Nixon in China,
The Death of Klinghoffer,
Doctor Atomic (about Oppenheimer). Composer John Adams' operas often relate to historical events of the recent past. The world of Girls of The Golden West is a little farther away in history. Yet, that history was indispensable to today's California as a melting pot of cultures. It was an unlikely collection of adventurers, outlaws, prostitutes, Africans,
… Mexicans, South Americans and Europeans who sought their fortune in the Sierra Nevada, the Land of Gold, during the legendary Gold Rush. The title Girls of the Golden West is a nod to David Belasco's 1905 play of the same name, the same play that inspired Puccini's opera La Fanciulla del West (1910). John Adams and stage director Peter Sellars further based their work not on that play, but on the testimonies of three women who were really there: Josefa Segovia, Ah Sing and Dame Shirley. The Mexican Josefa was hanged in 1851 for killing a miner in self-defense. The Chinese Ah Sing worked as a prostitute in various bars and brothels. Dame Shirley's ironic letters reached a wide audience at the time thanks to Pioneer Magazine. John Adams managed to capture the rough stories in music that is rhythmically constantly on edge. For the listener, this is sometimes a task, so without the visual. In that respect, a DVD recording would be welcome. (HJ)more 
