Puccini: La Rondine (1921 Final Version) – Carlo Rizzi

Premiered in Fiume in April 1924, Puccini’s final 1921 version of La rondine offers the most opulent and tragic version of this beloved opera. Puccini substantially reworked the key ensembles in the familiar 1917 version and composed new music for Acts One and Three, culminating in a violent denouement in which Ruggero abandons the heartbroken Magda.

Carlo Rizzi conducts the world-premiere recording of the complete 1921 version. Ermonela Jaho stars as the Magda, with Iván Ayón-Rivas as her lover Ruggero and Nicola Alaimo as her patron Rambaldo. Juan Francisco Gatell and Ellie Neate complete the main cast as Prunier and Lisette. Mattia Olivieri joins to sing extracts from the 1919 version, in which the role of Prunier was written for a baritone.