In November, the Estonian audience will have a rare opportunity for two nights to listen to the performance of the world-famous tenor José Cura as Dick Johnson in the western opera "The Girl of the Golden West", which Cura himself staged to the Estonian National Opera in 2018.
José Cura: "I sung my first Johnson/Ramirez in 1992 and have ever since been in love with this incredible opera. One can argue that it is not Puccini’s best libretto or his more rounded-up piece of music, but how veritable is this opinion if the harmonic and melodic revolution with which “Fanciulla” has shocked the musical world of its time, has resulted in such a huge crowd of post-fanciulla composers, shameless imitators of what was — and sometimes still is —, so heavily criticised? I have always dreamt of bringing to the surface the many moments of emotional and psychological depth in this remarkable composition and Estonian National Opera has now given me this chance. I really look forward to a beautiful collaboration, which I hope will result in a common project for many other titles to come."
Last performances of the "The Girl of the Golden West" will be on November 18 and 20, and the opera director and artist José Cura will appear before the audience in the role of Dick Johnson.