In her вЂњSpider Dance,вЂќ FeijГіo explains, вЂњLola is not afraid to have these awful bugs on her. Lola MontezвЂ™s big dance number is played on the surface of a giant redwood stump. It can be very infectious, like this viral good sickness.вЂќ вЂњIf itвЂ™s your love and passion, itвЂ™s like nothing else when you are dancing and connecting with an audience. I gather that her drive and conviction were what came across.вЂќДЇor FeijГіo, thatвЂ™s a call to action. I cried from happiness to have this job.вЂќДЄs Lola Montez, вЂњthe Latin dancer who was not Latin,вЂќ FeijГіo is portraying someone who, the research suggests, вЂњwas seen as a great dancer without necessarily being one. вЂњI canвЂ™t believe they are paying me to do this. вЂњTo me itвЂ™s like the best gift in the world - hearing that,вЂќ says the former San Francisco Ballet dancer. вЂњThereвЂ™s nothing like working with a great composer,вЂќ says Lee.ДЇeijГіo doesnвЂ™t sing a note in вЂњGirls of the Golden West,вЂќ but she loves it when everyone else does. Musically, the part is вЂњhigh and hard.вЂќ Adams, who consistently earns high marks from singers, adjusted some of the range and truth. And sometimes,вЂќ she adds pointedly, вЂњheвЂ™s sincere.вЂќ Joe Cannon wins Ah SingвЂ™s heart, at first, because he doesnвЂ™t treat her the way the other men have. Unlike roles she has sung that are either вЂњhappyвЂќ (Susanna in вЂњThe Marriage of FigaroвЂќ) or вЂњso badвЂќ (Madame Mao in вЂњNixon in ChinaвЂќ), Ah Sing is more emotionally layered, вЂњfragile but also strong. вЂњShe comes to San Francisco very poor to find her dignity and wealth and wants to find a rich husband.вЂќ Instead she falls in love with the dangerous Joe Cannon and winds up, as the singer puts it, вЂњdestroyed and alone.вЂќ вЂњIвЂ™ve never played this kind of character,вЂќ says Korean soprano Lee of the Chinese prostitute Ah Sing. вЂњThatвЂ™s helped me shake off some worries about the beauty of my voice.вЂќ вЂњHe writes great tunes, great melodies,вЂќ she says. Like Bridges, Bullock praises the singability of the Adams score. вЂњShe never has furious words, even when the temptation to violence, the temptation of not wanting to be humanвЂќ lurks all around her, Bullock explains. ItвЂ™s only when we do that honestly that real change can happen.вЂќДЄs the narrative observing eye, Dame Shirley has a certain equipoise. вЂњJohn and Peter (Sellars, the operaвЂ™s director) ask us to look at our own history, to examine the uncomfortable things. The speech also expresses some of the pent-up tension in the operaвЂ™s story, what Bullock calls вЂњthe misunderstood inner conflictsвЂќ that can lead to chaos and destruction. вЂњShe takes it on quite seriously,вЂќ notes Bullock. At the start of the second act, Dame Shirley performs a Lady Macbeth soliloquy in an amateur production of the play.

She demands me to be at my most conscious and aware.вЂќ But throughout thereвЂ™s this clarity of mind. Later on, as вЂњthe gravity of circumstances hit her, she becomes more stark and straightforward. Musically it feels wonderful.вЂќДЇor Bullock, Dame Shirley is all вЂњlight and effervescentвЂќ as she recounts her early impressions of her Gold Rush adventure. вЂњJohn (Adams) writes so well for the voice. вЂњI could cry,вЂќ the mezzo-soprano continues, about playing a woman who kills a predatory man and is lynched, вЂњbut I have to be able to sing.вЂќДЄt the same time, she adds, the pleasure of singing the role is palpable. вЂњIвЂ™m a black woman in America.вЂќДЇresh from a rehearsal of San Francisco OperaвЂ™s forthcoming вЂњGirls of the Golden West,вЂќ the new John Adams-Peter Sellars opera in which she plays a violence-scarred Gold Rush barmaid, Bridges locates the hot-wired connection to her character. вЂњI live this every day,вЂќ says JвЂ™Nai Bridges. Michael Short/Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less Michael Short/Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 4 of4 Girls of the Golden West cast member J'Nai Bridges portrays character Josefa Segovia. Michael Short/Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 3 of4 Girls of the Golden West cast member Julia Bullock portrays character Dame Shirley. Michael Short/Special to The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of4 Girls of the Golden West cast member Hye Jung Lee portrays character Ah Sing. 1 of4 From left, Girls of the Golden West cast members Hye Jung Lee, Julia Bullock, and JпїЅNai Bridges, poses for a portrait in the Wilsey Center Taube Atrium Theater in San Francisco, CA, on Sunday October 29, 2017.

Ah sing girls of the golden west