Giacomo Puccini: La Fanciulla Del West / Carol Neblett, Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes / Chorus and Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Zubin Mehta / Deutsche Grammophon 3x LP Stereo 

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La fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Guelfo Civinini [it] and Carlo Zangarini [it], based on the 1905 play The Girl of the Golden West by the American author David Belasco. Fanciulla followed Madama Butterfly, which was also based on a Belasco play. The opera has fewer of the show-stopping highlights that characterize Puccini's other works, but is admired for its impressive orchestration and for a score that is more melodically integrated than is typical of his previous work. Fanciulla displays influences from composers Claude Debussy and Richard Strauss, without being in any way imitative. Similarities between the libretto and the work of Richard Wagner have also been found, though some attribute this more to the original plot of the play, and have asserted that the opera remains quintessentially Italian.

The opera had a successful and highly publicised premiere at the Metropolitan Opera, New York City, in 1910. Nevertheless, while Puccini deemed it one of his greatest works, La fanciulla del West has become a less popular opera within the composer's repertoire, drawing a mixed public reception overall. Despite the plot being a source of significant criticism, the majority of academics and musicians agree in calling it a magnum opus, particularly lauding its craftmanship. The conductor of the work's premiere, Arturo Toscanini, called the opera a "great symphonic poem".

La fanciulla del West è un'opera in tre atti di Giacomo Puccini, su libretto di Guelfo Civinini e Carlo Zangarini.

La prima rappresentazione avvenne con successo al Teatro Metropolitan di New York il 10 dicembre 1910, diretta da Arturo Toscanini, con Emmy Destinn, Enrico Caruso, Pasquale Amato, Angelo Badà e Antonio Pini-Corsi. Fino al 2011, l'opera ha avuto 104 recite.

Ai primi del 1907, durante un soggiorno nella metropoli statunitense, a Puccini accadde di assistere a un dramma di David Belasco, dal titolo The girl of the golden West, rimanendone oltremodo colpito. Ottenuto dall'autore il necessario consenso, incaricò il poeta Carlo Zangarini, a cui subentrò in un secondo tempo lo scrittore toscano Guelfo Civinini, di stendere il libretto.

Nell'estate del 1908 Puccini si accinse alla composizione, che, dopo un intervallo piuttosto lungo per motivi familiari, fu ultimata nel luglio del 1910.