It isn't my favorite Puccini but it is his best. He agreed. It feels so tight and so complete. Minnie is a truly great heroine. Imagine this; the audience at the first performance knew probably less about the West than they did about Egypt when they saw Aida. The premiere was 1910; there were no movies yet, forget 50s American television.
You won't hear many arias but Puccini had moved on. The music sounds and feels richer. And oh those Pucciini orchestrations! The plot is solid and you get one of those great second acts that only Giacomo and his librettists could deliver. And an opera with a happy though not overly sentimental ending. A middle-aged woman falls in love for the first time; when did you ever see that in opera. Voigt is okay, Giordani less so. Find the Barbara Daniels - Placido production. It is far richer.
You won't hear many arias but Puccini had moved on. The music sounds and feels richer. And oh those Pucciini orchestrations! The plot is solid and you get one of those great second acts that only Giacomo and his librettists could deliver. And an opera with a happy though not overly sentimental ending. A middle-aged woman falls in love for the first time; when did you ever see that in opera. Voigt is okay, Giordani less so. Find the Barbara Daniels - Placido production. It is far richer.