100 years after the death of Giacomo Puccini, the Opéra de Monte-Carlo will be breathing new life into three of the great Italian composer’s best-known masterpieces – La Rondine, La Bohème and Tosca – this autumn.

The Opéra de Monte-Carlo will be paying homage to the legendary composer with a series of tributes this October and November, including one very special invite-only performance on 19th November, Monaco’s National Day.

The tributes will begin on 30th October with a concert version of La Rondine, Puccini’s classic tale of Magda, a woman who dreams of flying like a swallow – a rondine – from her tedious Parisian existence to the south of France and sunnier climes, as well as toward true love. The opera has special meaning locally, as it premiered in Monaco on 27th March 1917, during some of the darker days of WWI.

Conductor Giacomo Sagripanti and choirmaster Stefano Visconti will lead Pretty Yende as Magda, Roberto de Candia as the man who keeps her, Rambaldo, and Charles Castronovo as her paramour, Ruggerio.

This will be followed by four glorious nights of one of the operatic world’s most famous works, La Bohème. The opera is a sad story of four creatives trapped in poverty in Paris whose lives are forever changed when the beautiful Mimi knocks at their door one Christmas Eve. Rodolfo, a poor poet, falls desperately in love with Mimi, but it is not to be, as it is soon evident that death will be Mimi’s only suitor.

Conducted by Marco Armiliato and directed by Jean-Louis Grinda, La Bohème will be performed 8th, 10th and 13th November. A special invitation-only performance will also be given on 19th November, as part of Monaco’s National Day celebrations. Mimi will be portrayed by Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov will take his turn as Rodolfo.

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In another concert version, Armiliato and Visconti will present the timeless tale of Tosca on 15th November. In the story of the Roman diva Floria Tosca, her lover Mario Cavaradossi, a painter and rebel, and the corrupt Chief of Police, Baron Scarpia, the title character finds herself between a rock and a hard place when Mario is arrested. She must choose whether to demean herself and betray her love by becoming Scarpia’s lover, or see her beloved die a traitor’s death.

First performed in Rome in 1900, the 2024 cast sees Maria Jose Siri in the title role, with Roberto Alagna as Mario and Luca Salsi as Scarpia.

Finally, on 17th November, a celebratory centenary festival is taking place in memory of the 100th anniversary of Puccini’s death at age 65. Following in the footsteps of the musical homage to Enrico Caruso in 2023, this event, called Viva Puccini, will feature the conductor’s greatest arias sung by tenor Jonas Kaufmann and soprano Valeria Sepe under the direction of Armiliato.

“I’m a great admirer of Puccini, and his music has fascinated me since I was six or seven,” says Kaufmann. “Puccini’s music is so effective, it never goes out of fashion despite the passage of a century, even though we are saturated with all kinds of sounds and images these days. This is why I believe that Puccini will remain for the public the key to the magical world of opera.”

For further details on the shows, and for reservations, click here.

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