Cape Town Opera brings La rondine to The Artscape

Cape Town Opera’s new production of La rondine is coming to The Artscape, with performances taking place on 16, 18, and 20 November 2021.

This is a proudly in-house Cape Town Opera production, with the lead roles played by members of the Young Artist Programme and the Cape Town Opera Chorus, with the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by their very own Marvin Kernelle. Brittany Smith sings the role of Magda alongside guest tenor Lukhanyo Moyake in his debut as Magda’s lover, Ruggero. The production is directed by Christine Crouse, with set design by Michael Mitchell, costumes by Maritha Visagie and Rabia Davids and lighting design by Faheem Bardien.

When Puccini accepted a commission from Vienna’s Carl theater in 1913, he embraced the opportunity to incorporate elements of Viennese operetta into his trademark late-Romantic idiom. The bittersweet plot of La rondine mixes Lehár-style intrigue with the pathos of Verdi’s La traviata; the ‘swallow’ of the title is the courtesan Magda de Civry, who longs to ‘fly south’ to find true love and happiness. ‘Who cares about wealth, if bliss flourishes in the end?’ she sighs. ‘Oh golden dream, to be able to love like that!’

Cape Town Opera’s production of La rondine is set in Paris following World War I, in an apartment similar to that of American author Gertrude Stein’s, a famous gathering place for the best and brightest artists of the age.