By Lawrence A. Johnson [Sun-Sentinel.com, 19 November 2005]

Five-card draw, Wells Fargo robberies, gunplay and necktie parties are curios more often glimpsed on a John Wayne late show than encountered on the opera house stage.

Yet these ingredients are currently on vibrant display at Miami-Dade County Auditorium, where Puccini's La fanciulla del West is running through Nov. 26. Florida Grand Opera has opened its 65th season with a rambunctious production of Puccini's operatic Western love story, its first staging of The Girl of the Golden West in 28 years.