While The Swallow was at first meant to be an operetta and is often called that today, it is through-sung and Puccini was adamant in saying he was writing a light comic opera, not an operetta. Nevertheless it betrays its roots by being very "talky".

While some claim that the role of Prunier was first written for a baritone, this is a misunderstanding. He was always intended to be a tenor.

Romantic Love: This is not to be confused with romanticism which was on its way out by that time. It had emphasized dark forests, gloomy castles and magical occurrences.

Pearl Necklace: The term demi-monde refers to a world of gentlemen of high social class or very wealthy (bankers, aristocrats, foreign industrialists, etc.) and of women of questionable respectability who were not recognized in the official world of society, the monde. The name was coined by Alexandre Dumas fils, the author of La Dame aux camélias on which Verdi's opera La traviata was based. These women were morally superior to prostitutes but lower than legal wives. They made their living through sometimes extravagant gifts rather than money. They included not only la garde, or inner circle who, like Magda, lived in luxury and enjoyed the life of the upper classes: villas, carriages, horses, and boxes at the opera, but also the grisettes or working girls, such as Musetta and Mimì in La bohème). While they may have had a series of lovers, they were generally faithful to one man at a time.

Magda's Predecessors: Many have compared The Swallow (1917) to some of its predecessors, especially La traviata (1853). While there are common elements, there are also many differences. While La traviata is a tragedy and ends with the death of Violetta, The Swallow, while it has a bittersweet ending, is much lighter in tone. Both title characters, Magda, the swallow, and Violetta, the lost one, are members of the demi-monde and both operas open at parties in luxurious homes, but Magda is not sickly like Violetta. Both heroines leave this milieu with new lovers, non-Parisians from Southern France, for idyllic lives in the country, and both have money troubles as a result. When they realize they can never be accepted by their lovers' families, both return to their old life of their own volition; their new lives were impossible dreams. (Alfredo knows of Violetta's past, Ruggero does not know of Magda's.) Inspired during Puccini's trip to Vienna, The Swallow has some echoes of the Vienese The Merry Widow with its waltzes, its Parisian setting and its famous restaurants with dancing. Both of these works were written during times of political turmoil and provided some escape for their audiences. In addition, both are essentially operettas which are performed by grand opera houses.

The Swallow is full of dance music, especially Puccini's version of the waltz. There is also a polka when Ruggero is told where to go for his first night in Paris.

Twenty sous: There were twenty sous in one french franc. Before the conversion to the euro, one U.S. dollar was equivalent to about five french francs, so twenty sous was about twenty cents. However, the purchasing power of twenty sous at the time Puccini wrote The Swallow would have been much greater, possibly the equivalent of about four dollars. Still, the change from that after buying two beers would still have been a very small amount.

Paris: This reflects the changes which were going on in Paris during the Second Empire. Ten years earlier she could not have said Paris was grand and beautiful.

Swallow: Prunier tells Magda she will be like a swallow and migrate to a far place. While many birds migrate, swallows are particularly know for their long flights to reach warm climates. Those for which the mission San Juan Capistrano in California is so renowned, travel 6,000 miles each year to winter in Argentina and then fly another 6,000 to return home in the spring, traditionally on March 19, St. Joseph's day. They live in large social groups. Swallows are also known for their intelligence and for living close to man, under the eaves of houses and in barns, and living mainly on insects which they eat only on the wing, not while on the ground. Their proximity to humans has led to many legends about them, among people of all cultures. The Spanish tell how the child Jesus, when playing with his friends, created birds of clay and set them to dry. The Jewish Pharisees tried to destroy them because they were made on the Sabbath, but they became alive an; the red under their throat is from a drop of his blood. (See the illustration of a European barn swallow and note also the distinctive forked tail.) Another legend tells of how their tongues were cut, resulting in their characteristic sad, chattering, non-melodic song. An important element in the Creation story of the Navajo Indians, the word "swallow" stands for a torpedo plane among the famous Navajo "Code-talkers".

Montauban: A town in Southern France.

Cote d'Azur and Nice: The Cote d'Azur is the Mediterranean coast of France from Marseille to Nice. Nice became part of France in 1860. It had been under the rule of Sardinia. On the east it adjoins the Principality of Monaco where La Rondine premièred.

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Revised October 2007
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