La Rondine
«An operetta? Never!», proclaimed Giacomo Puccini. He wanted to write – at most – a comic opera like Rosenkavalier, «but more entertaining and more organic». With La rondine (The swallow), commissioned by the Viennese Carl Theater and written during the First World War, Puccini created a new type of opera that mixed classical opera and operetta. It was precisely this unique blend that vexed critics at its world premiere, which took place in Monte Carlo in 1917, under war’s dark cloud. For some, it was too heavy to be an operetta. For others, it was too light to be an opera. Puccini, who reworked the piece’s conclusion multiple times, still considered his «problem child» to be a success. Alongside his operas Le villi and Edgar, La rondine is seldom seen today in theaters – and unjustly so. The Opernhaus Zürich presents the opera in its Swiss premiere.
The poet Prunier prophesies that Magda de Civry, who makes her home in the Parisian abode of her wealthy patron Rambaldo, will have a life like that of a swallow, flying towards the sea. And Magda seizes the opportunity to flee her golden cage when she meets Ruggero, a young man from the provinces. But Magda’s desire to once again experience love’s first rapture cannot be realized...
Puccini’s score reveals a soaring tonality and instrumentation as if it were written with a silver pen, in the style of Richard Strauss and Claude Debussy. Unnatural, alienating versions of the waltz and the foxtrot create a constant what-if, a sense of the unreal – a work made for director Christof Loy, whose subtle directing style has repeatedly won over Zurich audiences. This new production boasts of a world-class cast, with Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho as Magda and tenor Benjamin Bernheim, who got his start in Zurich and is now an international star, as Ruggero. Marco Armiliato, a proven connoisseur of Puccini’s demanding, filigreed score, leads the Philharmonia Zürich.
Magda Ermonela Jaho
Lisette Sandra Hamaoui
Ruggero Benjamin Bernheim
Prunier Juan Francisco Gatell
Rambaldo Vladimir Stoyanov
Périchaud Andrew Moore
Gobin/un giovane/Adolfo Nathan Haller
Crébillon Stanislav Vorobyov
Yvette/ Georgette Yuliia Zasimova
Bianca/ Gabriella Meeta Raval
Suzy/ Lolette Siena Licht Miller
Maggiordomo Valeriy Murga
Rabonnier Amin Ahangaran
Un cantore Annabelle Kern
Der Kellner Yannick Bosc