La Fanciulla del West

European directors appear to be more frequently adopting the idea of reframing operas in cinematic terms, which is the approach taken here by Christof Loy to Puccini's 1910 Wild West piece in this 2012 staging for the Royal Swedish Opera. The orchestral prologue is set to a filmed credits sequence aping the style of 1950s Westerns—complete with Monument Valley vistas—and projections mimicking the onstage action appear periodically against the rear of the stage. Fortunately, the concept doesn't overwhelm the story, which for the most part is presented in proper period costume (the sets are relatively spare, but some striking visual effects offer compensation). Happily, the musical side of the production is excellent, with Nina Stemme in powerful voice as Minnie, the barkeeper who rescues her lover, bandit Dick Johnson, from the clutches of Sheriff Jack Rance. John Lundgren cuts a menacing figure as the lusty lawman, and although Aleksandrs Antonenko seems a trifle weak as Johnson, the rest of the cast registers strongly, while Pier Giorgio Morandi leads the company orchestra and chorus in a committed reading that misses only the final measure of fire and passion. The Girl of the Golden West, as the title is usually translated, lacks the famous tunes of the composer's more popular works, but it's an expertly crafted piece, and this performance is preferable to the visually wacky mounting from the Netherlands Opera (VL-3/11). Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, this is recommended. (F. Swietek)