“La fanciulla del West” by Giacomo Puccini

Notes on the Libretto

The Italian libretto of La fanciulla del West, by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini, combines the language of Italian opera with the rough speech, gambling expressions, and occasional English phrases of the American frontier. Preparing the Italian–English side-by-side text involved a careful review of the original, correction of numerous transcription errors, and the creation of a new English translation.

Particular attention was given to expressions whose meaning depends on their dramatic context. When Minnie jokingly declares, “Gli aggiusteremo i ricci,” Johnson later responds, “Chi c'è, per farmi i ricci?” Preserving the reference to his curls in both English passages restores a playful exchange that a freer translation might obscure.

The Italian text also required corrections to damaged punctuation, character names, and occasional words distorted during transcription. Historical spellings and colloquial expressions were retained where meaningful, while the English translation was revised to preserve details of the dialogue and stage directions, some of which are easily lost in abbreviated versions.

One of the libretto's most carefully constructed connections occurs between Acts I and III. Minnie's teaching that no sinner is beyond redemption returns almost word for word in her final appeal to the miners. What begins as a lesson from the Bible becomes the moral argument upon which Johnson's life depends.