La rondine Giacomo Puccini July 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17 at 7.30pm First performed at the Grand Théâtre de Monte Carlo in Monte Carlo on 27 March 1917 Libretto by Giuseppe Adami after a libretto by Alfred Maria Willner and Heinz Reichert Sung in Italian with English surtitles New production Conductor Peter Selwyn Director Tom Hawkes Designer Peter Rice Lighting Designer Colin Grenfell Choreographer Jenny Weston Magda Kate Ladner Ruggero Seán Ruane Lisette Hye Youn Lee Prunier Hal Cazalet Rambaldo Nicholas Todorovic Perichaud Henry Grant Kerswell Crebillion/Rabonier Maciek O’Shea Gobin Patrick Mundy Bianca/Gabriela Sarah Minns Suzy/Lolette Olivia Ray Yvette/Georgette Stephanie Bodsworth Una voce interno Anna Patalong Il Maggiordomo Geoffrey Thompson In recent years, largely as a result of the popularity of the aria ‘Chi il bel sogno di Doretta’ and the breathtaking chorus in Act ll, ‘Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso’, La rondine has become a huge hit. It is a deeply moving and affecting opera that is often wrongly termed Puccini’s ‘operetta’; it is nothing of the sort and contains gorgeous, flowing melody and a powerfully drawn character in Magda de Civry (the ‘Swallow’ of the title) who gives up her fiancé in order to protect his family honour.