Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment

Live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York, with Erin Morley in her Met debut as Marie, the intrepid 'daughter of the regiment', and Lawrence Brownlee as her admirer Tonio. La Fille du Régiment tells the story of Marie, an intrepid young orphan raised by a regiment of French soldiers. When the man of her dreams turns out to be a rebel fighting against the French “family” she has always known, Marie will have to overcome war, fatherly disapproval, and even the discovery of her own noble birth to make her own happily-ever-after ending come true.

Recorded in October last year at the Metropolitan Opera and presented by Debra Lew Harder and Ira Siff.

Donizetti: La Fille du Régiment
Marie ..... Erin Morley (soprano)
Tonio ..... Lawrence Brownlee (tenor)
Marquise of Berkenfield ..... Susan Graham (mezzo-soprano)
Sgt. Sulpice ..... Peter Kálmán (bass-baritone)
Duchess of Krakenthorp ..... Sandra Oh (actress)
Met Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Giacomo Sagripanti (conductor)

This frothy comedy mixes humour with a rush of buoyant melody and notorious vocal challenges. The story concerns a young orphan girl raised by an army regiment as their mascot and begins at the moment of her first stirrings of love. Complications (and comedy) ensue when her true identity is discovered. The action is startlingly simple and unencumbered by intricate subplots, allowing the full charm of the characters and their virtuoso music to come across in an uninhibited way.