To mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Italian composer, Giacomo Puccini, Monte-Carlo Opera presents a staged version of La rondine (The Swallow).
This opera in three acts stars South African soprano, Pretty Yende, as Magda – the Parisian courtesan who longs for a life away from the world she inhabits. American tenor Charles Castronovo is Ruggero, the idealistic young man who offers Magda an alternative to her lifestyle. American soprano Deanna Breiwick is Lisette, Magda’s maid, and the role of the poet Prunier is taken by Argentinian tenor Juan Francisco Gatell. The Music Director is Giacomo Sagripanti.
Puccini wrote La rondine in 1916, prior to his work on Il tabarro and Turandot. Set to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, the story was based on an outline by Viennese author, journalist and composer Alfred Maria Willner – who had written two booklets for Franz Lehar – and Heinz Reichert, the librettist for several operettas for popular composers of the day. The work had been commissioned by the Vienna Carltheater as an operetta, but Puccini never intended to write a Viennese operetta. Instead, he wanted to get closer to Richard Strauss, The First World War had prevented its premiere performance, but La rondine had its World Premiere at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo on March 27th, 1917.
Magda de Civry dreams of true love in a world far from the the superficiality of Paris, where she is the mistress of Rambaldo, a wealthy banker. The poet Prunier, having read her palm, predicts that – like the swallow – she will travel south in her search for happiness. Ruggero Lastouc, a friend of Rambaldo, arrives at Magda’s salon, and asks where he can go to enjoy the Paris nightlife. Bal Bullier – a famous Latin Quarter dance hall – is suggested, and Mada, unbeknown to Ruggero, and dressed as a working woman, decides to go too. At Bal Bullier, she and Ruggero are immediately attracted to each other. The action then moves to Nice, on the French Riviera, where Magda and Ruggero are happily living. He proposes marriage to her and she is forced to tell him the truth about her past. Both being in a state of despair, Magda reluctantly tells Ruggero that she must return to Paris and Rambaldo, and she leaves him, heartbroken.
With “A voice that can reach to the stars” (Washington Post), Pretty Yende makes her debut in Puccini’s La rondine. She most recently appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, in a concert festival, the Klassic Open Air 2024 in Hannover, singing works of Mozart, Verdi, Mascagni and Puccini, and in Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Orchestre de Radio France Occitanie in Montpelier. Later this season, Pretty Yende will appear in concert with the Vienna Staatsoper, where she’ll also appear in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, and will sing the title role in Donizetti’s La fille du regiment at Bayerische Staatsopera in Munich.
Charles Castronovo is regarded as one of the finest lyric tenors of his generation. He has appeared in many of the world’s major opera houses such as the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin. This season he looks forward to a return to the Opernhaus Zürich and Bayerische Staatsoper Munich as Riccardo in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, and he will also appear as Le Chevalier des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon at Palau de les Arts Valencia, at Opéra national de Paris in the title role of Verdi’s Don Carlos, and at the Royal Opera House as Don José in Bizet’s Carmen.
Deanna Breiwick has a diverse career. Having made her debut with San Francisco Opera as Sister Constance in Poulenc’s Dialogues des carmelites, she has also appeared in the world premiere of Gene Scheer and Joby Talbot’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly at Dallas Opera, and has performed the role of Lisette with Washington Concert Opera and with the Oregon Symphony. Among highlights of this season, Ms Breiwick will sing Adele in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus at the Opera Theatre of St Louis and appears with the Utah Symphony in Mozart’s Requiem.
Juan Francisco Gatell has appeared on opera stages and in concert halls in Europe, North and South America, in a repertoire which includes the roles of Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Conte d’Almaviva in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia, Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’amore, and Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff. Following these performances in Monte-Carlo, he will appear again as Fenton in Falstaff at Teatro alla Scala, in the title role in Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Pinto at Teatro Real de Madrid and will sing the tenor role in Rossini’s Stabat Mater with Orchestra sinfonia di Milano.
Baritone Roberto de Candia is known particularly for his performances in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and Verdi’s Falstaff. This season he will appear in the title roles in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with Donizetti Opera and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at Fondazione del Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and at Festival di Carnival e di Maggio.
Also in the cast of La rondine are Marta Pluda, Valentina Corò, Aleksandrina Mihaylova, Przemyslaw Baranek, Vincenzo di Nocera, Stefano Arnaudo, Chiara Iaia, Rossella Antonacci, Federica Spatola, Pasquale Ferraro and Galia Bakalov.
Giacomo Sagripanti, one of the conductors of the Tbilisi State Opera, has also led orchestras at opera houses such as Semperopera Dresden, La Fenici Venice, Opéra Zurich, and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia. He is also a symphonic conductor with many prestigious orchestras.
He leads the Choir of the Monte Carlo Opera House (Head of Choir Stefano Visconti) and the Orchestra of the Carlo Felice Opera, Genoa, in a concert version of Puccini’s La rondine on Wednesday 30 October 2024 at Monte Carlo Opera. For further information visit the Monte-Carlo Opera website where details of booking can also be found.
All images courtesy Opéra de Monte-Carlo
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