La Fanciulla del West

Puccini’s penultimate opera, based on the play by David Belasco, and which marked a new stylish departure for him, is set at the height of the notorious Californian Gold Rush. The orchestration and musical colour of this opera represent a major advance on Puccini's previous work, especially in the careful interweaving of Western elements into an altogether larger canvas than anything he had tackled before. In this recording Piero Faggioni's highly detailed staging is matched by Ken Adam's superbly atmospheric sets. Carol Neblett sings the role of Minnie - 'The Girl of the Golden West' - Placido Domingo is as ignitable as ever in the role of Dick Johnson, alias the bandit Ramirez, and Silvano Carroli is the sinister Sheriff, Jack Rance.