Three-act opera to honor its late composer

Gathering artists from China, the United States and Italy, La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West), a three-act opera by Puccini produced by the National Centre for the Performing Arts, will be staged at the NCPA in Beijing from July 23 to 27.

Since its premiere in 2019, the production has received warm feedback from Chinese audiences.

This staging of the opera marks the 100th anniversary of the composer's death.

Based on the play The Girl of the Golden West by American author David Belasco, the opera is a story of risk, romance and redemption.

In the upcoming performances, sopranos Jennifer Rowley and Anastasia Boldyreva play the role of Minnie, a saloon owner who is pursued by every man in town, and tenor Marco Berti takes the role of Dick Johnson, the only man that Minnie feels drawn to. Baritone Claudio Sgura plays the sheriff who is obsessed with Minnie and believes that Johnson is the bandit that they have been looking for. It is up to Minnie to uncover the truth to save Johnson from execution.

In the NCPA production directed by Thaddeus Strassberger, NCPA resident singers, the China NCPA Chorus and the China NCPA Orchestra perform under the baton of Carlo Rizzi.