Puccini: La Rondine

Since bursting onto the international stage in the early 1990s, Angela Gheorghiu has carved out a formidable reputation in Italian opera, particularly Puccini. It was, however, the music of Verdi that catapulted the world-renowned soprano to fame, when in 1994 the BBC cleared its schedules at the last minute to broadcast her performance of Violetta in *La Traviata* from Covent Garden. Since then, Gheorghiu has given us a distinguished catalog of acclaimed complete-opera recordings, recital programs, and compilations. But it’s her characterful 1997 recording of Puccini’s lesser-known opera *La Rondine*—made with her then-husband, tenor Roberto Alagna, and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Antonio Pappano—that is considered the high point of her career to date. Act I’s “Chi il bel sogno di Doretta” is one of Puccini’s finest arias, Gheorghiu’s creamy-toned voice, by then at the height of its power, effortlessly soaring to stratospheric heights.