Puccini’s
La Rondine
REVIVAL
Live: Saturday, April 20 at 10:00 a.m.
Encore: Wednesday, April 24 at 3:00 p.m.
There will be a pre-opera talk led by Russ Fox one hour before the LIVE performance on Saturday.
Speranza Scappucci (Conductor), Angel Blue (Magda), Emily Pogorelc (Lisette), Jonathan Tetelman (Ruggero), Bekhzod Davronov (Prunier)
Puccini’s bittersweet love story makes a rare Met appearance, with soprano Angel Blue starring as the sophisticated French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his company debut as Ruggero, an idealistic young man who offers her an alternative to her life of excess.
Maestro Speranza Scappucci conducts Nicolas Joël’s Art Deco-inspired staging, which transports audiences from the heart of Parisian nightlife to a dreamy vision of the French Riviera. Soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Bekhzod Davronov — both making their Met debuts — complete the cast as Lisette and Prunier.
ACT I
France, the 1920s. At her home in Paris, Magda, the mistress of the wealthy Rambaldo, declares that true love has nothing to do with money. The poet Prunier agrees with her and predicts that she will leave the city in pursuit of romance. Among the other guests is the young Ruggero, who has just arrived in Paris. After he has left for Bullier’s dance hall with Prunier and his girlfriend, Lisette, Magda decides to follow them, disguised as a shop girl and ready for an adventure.
ACT II
At Bullier’s, Magda again meets Ruggero, who doesn’t recognize her. They dance and fall in love. When Rambaldo appears, Magda tells him that she has found true love and will leave him to start a new life.
ACT III
Magda and Ruggero have been living on the Riviera, but their money is running out. Ruggero wants to marry her and paints an idyllic picture of his family’s home in the country. Magda is dismayed that he doesn’t know anything about her past as a kept woman. When a letter from Ruggero’s mother arrives, explaining that she is delighted that her son has found a virtuous bride, Magda confesses that she can be his mistress but never his wife. Leaving the devastated Ruggero behind, she goes off to return to her old life.
The 2023-2024 Met Live Opera season in Sedona is generously sponsored by Bea Hanks, Chris Fladlien and Jim Dunne.
The season is dedicated in loving memory to Marc DuCharme.