The Puccini opera for people who don't much like Puccini, this lyric comedy is far from the swooning romantic heaviness of Madame Butterfly, Turandot or La Bohème (sounding more like a souped-up version of the Viennese operetta it was originally intended to be). The libretto offers a lighter variant of La Traviata, in which Magda, mistress of a wealthy Parisian banker, falls in love with Ruggero and flies off with him—like the swallow of the title—to embark on what they hope will be a life of bliss. When Ruggero asks Magda to marry him, however, she reveals her unsavory past and he returns to Paris, saying that to take her as his wife would ruin his family's reputation. While the score doesn't measure up to the standards of the composer's best-known works, it's pleasant enough and ably performed in this 2008 Venice rendition by the orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice under the baton of Carlo Rizzi. Unfortunately, the vocalism is less than optimum—leads Fiorenza Cedolins and Fernando Portari can't match the teams of Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna or Kiri Te Kanawa and Placido Domingo on the CD versions. And while the candy-colored sets and costumes are fine, the decision to transpose the action from the mid-19th century to the 1950s seems rather pointless. Still, this is the only contemporary mounting of La Rondine available on DVD, and boasts fine sound (in DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo) and good camerawork. Recommended for serious music collections, and a strong optional purchase elsewhere. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
La Rondine
(2008) 106 min. In Italian w/English subtitles. DVD: $32.98. Arthaus Musik (dist. by Naxos of America). ISBN: 978-3-939873-62-4. Volume 24, Issue 1
La Rondine
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