Composer John Adams describes the story behind San Francisco Opera’s “Girls of the Golden West.”
TRANSCRIPT
We have a myth of the Gold Rush and its gritty John Ford type people up against the harshness of nature.
In fact, the history is full of both nobility and terrible depravity.
We live in a time now where there's interest in the people who, as we say, were written out of history.
And in the case of the Gold Rush the Native Americans, Mexicans, Chileans and there were actually freed slaves and the women.
There aren't many women out here during the Gold Rush, but those that were here were pretty extraordinary people.
This is this is the most wonderful book.
Peter discovered these letters that were written by Louise Clappe.
“I am the only petticoated astonishment on this bar.” This woman from Massachusetts who spent 18 months in a very, very crude mining encampment called Rich Bar.
Louise Clappe, who wrote letters from a filthy, crude camp in the Sierras, is having her words sung by Julia Bullock.
♪ Onions and potatoes ♪ [Vocalizing] Oh, that's different.
Even though Louise Clapp came out of this Victorian era with all of the communities that she was encountering and all of the environments that she was encountering it was with a complete openness and sort of wonderment.
♪ Dinner was truly excellent ♪ [Vocalizing] Oh, ok!
Cool.
And then its an octave replacement.
Yeah!
Yes.
[Vocalizing] [Mimicking vocalizing] [Laughs] Let's go from 446.
[Piano playing] [Vocalizing] Most of the characters in the opera are real people, historical people.
Josefa Segovia, this young Mexican woman, defended herself against a miner who was harassing her.
Stabbed him, killed him, and the next day was lynched off a bridge over the Yuba River on Independence Day, ironically.
I don't remember learning that in school.
She's kind of unwritten in history.
Not kind of, she is.