Â鶹Éç

Ermonela Jaho stars as Magda in Puccini's bittersweet romance alongside Iván Ayón-Rivas as Ruggero with the Â鶹Éç Symphony Orchestra and Â鶹Éç Singers conducted by Carlo Rizzi. The composer described La rondine as 'a wonder', and here is a chance to hear for the first time a sparkling cast – in a fabulous new recording collaboration with Opera Rara – of the 1921 version of the work.

Ruggero is young and wealthy, with his whole life before him. Magda is beautiful, worldly and wise – surely too wise to fall in love all over again? But amid the delights of belle-époque Paris, romance can be as intoxicating as champagne – and the heart, as they say, has its own reasons. In Puccini’s opera La rondine (The Swallow), will Magda fly home?

Inspired by Viennese operetta, La rondine is a love story, set to some of the most romantic melodies that even Puccini ever wrote. But it’s also portrait of a world waltzing on the edge; a deeply moving study of innocence and (tender) experience.

Presented by Flora Willson with guest Ditlev Rindom.

Puccini: La Rondine (1921 Version)

Magda ..... Ermonela Jaho
Ruggero ..... Ivan Ayon-Rivas
Rambaldo ..... Nicola Alaimo
Lisette ..... Ellie Neate
Prunier ..... Juan Francisco Gatell
Yvette/Georgette/Fleury ..... Jessica Robinson
Bianca/ Gabrriella/Mariette ..... Julieth Lonzano Rolong
Suzy/Lolette/Rorò ..... Joanna Harries
Gobin ..... Robert Lewis
Périchaud ..... David Shipley
Crébillon/Il maggiordomo ..... William Thomas
Â鶹Éç Singers (Chorus director: Martin Fitzpatrick)
Â鶹Éç Symphony Orchestra
Carlo Rizzi (conductor)

Recorded at Â鶹Éç Maida Vale Studios November-December 2025
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