The Metropolitan Opera Puccinis La Rondine (2009)

This elegant romance is the leastknown work of the mature Giacomo Puccini The story concerns a kept woman who defies convention to chase a dream of romantic love with an earnest if naïve young man This Met Opera production features the dynamic soprano Angela Gheorghiu and Frenchborn tenor Roberto Alagna performing the roles of Magda and Ruggero it blooms into its rightful place in the glorious Puccini canon La Rondine The Swallow was commissioned by Vienna s Carltheater in 1913 Due to the impending outbreak of World War I premiered in 1917 at the Opéra de MonteCarlo with Gilda Dalla Rizza and Tito Schipa Set in a Parisian salon it is the story of Magda the glamorous mistress of wealthy banker Rambaldo Her yearning for romantic love compels her into the arms of the ardent and adoring young Ruggero