Opera by Gaetano Donizetti
Marie, raised as a foundling by the 21st regiment, grows up as a sutler among her many "fathers" and goes to war with the soldiers.
In Tyrol, she falls in love with the young Tonio, who joins the regiment out of love for her. However, their happiness together is disrupted when a supposed aunt takes Marie to her castle to raise her in a manner befitting her station and marry her off to a suitable husband. Marie feels uncomfortable in this strange world and longs for her simple life. In the end, love prevails: Marie returns to her regiment and to Tonio.
Laurent Pellys, master of affectionate humor and theatrical comedy, created a timeless, amusing and extremely popular production that made Donizetti's heart-warming opera a reference production. The first act shows an oversized, multi-folded map of Tyrol, which in this way visualizes an imposing mountain landscape, while in the second act an implied salon forms the setting for slapstick interludes and highly bizarre situations. The production was created in 2007 as a co-production of the Vienna State Opera, the New York Met and London's Royal Opera House.
Gaetano Donizetti's genius - not least in his comic operas such as La fille du régiment - is evident in his skillful balancing of humour, irony and sentiment, in the abundance of catchy tunes and in the fundamental esprit that would lead directly to a Jacques Offenbach. It is no coincidence that Donizetti is also one of the direct ancestors of the Viennese operetta of Johann Strauss.
One of the most famous hits from La fille du régiment is Tonio's extremely demanding tenor aria in the first act with its eight high Cs. Some performers even add a ninth - and if, with sufficient applause, this is followed by a da capo, there are a total of 18 high Cs within a few minutes!
Order your tickets for the Vienna State Opera and book your tickets now at viennaticket.at.
(Source: wiener-staatsoper.at)
