Lyric Theatre, QPAC, South Bank, Brisbane

By Giacomo Puccini

“You gotta know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em!”

Everyone’s got gold fever! It’s the California Gold Rush and saloon sweetheart Minnie is protected by the tight-knit mining community. But everyone loves a bad boy and Minnie, who has waited all her life for the right man to walk through her doors, falls for the “new kid in town”, Dick Johnson, aka the wanted bandit Ramerrez. The stakes are high when Minnie plays poker for Johnson’s freedom which is short lived.

Set amongst the rough and tumble of a miner’s camp during the California Gold Rush, this masterpiece of Puccini’s, which he considered one of his finest works, has all the action, romance and pace of the greatest Hollywood westerns.

Soprano Zara Barrett stars as the adorable Minnie, with UK-based Australian-born tenor Julian Gavin, last seen here in Aida, as the dastardly Dick Johnson. Popular baritone Douglas McNicol returns to perform the role of Jack Rance, joined by José Carbó as Sonora, Andrew Collis as Ashby and Bradley Daley as Nick. Conductor Peter Robinson with director Gavin Robins.

With the Queensland Symphony Orchestra.
Sung in Italian with projected English translations.
An Opera Conference co-production.

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