[lit-ideas] Re: The Golden West
- From: "Lawrence Helm" <lawrencehelm@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2010 14:52:02 -0800
I love the opera and enjoyed this description of yours, JL, but isn't it "De
Camp Town Races"? At least that's the way I learned it as a kid. Was that
a corruption of "De Compton Races"? I can understand races near a camp, but
who would Compton be?
Lawrence
From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Jlsperanza@xxxxxxx
Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2010 2:09 PM
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [lit-ideas] The Golden West
S. Puccini and W. Toscanini will be celebrating the 100 years of Puccini's
little opera, "La fanciulla dell'occidente d'oro" -- a translation (set
into opera) of "The girl of the golden west", often filmed.
The action takes place in America, but it is spoken in Italian.
It relates the episodes of the 'gold rush' when many people (including
Americans) _rushed_ to the 'west' (henceforthward called 'golden') to get,
literally, gold (and get rich). It worked, notably in 1849. These are
called
the 'forty-niners'.
Puccini was able to quote in his delightful score some melodies as sung by
girls and boys in the saloons of those days. Such as "Sonora Slim", and
"Old Dog Tray", and "De Compton (Horse) Races" by Foster.
---- When the opera opened in New York City a hundred years ago, Puccini
was invited to a reception afterwards at the Vanderbilts who were then
living on Fifth Avenue.
The opera was later performed, with different degrees of success, in Italy
-- and elsewhere.
The main melody, "Ch'ella mi creda libero e lontano" was sung by Caruso on
opening night, but never recorded by him (due to a technicality with
Ricordi, the publisher of the score). In his wartime memories, however,
Puccini's biographer, V. Seligman recalls how he heard the Italian troops
in
Salonika marching along the tune in 1917. A sort of Tipperary, only
different.
The "Girl" was played by a Czech, and will be played tomorrow by La Voigt.
At the time, some people found the casting not so okay as they would have
preferred (at least H. Bonner, historian of the Metropolitan opera did)
Geraldine Farrar in the role.
------- Etc.
J. L. Speranza
The Swimming-Pool Library,
Bordighera, etc.
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