Friday night's audience fell in love with Patricia Stevens, the New York soprano who sings the title role in the Abilene Opera Association's production of Puccini's ''The Girl of the Golden West.''

Nationally known director Ron Luchsinger has staged outstanding shows here, but this - AOA producer Jane Guitar's most-ambitious project - is especially impressive, with the AOA's largest orchestra, largest cast, complex stage sets and three virtuoso principals performing their parts for the first time. Not to mention the horses.

The whole cast is solid. An equal partner for Minnie, the mining-town saloon owner, must be a tenor who is more than merely adequate. Houston's Drew Slatton, as outlaw Dick Johnson, rises to the task with an upper-register power that suggests no hint of strain.

Consummate professional that he is, baritone William Parcher - whose artistry Abilene operagoers have long admired - fought off laryngitis to convey the full menace of Sheriff Jack Rance.

The supporting crew of cowboys and miners does well. Notable are Richard Reeves as Wells Fargo agent Ashby and Abilene Christian University's Samuel Cook as Nick the barkeep.

At the controls of the lush orchestral fabric and the intense drama on stage is young French conductor Denis Segond. Alert to every detail, Segond is a genius of the podium, surely bound for international stardom.

Amid this abundance of world-class talent, the night was still Stevens' to take, and seize it she did.

From her startling Annie Oakley-like entrance to her final whispered ''Addio,'' she displays an astounding vocal and emotional range. An adept actress whose looks are ideal for the role, Stevens also braves equestrian challenges few opera sopranos would even attempt.

If she doesn't win your heart, you don't have one.

Copyright 2005, Abilene Reporter News. All Rights Reserved.