La Rondine

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)

DESCRIPTION

From her debut as Madama Butterfly at the age of twenty-five, Licia Albanese established herself as a soprano instinctively attuned to Puccini’s heroines. In the comparatively rare role of Magda in La Rondine, she offers an opulence of tone paired with a disarming vulnerability that suits the part’s bittersweet charm. She is joined by Daniele Baroni, a tenor whose name has largely receded from memory despite a voice of considerable warmth and baritonal depth—capable of commanding strength as well as lyrical finesse. The audience's response, greeting him with a generous ovation even before his vocal entrance, speaks volumes about the impression he made in person.

Though La Rondine is one of Puccini’s shorter operas, this performance curiously incorporates several cuts, the most conspicuous being a substantial portion of the Act II Quartet, diminishing the scene's ecstatic arc.

CAST

Magda – Licia Albanese
Ruggero – Daniele Baroni
Rambaldo – Edward Doe
Lisette – Josephine Guido
Prunier – Rudolf Petrak

DETAILS

Location: Philadelphia
Date: 1961
Conductor: Giuseppe Bamboschek
Catalogue Number: OD 12322-2
Label: Opera Depot
Number of Discs: 2
In Mono

BONUS

Licia Albanese and Louis Sgarro sing an excerpt from Act II of Tosca.
Hackensack, 1972

NOTE

The opening minute of the opera is missing, along with a large section of Magda’s second aria in Act I, “Denaro, nient’altro che denaro.”