Thomas Clark

The Full Story

To celebrate the USA's 250th anniversary, the Voice Studio of Thomas Clark presents Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West. The production will be fully staged and performed in a bold and exciting new English translation by Thomas Clark. Originally written in 1905 by playwright David Belasco (who also authored Madame Butterfly), The Girl of the Golden West takes place during the Gold Rush in California around 1849. The original play was used as the basis for the opera La Fanciulla del West by Puccini in 1910, and has enjoyed great success since its premiere at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. That production starred Emmy Destinn and Enrico Caruso, with the esteemed Arturo Toscanini conducting. Indeed, Puccini himself declared that La Fanciulla del West was his finest opera. Thomas Clark’s new translation promises to bring contemporary audiences even closer to the essence of the opera, the themes of which involve deception, desire, love, forgiveness, and ultimately, redemption. The opera will be presented complete (i.e., without cuts to the score), a rarity for performances of this work.

This new production stars world-class singers Jordan Best as Minnie, owner of the Polka Saloon, Xavier Prado as the bandit Dick Johnson (first 6 performances; John Kun Park sings the final 2), and Robert Balonek as Sheriff Jack Rance. The performance is conducted from the piano by Umberto Barisciano and Gary L. Stanford, Jr., is the stage director.

There will be eight performances in Pacifica and Santa Cruz. It will be the first time this opera will be performed in those cities.

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About the Opera
 

Written in 1910 after a 1905 play by American playwright David Belasco, The Girl of the Golden West (originally La Fanciulla del West) was Giacomo Puccini’s 7th opera (he wrote 12 in total), and was composed after a long succession of massively popular operas that included Manon Lescaut, La Bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly. As Puccini's only opera that is set in America, The Girl of the Golden West takes place in a small mining settlement in the California foothills during the Gold Rush of 1849. It tells the story of Minnie, the headstrong owner of the Polka Saloon, the Sheriff who desires her, and the bandit Dick Johnson, who comes into town to steal gold, but instead steals Minnie’s heart.​

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CREATIVE TEAM:

Music by Giacomo Puccini

New English translation of the original Italian libretto by Thomas Clark

Conducted from the piano by Umberto Barisciano

Producer - Thomas Clark

Assistant Producer - Russell Low

Stage Director - Gary L. Stanford, Jr.

Set Designer - Billie King

Projection Designer - Zachary Wilson

Lighting, Audio, Rigging Designer - Megan Thompson 

Prop Designer - Kevin Stanford

Costume Designers - Gary L. Stanford, Jr., Jordan Best, Thomas Clark

Fight/Intimacy Coordinator - Bessie Zolno

Stage Manager - Gia Gonnella

Publicist - Lawrence Helman

CAST:

Minnie - Jordan Best

Dick Johnson - Xavier Prado (first 6 performances); John Kun Park (final 2 performances)

Sheriff Jack Rance - Robert Balonek

Nick - Thomas Clark

Ashby - Timothy Tsang

Sonora - Sebastian Stock

Trin - Michael Good

Sid - Joshua Porter

Handsome - Jace Parker

Harry - Joshua Porter

Joe - Richard Bogart

Happy - Noah Nelson Fadrigon Llorando

Larkens - Gary L. Stanford, Jr.

Wowkle - Lizz Hodgin Weihrauch

Jake Wallace - Timothy Tsang

Castro - Diego Granobles

A Postillion - Michael Good

Ensemble: Leonardo Capistrano, Veronica Talton

Minnie (cover) - Melody Tachibana King