The Girl of the Golden West

Virginia Opera

Considered the "first Spaghetti Western," Puccini's The Girl of the Golden West (La Fanciulla del West) highlights the rigors of the mid-1800's California mining rush and depicts the rough and tumble world of the Wild West. The titlular character is a hard-edged frontier saloon owner, Minnie, who keeps a close eye on the whiskey-drinking, card-playing miners at her establishment, while holding out for her own true love.