The delightful and inventive comic opera La Fille du Régiment is coming to the Opéra de Monte-Carlo later this month with Regula Mühlemann in the title role of an orphaned girl who was raised by an army regiment. 

Gaetano Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment – or The Girl of the Regiment in English – was first performed at the Opéra Comique in Paris in February 1840. At the time, it was described as a “barely averted disaster” by the famous composer-critic Hector Berlioz, but proved hugely popular with audiences, who loved the lightness of the plot and its extraordinary musical score. 

The two-act performance is based on a libretto by Jules Henry Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard, and was adapted for the stage by composer Donizetti, who made it truly his own.  

The story is of Marie, a girl who was found as a baby on a battlefield and raised like a daughter by the men of the 21st Regiment. As she grows up, her foster-father, Sulpice, insists she must marry a soldier from the regiment, but Marie has other ideas; she has fallen in love with a Tyrolean peasant called Tonio and intends to follow her own path.  

Now coming to Monaco, this latest rendition will be presented under the direction of Jean-Louis Grinda, with Regula Mühlemann in the role of Marie. Sharing the stage with her will be Javier Camarena as Tonio, who is set to perform the opera’s famous aria that demands that the tenor hits an astounding nine high Cs in one song.  

A gala show will be held on 26th March at 8pm, with three additional performances scheduled for 24th March at 3pm, 28th March at 8pm and 30th March, also at 8pm.  

For tickets and more information, click here. 

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Photo source: Opéra de Monte-Carlo