La rondine (The Swallow) was intended to be an operetta – or at least, that’s what Puccini’s publisher had requested from him. Set in Paris, it tells the story of the beautiful courtesan, Magda, who is hosting a party for a few close friends. Her guests include the poet, Prunier, whose writing block she cures, her protector, Rambaldo, and a surprise visitor, Ruggero. After a while, Ruggero suggests they go out to the most fashionable nightclub and, whilst several guests accompany him there, Magda, who at first declines, decides to dress in disguise and follow them. Naturally, as with all Puccini operas, the two are destined to fall in love. They begin life together on the Riviera but, when Ruggero talks of marriage, Magda, haunted by the thought that he or his family might discover her past life, decides to tell him everything. Rather like Verdi’s Violetta, she goes against her ardent desires for the sake of Ruggero’s family name. She opts to return, swallow-like, to Paris and to the arms of her old admirer.