La Fanciulla del West (or West End Girl)
Puccini’s La Fanciulla del West, literally the girl of the West, is one of his greatest operas, denied a place among his most well-known purely because it has no stand-alone pot-boilers such as Vissi d’arte or Che gelida manina. But the Debussy-inflected score has a refreshing integrity, and boasts some of the composer’s sweetest and most sincere music. It also benefits from a heart-warming story and, almost uniquely, a happy ending.
Tom Stoddart (Jack Rock), Ben Thapa ('Vik' Johnson) in La Fanciulla del West (or West End Girl) at the King’s Head Theatre, London (previous picture shows Laura Parfitt as Minnie) Photo: Christopher Tribble
The “West” of the title is the early 1900s American frontier, but Robert Chevara’s ballsy new production for OperaUpClose relocates the action to modern-day London - hence West End Girl. The updating, including scenes in a dodgy internet cafe and an underground car park, works remarkably well - there is hardly anything Wild West-specific about the music, anyway. The gold-mining population becomes a gang of eastern European immigrants who meet in Minnie’s cafe to drink, gamble, reminisce about “home” and watch Strictly Come Dancing - played with relish and plausibility by a strong cast. Laura Parfitt’s Minnie, who proudly describes herself as “not a slag or a slapper”, has terrific guts and passion, and there is genuine tenderness in her relationship with Ben Thapa’s bad-guy-made-good Johnson.
Music director John Gibbons realises Puccini’s sweeping score on the piano with panache, aided by a solo violinist, shamefully uncredited. Chevara’s English libretto, written with Kfir Yefet, is peppered with swearing and contemporary references - everything from Topshop to Spotify - that is well-calculated to appeal to newcomers but sensitive, too. The overall experience is marvellously uplifting, its emotional impact heightened by the intimacy of The King’s Head. The final scene will melt even the stoniest of hearts.
Production information
- Composer:
- Puccini
- Management:
- OperaUpClose
- Cast:
- Laura Parfitt, Demelza Stafford, Ben Thapa, Adam Crockatt, Tom Stoddart, Tom Bullard, Edmund Hastings, Matthew Stiff, Simon Meadows,
- Director:
- Robert Chevara
- Design:
- Nicolai Hart-Hansen
- Costumes:
- Jonathan Lipman
Production information can change over the run of the show.
Run sheet
- King's Head, Islington London
- February 3-March 3
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