La Rondine | Giacomo Puccini

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 naďve, young man. She is the swallow, or “rondine,” of the title, a bird who flies toward the sun. The central relationship unfolds in colorful locales in Paris and the south of France, all evoked with superb musical details. Puccini was originally approached for this project by Viennese producers who wanted an operetta. This idea was quickly abandoned, but the original conception had an effect on the finished product, with its abundance of waltzes, romantic vision of Paris, and lightness of tone. History worked against La Rondine’s success, however: Italy and Austria became enemies during World War I, precluding a Vienna premiere, and the opera quietly opened in neutral Monte Carlo, never finding a permanent place in the repertoire. That loss is scandalous, since La Rondine, judged on its own merits rather than compared to other operas with similar themes, is a fascinating work. Given the right cast and production, it blooms into its rightful place in the glorious Puccini canon.

The Creators
Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) was immensely popular in his own lifetime, and his works remain staples in the repertory of most of the world’s opera companies. His operas are celebrated for their mastery of detail, sensitivity to everyday subjects, copious melody, and economy of expression. Giuseppe Adami (1878–1946) provided Puccini with the libretto for La Rondine and would later work with him on Il Tabarro and Turandot. He also edited Puccini’s letters for publication after the composer’s death and was noted for his work in the theater and as a film director. The outline of La Rondine was provided by the Viennese author, journalist, and composer Alfred Maria Willner (1859–1929) and his collaborator Heinz Reichert (1877–1940), who wrote operetta librettos for several of the most popular composers of the day, including Franz Lehár.

The Setting
Each of the three acts of La Rondine evokes a different aspect of French life, as well as a different take on the nature of love. Act I is set in the title character’s elegant salon, where she is a fashionable woman kept by a wealthy man. Poets and other free spirits engage in witty banter. Act II is set in the raucous Bal Bullier, a famous Latin Quarter dance hall popular with students, the working poor, the adventurous middle class, and tourists. The third act is set outside of Nice on the French Riviera. Puccini originally imagined the setting to be in the time of the Second Empire (circa 1860), although the milieu he depicted is not specific to any single historical moment. The current production places the action in the 1920s.

The Music
The score of La Rondine is sophisticated and economical. One of its most striking features is the use of ambient sounds, a touch Puccini had always excelled in as a master of the verismo genre. Off-stage bells sound in Act III ; the second act ends with a woman on the street singing a warning against faith in love; and a lead character plays the piano on stage in the very first scene, which becomes the introduction to the opera’s most famous aria, “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta.” La Rondine flows with the sort of melody that could only come from Puccini, including the dreamy dance sequences in Act II and the ensemble in the same scene, “Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso,” which can make a valid claim to being one of the most gorgeous tunes this composer ever produced.

La Rondine at the Met
La Rondine had its United States premiere at the Met in 1928, in a beautiful production designed by Joseph Urban. The Spanish diva Lucrezia Bori and Italian tenor Beniamino Gigli headed the cast. The piece was reasonably successful, but the precarious financial situation of the Depression years made it too risky of a proposition in subsequent seasons. Bori sang the lead in all 18 performances given, and chose it as her farewell role for three performances when she retired in 1936. George Balanchine choreographed the dances in these three performances. The opera then disappeared from the Met until this season’s new production.