Leonard Slatkin

Giancarlo Del Monaco’s atmospheric production brings to colorful life a 19th-century mining camp during the California Gold Rush. At the center of the action is the good-hearted bar owner Minnie, sung by Barbara Daniels, who takes a motherly interest in the miners. Plácido Domingo is Dick Johnson, also known as the bandit Ramerrez, who falls in love with Minnie. Sherrill Milnes sings Jack Rance, the sheriff who is not only determined to capture Ramerrez but also wants Minnie for himself. Bloodshed, a crooked poker game, a snowstorm, and a near lynching ensue before Minnie and her bandit-turned-lover can ride off to start a new life. Leonard Slatkin conducts one of Puccini’s most colorful scores.

Jean-Christophe Maillot has re-worked Swan Lake with the writer Jean Rouaud (1990 Prix Goncourt winner) to bring a new drama to this pillar of the classic repertoire. This new adaptation, filmed in a special studio-setting at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, brings a modern-day relevance to the timeless story of Siegfried and Odette.