La Rondine, Opera by G. Puccini
Giacomo Puccini's three-act lyric comedy, La Rondine may be one of the great composer's lesser-known works but it exhibits all of the maestro's musical panache and skill. This production at Rome's Teatro dell’Opera di Roma showcases the numerous melodic arias and lively rhythms that are behind the freshness and vibrancy of the opera, features that are still evident to this day. La Rondine, known as The Swallow in English, is often considered by opera fans to be a hidden gem, echoing something of Verdi's La traviata in its plot line but a genuinely original work that is well worth getting to know better.
Puccini wrote La Rondine to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, the writer who would later collaborate on one of the composer's highly regarded operas, Turandot. Originally, La Rondine was commissioned by the directors of a theatre in Vienna as an operetta. Puccini chose to write a lyric comedy, with no spoken dialogue, instead, after confirming this would be acceptable. However, when the opera was completed, in 1916, the First World War had broken out and Vienna was no longer a suitable place to stage its premiere. Consequently, the Grand Théâtre de Monte-Carlo was chosen as the venue for its debut performance, since Monaco was a neutral state during the conflict. The opera was first performed there on 27 March 1917 and was greeted with great acclaim, but the circumstances of its wartime premiere meant that it didn't achieve the widespread popularity many of Puccini's contemporaries thought it deserved.
Set in France, the plot of La Rondine focuses on a courtesan named Magda and her search for true love. She – and her protector, Rambaldo – have become well-known figures among the fashionable set in Paris, enjoying the high life. When a chance meeting occurs at Magda's salon with a young man named Ruggero, memories of a past romance are brought to the fore in her mind. As the social gathering continues, some of the guests head to a dance hall, the then-fashionable Bullier’s. In disguise, Magda follows them and spends the evening with Ruggero. They talk, laugh and dance with one another. Magda is evidently smitten and falling in love. Later, Magda informs Rambaldo that she intends to leave him for Ruggero, whom she considers to be her true love. Eventually, Ruggero and Magda move in together, living a new life on the French Riviera. Magda is torn because she knows she has deceived her new lover about her past. Will their love survive or will Rambaldo's entreaties to his former lover have the effect on Magda he hopes for?
This production of La Rondine at Rome's Teatro Costanzi, as the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma is also known, showcases Puccini's mastery of emotion, tenderness and melody with all of the dramatic flair for which the composer has become renowned.