La Fanciulla del West by Giacomo Puccini Metropolitan Opera, April 1, 1992 Metropolitan Opera House I imagine a lot of people were here in the audience last night mainly to see Plácido Domingo -- but if they were paying attention at all, they left as fans of Sherrill Milnes. Fancuilla is an opera (like Lucia, interestingly) which is a whole far greater than the sum of its discreet parts. Lacking a big, show-stopping aria for any of the lead roles, it none the less builds powerfully to a most satisfying conclusion. Domingo sings beatuifully and commands the stage whenever he is present, and Barbara Daniels is a thoroughly competent Minnie, with the best music in the opera. But for my money, the show belonged to Sherrill Milne's languid, menacing Jack Nance, the sherrif in black whom he played and sang to perfection. Milnes was right in character from the opening tableau, his lean profile stretched out in the foreground of the stage, clad all in black with a snarling moustache and bright silver star. He stalked the stage, alternating between the languid observer and dangerous antagonist. I felt I knew the character Jack Nance better than any other when the opera ended. I don't remember any stand-out songs from Milnes, but his singing was always strong, penetrating, confident. Domingo entered late in Act One to a gasp of recognition from the audience; there is no denying the star quality he brings, even in this house and with these co-stars. His reception undoubtedly profited from that, too, but he also sang and acted well and deserved his welcome, although the performance wasn't over-powering. He had a strong emotional scene with Minnie in the middle of act two that clearly demonstrated the power he is capable of bringing both to the music and the drama. I found Barbara Daniels' Minnie unconvincing. She sang with confidence and bounced around the stage, but I didn't see any of the flint in her that the character demands. Her's was not a dance-hall madame capable of facing down the hostile mob at the finale. She was costumed in an almost prissy way and acted accordingly. The Metropolitan Opera experience was, as always, complete. The singers were all strong, down to the rowdy miner with a bit solo in the crowd scene. I especially remember the bartender Nick (Anthony Laciura) and a principal miner I think was Sonora (Kim Josephson). There were as many as 50 miners on stage at once, and they were well directed. Maybe it's just my fancy, but it seemed to me that these American faces were somehow better fitted to the characters of the miners than they sometimes seem to be to courtiers and Italian nobels. The sets were convincing to the last detail; during the opening scene in the final act, leaves actually blow across the street of the ghost town and the sky evolves throughout the act. Actors arrived on stage astride real horses walking across real dirt; a stagecoach pulled up behind the saloon in the first act. At Minnie's cabin, smoke curled convincingly from the stack as the snow fell outside. I as surprised by several things. The audience around us in the Grand Tier (second balcony, row D, $65 seats) was very loud and restless -- coughing, nose-blowing (!), some chatting in the overtures. Maybe I am just too prissy about that; I need to relax a little, especially when (as in most cases last night) the activity doesn't genuinely hurt my appreciation of the performance. Secondly, I was surprised at the racist stereotype allowed in the character of Billy Jackrabbit (Hao Jiang Tian), the Indian. He was a sneaky, drunk, bumbling lackey. Would the Met have allow that kind of characterization of a Black character, no matter what the original story called for? I can't imagine it. I will write and ask them how they came to this decision. Barbara and I bought our tickets 90-minutes before showtime, walking up to the box office and asking for returns. We were offered $95 orchestra seats before asking and then getting cheaper choices. We were also offered scalped tickets in the little park across the street on our way in, so it seems clear that we could have counted on getting in even if we hadn't gotten lucky. The seats were fine: clear view of the whole stage, adequate acoustics. The singing is definitely a lot clearer in the orchestra section, and so is the sense of involvement. It seemed odd in the balcony not to hear the applause better. It made me feel detached, somehow. I miss the supratitles I have come to expect in San Francisco, Covent Garden, Seattle, Anchorage. Other cast: Conducted by Leonard Slatkin (nothing special about the playing that I could hear); a new production by Giancarlo del Monaco; sets and costume by Micheal Scott (splendid); Julien Robbins (Ashby, Wells Fargo agent); Yanni Yannissis (debuting asJake Wallace, the minstrel). We have a lot of opera ahead of us: one each for the next three days. This was a splendid start.