The pick of Puccini
Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece, “La Rondine” will be shown on the big screen at the Newport Performing Arts Center. this Saturday, April 20.
The bittersweet love story, a co-production of Théâtre du Capitole, Toulouse, and Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, makes a rare Metropolitan opera appearance in which soprano Angel Blue stars as the French courtesan Magda, opposite tenor Jonathan Tetelman in his highly anticipated 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. In their Met debuts, soprano Emily Pogorelc and tenor Bekhzod Davronov complete the sterling cast as Lisette and Prunier.
With a beautiful libretto by Giuseppe Adami, La Rondine premiered during World War I, precluding a Vienna premiere. The opera quietly opened in neutral Monte Carlo, never finding a permanent place in the repertoire. That loss is scandalous, given that it is a fascinating work featuring exuberant waltzes, a lightness of tone and a romantic vision of Paris and the south of France.
The Met’s current Art Decoinspired production places the action in the 1920s, and each of the three acts evokes a different aspect of French life and a different take on the nature of love. The sophisticated score flows with the sort of melody that could only come from Puccini, including the dreamy dance sequences in Act II and the ensemble in the same scene, “Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso” as well as the opera’s most famous aria, “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta.”
The production is sung in Italian, with English subtitles.
The broadcast begins at 10 am and has a run time of approximately two hours and 35 minutes, with one intermission. Tickets range from $15.50 to $25.75.
The Newport Performing Arts Center is located at 777 W Olive Street. For more information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-265-2787.