La Rondine Review – The new version of Puccini’s opera makes the taste bitter, not sweet | Opera

HeyPirates are often not performed the way their composers intended them to be—and this is especially true of La Rondine, Puccini’s delicate opera about the Parisian courtesan Magda and her fleeting attempt to revive the romance and excitement of her youth. But the new edition made his final thoughts on his opera performable again, and Rara Opera and the BBC Symphony Orchestra were to make the big reveal.

The standard version of La Rondine, which premiered in 1917, ends with Magda—the “migratory swallow” of the title—nobly leaving her lover Ruggero so that he can find someone more marriageable. However, Puccini’s 1921 review—his third version of the opera, the one with which he was finally happy—prompted Ruggero to angrily fire Magda. It’s a big change, making the opera taste bitter where it used to be sweet. There are plenty of other differences too, particularly some extra fun for the chorus and orchestra in the second act.

Few people heard this version when it was new – its premiere took place a few months before Puccini’s death, by which time he was too ill to defend it – and then in 1943 the score and orchestral parts were destroyed in the Allied bombing of Milan. Now, though, thanks to the reconstruction work of musicologist Detlev Rendom and some new orchestrations by Martin Fitzpatrick, opera companies have a choice of which version they want to use – and if a case needs to be made for that version, the recording this team has just finished making should do just that.

Changes fell smoothly here. Puccini’s music turns on a dime – there’s plenty of flirting and dancing, but plenty of sadness – and Carlo Rizzi’s performance kept the sparkling orchestra on its toes, while the BBC singers provided all the energy and precision needed in the extended nightclub scene. The cast sang from behind the music stands but did a good job of acting nonetheless. Ermonella Jahu is a theatrical animal and we were drawn in by Magda, who sings it beautifully even if the glowing soprano did not always outshine the Rize orchestra. The supporting cast, including Juan Francisco Gatell as the enchanting poet Prunier and Eli Neate as the maid Lisette, was superb from top to bottom, but it was tenor Iván Ayón Rivas who was first among equals here, and the impassioned Ruggiero, complete with a lively, lively upper notes, made him a true rising star.