Giacomo Puccini
La Rondine
Short instrumentation: 3 3 3 2 - 4 3 3 1 - timp, perc(4), hp, cel, str, stage music: picc, perc, pno
Duration: -'
Choir: SATB
Roles:
Magda
Sopran<BR>Lisette
Sopran<BR>Ruggero
Tenor<BR>Prunier
Tenor<BR>Rambaldo
Bariton<BR>Périchaud
Bariton od. Bass<BR>Gobin
Tenor<BR>Crébillon
Bass od. Bariton<BR>Evette
Sopran<BR>Bianca
Sopran<BR>Suzy
Mezzosopran<BR>ein Steward
Bass<BR>Rabonier
Bariton<BR>eine Sängerin
Sopran<BR>Grisette
Soprane<BR>ein Mädchen
aus dem Chor<BR>weiteres Mädchen
aus dem Chor<BR>Adolfo
Tenor aus dem Chor
Instrumentation details:
1st flute
2nd flute
3rd flute (+picc)
1st oboe
2nd oboe
cor anglais
1st clarinet in Bb
2nd clarinet in Bb
bass clarinet in Bb
1st bassoon
2nd bassoon
1st horn in F
2nd horn in F
3rd horn in F
4th horn in F
1st trumpet in F
2nd trumpet in F
3rd trumpet in F
1st trombone
2nd trombone
3rd trombone
bass tuba
timpani
1st percussion (glockenspiel)
2nd percussion (triangle)
3rd percussion (tambourine)
4th percussion (bass drum, cymbal)
harp
celesta
violin I
violin II
viola
violoncello
contrabass
stage music: piccolo
percussion (glockenspiel, tubular bells)
piano
Puccini - La Rondine
Work introduction
The three-act opera La Rondine (The Swallow) was originally commissioned for the Carltheater in Vienna but, owing to the outbreak of the First World War, was only premiered in Monte Carlo in 1917. The libretto was written by Giuseppe Adami based on the German Die Schwalbe by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert. Puccini revised the work a number of times, particularly the end of the second act, meaning that there are now three distinct versions. In the original version (1917), Magda leaves Ruggero because she believes that her dubious past does not permit her to marry him. In the second version (1920), her wish to return to the demimonde is what ultimately triggers her actions. In the third version (1921), Ruggero finds out about Magda’s past through an anonymous letter and leaves her. In spite of these differences in the storyline, the music hardly changed at all.
The setting is Paris during the Second Empire. We find Magda in the house of her wealthy patron Rambaldo, conversing with friends about love. One of the party reads her palm and tells her that one day she will fly like a swallow across the sea for love. Ruggero, a young man from the provinces, arrives in Paris for the first time. Magda’s friends suggest that he sample the nightlife in a dance club. Although irked by his conventional notions of eternal love, Magda falls for him. She parts company with her patron in order to live with Ruggero on the Riviera. However, no sooner has Ruggero had obtained consent from his parents to marry Magda, she explains to him about her old life and leaves him.
The opera is most frequently performed in its original version dating from 1917, with the addition of Ruggero’s aria Parigi! È la città dei desideri in the first act. Puccini included this aria in the 2nd edition of 1920, but eliminated it again in the 3rd edition of 1921.