There she sits with a calm dignity, dressing and putting on her jewelry, to face the crowd. When the miners find CannonРІР‚в„ўs body, they stampede to her adobe cottage. The Fourth of July celebration turns into a drunken brawl, and miner Joe Cannon (Paul Appleby) breaks down their door and tries to rape Josefa. Josefa warns of the disaster she foresees in the tiny mining town, her velvety mezzo-soprano pulses with an undertone of fear. In Downieville, Mexicans could not stake claims, so Ramon (Elliot Madore) and his wife Josefa (JРІР‚в„ўNai Bridges) work in a gambling den. An estimated 10,000 Mexican miners were driven from the gold fields. at 10 cents - $6.00, Girl - $250.РІР‚Сњ Ah SingРІР‚в„ўs aria, РІР‚СљA traveler on this shore, since coming to this frontier land, I bear all kinds of abuseРІР‚В¦РІР‚Сњ is derived from the poetry carved into the walls of the immigration station at Angel Island.Р”В¬hinese and Latin American miners were not welcome РІР‚вЂњ they were subjected to the Foreign MinersРІР‚в„ў Tax of 1850, forcing them to abandon claims or go broke. A bill of sale from found in San Francisco library archives attests to the truth of her tragic history, it lists РІР‚СљRice РІР‚вЂњ 6 mats, $12., Salt fish, 60 lbs. With bitter pride, she relates that 10 years later she is now worth $700. In a liquid soprano voice, she tells of being bought for $7 at the age of 10 and sold into prostitution.

She, like thousands of other girls, fled China to escape war, disease, and famine. And smarter men to make us grow, than England, France or Mexico.РІР‚СњР’В Though he sings РІР‚СљTo one and all, both young and old, youРІР‚в„ўre welcome here, the land of gold,РІР‚Сњ the mobРІР‚в„ўs brutal actions belie his words.Р”Р„h Sing (Hye Jung Lee) doesnРІР‚в„ўt feel welcome. A raucous crowd of drunken men threatens Chinese miners, shouting РІР‚СљYellow-skins, get out! Get out!РІР‚Сњ They whip, beat and slash the ears off Latin Americans, with cries of, РІР‚СљDeath for all Chileans, Mexicans and Peruvians.РІР‚СњР”В¬larenceРІР‚в„ўs words now reveal the minersРІР‚в„ў bigotry: РІР‚СљWeРІР‚в„ўve got more gold than all the worldРІР‚В¦and prisons too, weРІР‚в„ўve got the best.

Its gigantic trunk is now a stage for a bawdy FourthР’В of July celebration, featuring barroom girls dressed in skimpy red-white-and-blue tutus and the infamous Spider Dance of Lola Montez (Lorena Feijoo). The stage is dominated by the huge stump of a downed tree, no longer majestic. The bass-baritoneРІР‚в„ўs boastful description, РІР‚СљIt was the only population of its kind,РІР‚Сњ is followed by a scenic - if rather bumpy - journey by Dame Shirley (Julia Bullock) to the mining town of Rich Bar in a wagon is driven by Ned Peters (DavР“С–ne Tines), a fugitive slave turned cowboy.Р”В«ut by Act II, the glories of the Gold Rush and even the wonders of nature have fallen prey to greed, racist violence, and misogyny. His words, adapted from Mark TwainРІР‚в„ўs РІР‚СљRoughing It,РІР‚Сњ pretty much sum up the idealized view of the Gold Rush that California students are still taught in school. Forty-niner Clarence (Ryan McKinny) swings his pick, as he sings among towering, stylized redwood trees when the curtain rises on the premiere of new opera Girls of the Golden WestР’В (through Sun/10 at SF Opera) by John Adams and Peter Sellars.

Girls of the golden west script