Giacomo Puccini
Every Lithuanian should mark this date in red well in advance: our soprano Vida Miknevičiūtė is making her debut on one of the world’s most prestigious opera stages. True, her actual debut will take place on December 31 of this year, and V. Miknevičiūtė will perform in a total of nine performances, one of which will be broadcast worldwide. She has been cast in the lead role of Mina, the beautiful saloon owner, while the role of her lover, Dick Johnson—or, more precisely, the “dangerous criminal” Ramirez—will be played by South Korean tenor SeokJong Baek.
The new production of *La Fanciulla del West* is directed by the renowned British director Richard Jones, and this marks the first entirely new staging of this Wild West-themed opera at the Metropolitan Opera in over 30 years. Incidentally, the world premiere of this opera by G. Puccini took place on December 10, 1910, at the Metropolitan Opera House. At that time, the leading roles were sung by Emmy Destinn and Enrico Caruso, and the premiere was conducted by the legendary Arturo Toscanini.
Conductor: Keri-Lynn Wilson. Cast: Vida Miknevičiūtė, Seok-Jong Baek, Christopher Maltman.
Running time: 3 hours 15 minutes (1 intermission)
