Money can be an obstacle in the search for true love: this is the story of Magda, the star of Puccini’s La Rondine. The young woman is a rich Parisian courtesan who decides, one evening, to borrow the modest clothes of her maid Lisette and to spend a few hours at a local bar; here, she meets Ruggero, a boy who has just arrived from the provinces, and immediately they fall in love. In order for their relationship to work, Magda has to hide her past and her wealth.
The work dates back to 1913, when a Viennese theatre commissioned an operetta from Puccini. As he was not highly attracted by the spoken dialogues typical of the genre, the Lucca-born maestro came up with a light lyrical comedy, enlivened by the use of dance rhythms, including the waltz and the tango, with a vocally demanding part for the protagonist. The result was a hybrid composition with a kaleidoscopic variety, entrusted here to Francesco Lanzillotta, a recognised expert in the field of twentieth-century opera. The difficult role of Magda will be played by Olga Peretyatko, a soprano highly acclaimed for her agility and versatility; she will be joined on stage by Mario Rojas and Valentina Farcas. Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau returns to our theatre after opening the 2023 season, with a new production that moves the action to 1973 to pay homage to the fiftieth anniversary of the reopened Teatro Regio, evoking the allure of the years of Yves Saint-Laurent, Brigitte Bardot, Romy Schneider and Alain Delon.