Puccini: La Rondine

This is one of the problem operas of Puccini's maturity, something he began writing while under the spell of Lehar's The Merry Widow that never quite came together as a piece of theater. But the score contains some of Puccini's most congenial music and attractive scoring. An alert, resourceful new presence on the opera scene, conductor Antonio Pappano is just the one to make the best possible attempt at holding it together. Stars Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna show you why the opera world was so excited about them before they started cancelling: She has a dusky voice and quivering vulnerability; he has virility and taste. --David Patrick Stearns