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By Matthew Westphal
25 Jan 2007
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A worldly, wealthy courtesan falls desperately in love with an idealistic young man, only to be told that her colorful past means that she cannot marry him. This is, of course, the basic story of Verdi's La traviata — but Puccini explored similar terrain in his 1917 opera La rondine ("The Swallow"), which opens tomorrow night at The Dallas Opera.
Puccini may well have gotten the more credible ending: rather than letting loose a powerful high note and then dying of tuberculosis, La rondine's heroine simply takes a wistful leave of her beloved, acknowledging that she can be a lover but never a wife.
Verónica Villarroel stars as the experienced Magda, with Massimo Giordano as her adored Ruggero; tenor Gordon Gietz plays the poet Prunier, with soprano Caroline Worra as his lover and protégée, Lisette; baritone Kelly Anderson is Rambaldo, Magda's sugar daddy. Stephen Lord, music director of Boston Lyric Opera, conducts the chorus and orchestra of The Dallas Opera; the staging — of which we offer some photos below — is directed by Michael Scarola, with choreography by Candace Evans.
La rondine — a Dallas Opera premiere — runs for four performances: January 26, 28 and 31 and February 3 at the Fair Park Music Hall. For more information, visit www.dallasopera.org.
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All photos by Karen Almond for The Dallas Opera.
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