At the Metropolitan Opera, La rondine was staged in the 1920s and ’30s. Then it had a long layoff—reappearing in 2008, in a production by Nicolas Joël, the late Frenchman. This production was revived at the Met last night.
Do you know the opera, by the way? I will quote from my review back in the 2008–09 season:
La rondine is an operetta of sorts—certainly as close to an operetta as Puccini, or most any Italian, ever wrote. It is also a delicious work, too little known, actually. We have from it one very famous soprano aria: “Chi il bel sogno,” also known as “Doretta’s Song.” But La rondine contains a lot more than that eternal hit. Try the anthemic love music that caps Act II—some of the most affirmative music you will ever encounter. Once it fills you, it stays with you for a long while.
Last night, this “anthemic love music” was ably performed. It would have been better, however, with more grandeur and sweep. In the pit was Speranza Scappucci, a Roman-born maestra. She led a good Rondine. I believe that subsequent ones—the opera runs through April 20—will be better. There were some smudges in the orchestra. A little malcoordination. But Scappucci knew what she was doing, and the Met’s woodwinds were outstanding.
Who sang the hit aria? Who was Magda, the “swallow” (rondine) of the title? That was Angel Blue, the American soprano. About her aria, some complaints, before the main point: If you like the aria gossamer, this was not for you. It was more lush than gossamer. The music did not quite have its lilt and snap. And the high C was “low.”
Well, what was good about it? What is the “main point”? Angel Blue is a beautiful singer: a woman who sings beautifully and is beautiful. Any operagoer would want to hear her on and on.
Magda has big moments, even apart from “Chi il bel sogno.” But I especially appreciated Ms. Blue in quieter moments: matter-of-fact or conversational ones. She is a skilled artist.
Last night saw the Met debut of Jonathan Tetelman, a heralded American tenor (born in Chile). There is much to herald. Tetelman sang Ruggero, Magda’s lover. (This opera does not end well, incidentally.) He has a strong, steady, focused voice. I would have liked a little more bloom—a little more rhapsody—from it. There was a tiny bit—a tiny bit—of tightness. And the voice is maybe a half-size too small for Ruggero at the Met.
But: Tetelman makes you sit up and pay attention, especially when laser-ing a climactic high note. At the end of his Act I aria, he received a prolonged, almost rowdy ovation. Moreover, I appreciated a “focused,” clean tenor—we have any number of sloppy ones.
Magda and Ruggero have a love duet in Act III. This, our principals sang with true Puccinian ardor.
Mr. Tetelman’s was the big Met debut last night—but there were others, including that of Emily Pogorelc, a soprano from Milwaukee. She sang Lisette, the maid (except when she is not). Ms. Pogorelc came close to stealing the show. She sang with correctness and style, and she acted up a treat: conveying the spunky, the coquettish, and the adorable.
Watch for this lady. She is an accomplished singer who is a stage animal.
Partnering her as Prunier was Bekhzod Davronov, a tenor from Uzbekistan. He, too, was making his Met debut. And he is another fine singer (plus an engaging personality). Vocally, Mr. Davronov was maybe a size and a half too small for the Met. But many fine singers are. It is a handicap—or, if you prefer, a fact—of the house.
Taking her bows, or curtsies, at the end of the evening, Angel Blue was overcome with emotion. Why, exactly, I don’t know. (None of my business.) But it was touching, and pretty rare, to see.
Here comes a series of footnotes:
(1) In this production, a man sits reading a newspaper. I was kind of startled to see this. I had a jolt of memory. Yes, we once sat and read newspapers. It seems oddly long ago now. You might as well show a man using a spittoon.
(2) At a different point, I thought Magda was taking a selfie. But she had pulled a little mirror out of her purse, to see how she looked. I found it refreshing to see a production that did not have selfies. They are practically de rigueur these days—selfies in opera productions.
(3) In the ’08–’09 season, the role of Lisette was taken by Lisette Oropesa. I wrote, “How often does a Lisette get to play a Lisette?”
(4) Sometimes, I hand my critics something to mock. (Generous of me, I think.) Well, here’s something for the mockers: In 1997, Antonio Pappano led a recording of La rondine. It features Gheorghiu and Alagna. The orchestra is the LSO. I regard it as one of the best opera recordings in the entire catalogue.
(5) Last night, sitting at the Met, I had a thought that I have often had: Giacomo Puccini is in an odd position: world-famous and underrated. You know who knows his worth more than anybody? Composers. (When they are feeling frank, they’ll tell you.)