Alagna, Gheorghiu ring in the new year at the Met

NEW YORK – At the end of Giacomo Puccini's "La Rondine," an enamored woman jilts her ardent but poor lover, saying she can't give up her old life as a rich man's mistress.

And, she says, she doesn't want to financially ruin her soulmate.

But on New Year's Eve, after the Metropolitan Opera's gold curtain fell, there was a second ending: The two lovers went off together into the Manhattan night.

The stars of the company's first production of Puccini's work since 1936 were soprano Angela Gheorghiu and tenor Roberto Alagna — married in real life.

"We can say to the audience, 'OK, they will be separated in the story, but not in real life!" Alagna said in a backstage interview.

"And we can go to the New Year's party together!" added Gheorghiu.