne Tines]]
|[[Davóne Tines]]
|[[Davóne Tines]]
|-
|Joe Cannon
|[[tenor]]
|[[Paul Appleby (tenor)|Paul Appleby]]
|[[Paul Appleby (tenor)|Paul Appleby]]
([[Lucas van Lierop]] March 13 & 17)<ref>Michael Cooper, [https://operanederland.nl/2019/03/03/recensie-adams-girls-of-the-golden-west/ "RECENSIE: Adams – Girls of the Golden West"], 3 March 2019, accessed 19 January 2023</ref>
|[[Paul Appleby (tenor)|Paul Appleby]]
|-
|Ah Sing
|soprano
|Hye Jung Lee
|Hye Jung Lee
|Hye Jung Lee
|-
|Clarence
|bass-baritone
|Ryan McKinny
|Ryan McKinny
|Ryan McKinny
|-
|[[Josefa Segovia]]
|[[mezzo-soprano]]
|[[J'Nai Bridges]]
|[[J'Nai Bridges]]
|Daniela Mack
|-
|Ramón
|[[baritone]]
|[[Elliot Madore]]
|[[Elliot Madore]]
|[[Elliot Madore]]
|-
|[[Lola Montez]]
|dancer
|[[Lorena Feijóo]]
|
|
|-
|Fayette
|actor
|Kai Brothers
|Carlos García Estévez
|
|-
|Chorus of Miners
|Chorus of Male Voices
|San Francisco Opera Chorus
|Dutch National Opera Chorus
|Los Angeles Master Chorale
|}

==Recording==
In January 2023 two live performances of the opera, performed at [[Walt Disney Concert Hall]] and conducted by the composer were recorded for [[Nonesuch Records]], and were released in April 2024.


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Girls of the Golden West}}
*[https://www.boosey.com/pages/opera/moredetails?musicid=58145 Work details], including scoring, synopsis; [https://www.boosey.com/cr/news/John-Adams-introduces-Girls-of-the-Golden-West/101032 "John Adams introduces ''Girls of the Golden West''"], interview, [[Boosey & Hawkes]]
* [https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23280 The Gutenberg Project scanned page images from "The Shirley Letters from California Mines in 1851-52" published in 1922 by Thomas C. Russell]


{{John Adams (composer)}}
{{Portal bar|Opera}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girls of the Golden West}}
[[Category:2017 operas]]
[[Category:2017 operas]]
[[Category:Operas by John Coolidge Adams]]
[[Category:Operas by John Adams (composer)]]
[[Category:Operas set in the United States]]
[[Category:Operas set in the United States]]
[[Category:Historical operas]]
[[Category:Operas set in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Opera world premieres at San Francisco Opera]]
[[Category:Operas based on literature]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Music of the San Francisco Bay Area]]
[[Category:Culture of San Francisco]]
[[Category:California Gold Rush in fiction]]
[[Category:California Gold Rush in fiction]]

Latest revision as of 17:30, 1 December 2024

Girls of the Golden West
Opera by John Adams
LibrettistPeter Sellars
LanguageEnglish
Based onLetters
by Louise Clappe
Premiere
November 21, 2017
San Francisco Opera

Girls of the Golden West is an opera in two acts with music by John Adams and a libretto by Peter Sellars. The San Francisco Opera commissioned the work jointly with Dallas Opera, the Dutch National Opera (De Nationale Opera) and Teatro La Fenice in Venice. The opera was premiered in San Francisco on November 21, 2017.[1] The running time is 160 minutes.[2]

Composition history

[edit]

The opera is inspired by the 1851/1852 letters of Louise Clappe, who lived for a year and a half in the mining settlement of Rich Bar (now Diamondville, California) during the California Gold Rush. Clappe published the letters under the pen name Dame Shirley.[3][4] The libretto is also sourced from other literature of the period, including newspaper articles and the writings of Mark Twain. Adams wrote, "To be able to set to music the authentic voices of these people, whether from their letters or their songs or from newspaper accounts from their time, is a great privilege for me." Sellars, who also directed the opera, conceived the libretto while doing research for a production of Giacomo Puccini's 1910 opera La fanciulla del West (based on David Belasco's 1905 play The Girl of the Golden West), which also deals with the gold rush period. According to Sellars, "These true stories of the Forty-Niners are overwhelming in their heroism, passion and cruelty, telling tales of racial conflicts, colorful and humorous exploits, political strife and struggles to build anew a life and to decide what it would mean to be American."[5]

Sellars's previous collaborations with Adams have included premiere productions of Nixon in China, The Death of Klinghoffer and Doctor Atomic (for which Sellars also wrote the libretto).[6]

Roles

[edit]
Role Voice type Premiere cast,

21 November - 10 December 2017
(Conductor: Grant Gershon)[1]

European Premiere cast,

28 February - 17 March 2019
(Conductor: Grant Gershon)[1]

Los Angeles Premiere Cast,

27 & 29 January 2023
(Conductor: John Adams)[1]

Dame Shirley soprano Julia Bullock Julia Bullock Julia Bullock
Ned Peters bass-baritone Davóne Tines Davóne Tines Davóne Tines
Joe Cannon tenor Paul Appleby Paul Appleby

(Lucas van Lierop March 13 & 17)[7]

Paul Appleby
Ah Sing soprano Hye Jung Lee Hye Jung Lee Hye Jung Lee
Clarence bass-baritone Ryan McKinny Ryan McKinny Ryan McKinny
Josefa Segovia mezzo-soprano J'Nai Bridges J'Nai Bridges Daniela Mack
Ramón baritone Elliot Madore Elliot Madore Elliot Madore
Lola Montez dancer Lorena Feijóo
Fayette actor Kai Brothers Carlos García Estévez
Chorus of Miners Chorus of Male Voices San Francisco Opera Chorus Dutch National Opera Chorus Los Angeles Master Chorale

Recording

[edit]

In January 2023 two live performances of the opera, performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall and conducted by the composer were recorded for Nonesuch Records, and were released in April 2024.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Girls of the Golden West – production details". San Francisco Opera. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  2. ^ "'John Adams Girls of the Golden West". Boosey & Hawkes (music publishers). Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  3. ^ Shirley, Dame (1970). The Shirley Letters. Peregine Press.
  4. ^ Smith-Barazini, Marlene (Winter 1999–2000). "Out of the Shadows: Louise Clappe's Life and Early California Writings". California History. 78 (4): 238–261. doi:10.2307/25462581. JSTOR 25462581.
  5. ^ "John Adams's New Opera Girls of the Golden West Announced" (Press release). Boosey & Hawkes. June 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  6. ^ Michael Cooper, "John Adams and Peter Sellars Again Joining Forces for New Opera", The New York Times, 14 June 2016, accessed 15 June 2016
  7. ^ Michael Cooper, "RECENSIE: Adams – Girls of the Golden West", 3 March 2019, accessed 19 January 2023
[edit]
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