‘Girl of Golden West’ raises the bar for Eugene Opera
By Marilyn Farwell
For The Register-Guard
PUBLISHED: 12:00 A.M., MARCH 16
When Eugene Opera concentrates its resources and energy, it is capable of creating an exceptional production.
In the last several years, the opera has presented, as its second offering of the season, a lesser-known opera and succeeded beyond anyone’s expectations for a small opera company.
On Friday evening, it unveiled a rarely performed opera by Giacomo Puccini, “The Girl of the Golden West,” and with minimalist sets, a group of fine soloists and some solid stage direction, it produced a hit.
In 1910, Puccini’s opera was billed as an American opera when it premiered at the Metropolitan Opera, but his view of the American West was just as exotic and removed as his view of Japan in “Madama Butterfly.”
The opera is a romantic Western melodrama that modern Americans may find laughable, but if Friday’s audience is any indication we still cheer when the heroine Minnie enters with guns blazing, wins a poker game from the bad guy (baritone), and, at the end, goes into the future — alive — with her reformed bandit boyfriend (tenor).
The opera also contains some of Puccini’s most daring music, influenced by his avant-garde contemporaries, Richard Wagner, Claude Debussy and Richard Strauss.
Because Puccini, like Wagner, concentrated most of this opera’s musical meaning in heavily orchestrated, repeated motifs, the soloists must be able to sing through a powerful orchestra.
As the tavern owner Minnie, soprano Emily Pulley successfully filled the Hult with her ringing voice. Her intense acting became the center of the production and convinced us to believe in this corny story.
As the bandit Ramirez, Raul Melo made a splendid vocal impression. Although his acting is wooden, his sumptuous spinto tenor voice is charismatic.
In his last-act aria, the only clear-cut aria of the opera, Melo sang with conviction even if it was to his own tempo. As “sceriffo” Jack Rance, baritone Aaron St. Clair Nicholson was vocally and dramatically effective, although at times his voice was lost in the orchestral sound.
This opera also requires numerous comprimario roles and an all-male chorus representing the miners. Standouts included local singers Brennen Guillory as the bartender, and, in his first appearance with Eugene Opera, musical comedy regular Bill Hulings as Ashby.
Sandy Naishtat had fun as the card-cheat, Sid, and Harry Baechtel as the camp minstrel sang a lovely ballad.
Jonathan Christopher gave a strong performance as the ever-compassionate Sonora. The male chorus was excellent vocally and dramatically.
Andrew Bisantz conducted with sweeping lyricism and precision, although at times the orchestra overwhelmed the singers.
The sets were attractive minimalist outlines of a tavern, Minnie’s cabin, and, least effective, the last-act hanging scene.
David Lefkowich’s stage direction was crucial because some scenes would be laughable without a deft hand.
The second act in Minnie’s cabin opens with two Native Americans speaking in ways that would be objectionable to our current sensibilities. Both the sanitized supertitles and Lefkowich’s careful direction avoided anything embarrassing.
This production sets a gold standard for Eugene Opera’s future efforts.
Marilyn Farwell, a professor emerita of English at the University of Oregon, reviews vocal and choral music for The Register-Guard.