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 (JвЂ™Nai 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.вЂќ Ah SingвЂ™s aria, вЂњA traveler on this shore, since coming to this frontier land, I bear all kinds of abuseвЂ¦вЂќ is derived from the poetry carved into the walls of the immigration station at Angel Island.Д¬hinese and Latin American miners were not welcome вЂ“ they were subjected to the Foreign MinersвЂ™ 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 вЂњRice вЂ“ 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.вЂќВ Though he sings вЂњTo one and all, both young and old, youвЂ™re welcome here, the land of gold,вЂќ the mobвЂ™s brutal actions belie his words.ДЄh Sing (Hye Jung Lee) doesnвЂ™t feel welcome. A raucous crowd of drunken men threatens Chinese miners, shouting вЂњYellow-skins, get out! Get out!вЂќ They whip, beat and slash the ears off Latin Americans, with cries of, вЂњDeath for all Chileans, Mexicans and Peruvians.вЂќД¬larenceвЂ™s words now reveal the minersвЂ™ bigotry: вЂњWeвЂ™ve got more gold than all the worldвЂ¦and prisons too, weвЂ™ve got the best. Its gigantic trunk is now a stage for a bawdy FourthВ 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-baritoneвЂ™s boastful description, вЂњIt was the only population of its kind,вЂќ 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 (DavГіne Tines), a fugitive slave turned cowboy.Д«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 TwainвЂ™s вЂњRoughing It,вЂќ 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 WestВ (through Sun/10 at SF Opera) by John Adams and Peter Sellars.

John adams girls of the golden west