The sophisticated libretto to Giacomo Puccini’s La rondine, performed here by one-time Opera Queensland Young Artist Kiandra Howarth, was the work of Giuseppe Adami, who also collaborated in 1926 on Puccini’s final opera, Turandot. Often called simply Doretta’s Dream, this romantic aria is introduced in the first act of Puccini’s 1917 opera La rondine.

At a party hosted by Magda, her poet friend, Prunier, sings about a girl who rejects a royal suitor, proving the existence of true love.

Accompanying himself with an opening flourish on the piano, he falters in the story and Magda picks up the thread with this delicious aria as she describes Doretta’s devotion to a poor and humble student.