The production marks the debuts of young, quickly rising opera stars, Julia Bullock, DavГіne Tines, Ryan McKinny and conductor Grant Gershon, who had led numerous orchestras across the country from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to the National Symphony Orchestra. The newest opera by composer John Adams, with libretto by director Peter Sellars, has been heralded as 'the most eagerly-anticipated new opera of the season.' The San Francisco Opera is bringing tales of 1850s California to audiences this month with Girls of the Golden West, premiering November 21. (415) 864-3330.Take a step back in time to see what life during the Gold Rush was really like. War Memorial Opera House, 301 Van Ness Ave., S.F. Libretto from period sources by director Peter Sellars. Steven Winn is the San Francisco ChronicleвЂ™s former arts and culture critic. вЂњWhat that means is that a handful of people get very rich, and everybody else gets poorer.вЂќ

вЂњPeople have always come to California with the idea of getting rich quickly,вЂќ he says. While the opera is firmly rooted in the 19th century, Sellars sees it as a piece with clear 21st century resonance of вЂњthe project and the possibility of California as this amazing multicultural society.вЂќ The opera also implicitly touches on вЂњwhat the nightmare of California is,вЂќ says Sellars, вЂњwith the worldвЂ™s largest prison system and all the inequality.вЂќДЄnd then thereвЂ™s the through line from the Gold Rush to Silicon Valley. The вЂњGirlsвЂќ cast of characters includes a black cowboy, a Chinese prostitute and the famed Irish-born вЂњSpanish dancerвЂќ Lola Montez. вЂњWeвЂ™re telling a real American story,вЂќ he says, with all the combustive variety of the Gold Rush itself. In writing and stitching together new melodies, the composer fashioned something Sellars compares to the celebrated Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill works вЂњThe Threepenny OperaвЂќ and вЂњRise and Fall of the City of MahagonnyвЂќ - without some of the ironic вЂњquotation marks,вЂќ as the director puts it. While scuttling the generic tunes (вЂњCamptown Races,вЂќ вЂњPop Goes the WeaselвЂќ), Adams seized on the song texts. Key breakthroughs came with вЂњThe Shirley Letters,вЂќ an eloquent and atmospherically rich epistolary trove written by a doctorвЂ™s wife (who appears as a character in the opera), and a collection of minersвЂ™ songs Sellars purchased from a rare book dealer. Sellars read or consulted some 80 works of California history. While an offer to stage PucciniвЂ™s 1910 California Gold Rush opera вЂњThe Girl of the WestвЂќ may have planted a distant seed for Sellars, the new Adams-composed work has no relation to it. вЂњAlmost every word,вЂќ says Sellars, who is credited with constructing the libretto, вЂњis right from the actual sources.вЂќД¬ommissioned by former San Francisco Opera General Director David Gockley, вЂњGirlsвЂќ took shape after a long period of research. The historical accuracy is central to вЂњGirls of the Golden West,вЂќ its story and language drawn directly from period letters, diaries, speeches, poetry and songs. ItвЂ™s Josefa Segovia, the barmaid portrayed by Bridges in the opera, who was hanged in Downieville on July 5, 1851, after stabbing to death an abusive suitor. вЂњEveryone was in tears.вЂќДЇor anyone conversant with California Gold Rush history, the name of the victim will ring an ominously familiar bell. вЂњWe were all devastated,вЂќ Sellars says quietly. That wasnвЂ™t the case the night before, he recalls, when the cast rehearsed a lynching scene that comes late in the second act. вЂњYouвЂ™re not taking one second of his bull-.вЂќДЇorty minutes later, on a rehearsal break, Sellars looks exhilarated rather than spent by what he and the performers have just been through.

вЂњLet him have it right back,вЂќ he says to Bridges, who nods and studies the ground at her feet a moment, as if gathering her strength. But the director is also setting the power-balance wheels spinning in contrary directions. вЂњI want you to take her by the arm,вЂќ he suggests to Appleby, вЂњand walk her around as if the two of you are going to have the most adorable kids.вЂќДЇor an observer, itвЂ™s like watching a sexual assault take form in deliberate, stop-and-start slow motion. вЂњThis is total Trump stuff.вЂќ Moments later, the director has a new, insidiously cozy idea. вЂњHeвЂ™s going to push every one of your buttons,вЂќ he says.

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