Saucy.
So in class the other day, we discussed an opera by Puccini: La Fanciulla del West. Our professore said it was based on a second-rate play by the American playwrite David Belasco, the quasi-original author of Madam Butterfly. It's a long story about how everyone back then thought it was cool to pervert a Japanese cultural tradition into sex trafficking, and then write about it. But now I'm rambling.
The point is that there were real guns and horses on stage. And the heroine, Minnie, had to keep a handle on a bunch of drunken miners. And she did it while packing heat. She's rough, and tough, and saves the man she loves - a Wild West bandit - by winning him in a game of poker (she cheats). Sexy. But it's funny, because in the middle of the opera, she gets her first kiss. She's like an early 20th century version of Drew Barrymore. Add all that with the fact that they yell "HULLO!" and "YEE-HAW!" every other line, you've got yourself one awesome opera. Our professore told us that some people try to count the times "HULLO" is said over the course of the show... I think he may have the imaginings of a brilliant drinking game. We're in the Wild Wild West afterall, right?
Ciao Bella!
Matteo "Yippee-kai-aye!" Yazge
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