The problem, of course, is that such overt politically heavy-handed posturing makes it more difficult to create good drama. It is, in effect, a reflection of America’s current obsession with identity politics, of its need to expose its own historical, (and current), maltreatment of minority groups, and its need to purge its collective soul and seek forgiveness. The girls of the title have little in common with Puccini’s Minnie, but reflect the comparatively small number of women, made up of wives, prostitutes, entertainers, barmaids and others searching for a new life who decided to embark on a journey into this wild, all male environment. Having already rejected an offer to direct Puccini’s opera on the subject, presumably considering it superficial and politically at odds with his outlook, Sellars created a libretto populated by a more diverse range of characters drawn from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, including Mexican, Chilean, Chinese and Black Americans, inserting them into what was a predominantly white male mining community. Take, for example, the recent evening at Disney Hall with Julia Bullock and Ryan McKinny of a mix of Samuel Beckett plays and Franz Schubert lieder (Schubert was Beckett's favorite composer - he would sing along at the piano). Even with the recent Diebenkorn-Matisse show at the Museum of Art you could see the same SF divide and conflict - the conservative Diebenkorn alongside the radical Matisse.It was Adams’ long-term collaborator, Peter Sellars, who came up with the idea of making an opera about the gold rush, and who also took responsibility for creating the libretto.
Los Angeles seems to be more adventurous musically these days. I think there are two audiences in SF for opera - one very traditional, for whom the current production of Turandot (with Nina Stemme) is the standard and those who don't care about plot and would like to see the forms broken open. $10 gets a pretty good view (the equivalent of orchestra row 28) and a good sound mix (balcony standing sound is more articulate but sometimes too bright), Maybe he remembers the student days of going to standing room - which is not a bad option at the Opera house. Would that we could all go back again and again with press tickets.
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