Riga This Week - FREE RIGA CITY GUIDE made by locals since 1992
Events

La Rondine

Giacomo Puccini’s opera La rondine, with a libretto by Giuseppe Adami, is a bittersweet tale of a Parisian courtesan, Magda. She is the metaphorical swallow of the story who experiences a fleeting brush with love and romance only to ultimately return to her familiar “nest” as the mistress of a wealthy banker. The opera was written in 1916 on commission from the Carltheater in Vienna, but premiered in Monte Carlo in 1917.

“La rondine is one of Puccini’s last operas – it is a skilfully composed work which holds a fine balance between the emotional drama characteristic of the composer, and a pure naivety. The composer tried to imitate the style of an operetta while writing it, while at the same time trying not to stray too far from his melody-writing talents,“ explains Jānis Liepiņš, the musical director and conductor of the concert performance. The outstanding Dinara Alieva, world-renowned soprano from the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, will take on the formidable and challenging part of the heroine.

Magda: Dinara Alieva
Ruggero : John Irvin
Lisette: Inga Šļubovska-Kancēviča
Prunier: Pavel Petrov
Rambaldo : Krišjānis Norvelis