Saturday, April 21, 2012 at 8pm
Tuesday, April 24 at 7pm
Friday, April 27 at 8pm
MUSIC BY GAETANO DONIZETTI
LIBRETTO BY JULES-HENRI VERNOY DE SAINT-GEORGES AND JEAN-FRANÇOIS BAYARD
Sung in French with English dialogue and projected English translations.
Mix together a large helping of esprit de corps, a dash of slapstick antics, some catchy melodies, two handfuls of high Cs, and one energetic tomboy. The result? A laugh-filled, toe-tapping opera baked to perfection!
The Story
Marie, a feisty orphaned tomboy gives the French soldiers who raised her a scare when she falls in love with Tonio, a Tyrolean peasant. When her noble birthright is discovered, she is taken away from her beloved regiment to have a "proper" upbringing and subsequent proper marriage. Just in time, the regiment rides to the rescue, Marie and Tonio are reunited, and love prevails over privilege.
The Music
- Marie's "Chacun le sait, chacun le dit" (Song of the Regiment) is the best-known number.
- Tonio's "Ah! Mes amis" with nine high Cs and chorus is a show-stopper.
- "Il faut partir" (I have to leave), Marie's farewell.
- The ensemble piece "Salut à la France" was at one time almost a second national anthem.
Good to Know:
Great comedy, spectacular singing, and happy endings will be the order of the day at The Daughter of the Regiment, which was last performed by the company 21 years ago. Click here to read a few points about the production that you may find good to know.
Offstage
Offstage with Theodore Baerg
Offstage with John Tessier
Offstage with Nikki Einfeld
Study Guide
Click here to download the study guide for The Daughter of the Regiment.
Reverb
Results from subscribers and casual ticket buyers.
SEE WHAT AUDIENCES ARE SAYING ABOUT
THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT
OPERA MATTERS:LA FILLE DU RÉGIMENT (The Daughter of the Regiment)
By Robert Vineberg, Manitoba Opera, Board of Trustees
Opera Matters explores the background to the operas produced by Manitoba Opera and what was happening in the world and in Winnipeg at the time of those operas.
One might wonder why Gaetano Donizetti, an Italian opera composer, would create an opera in French. However, in the mid-19th Century, Paris was a great cultural centre and the Paris Opera was one of, if not the, greatest opera halls of the time. Donizetti had been famous, throughout Europe, since the 1820s and, in early 1838 he was negotiating a contract to compose two new works for the Paris Opera while preparing his opera Poliuto for its première at Naples, when the king prohibited the production. Fed up with Italian censorship, Donizetti left immediately for Paris. In Paris he worked with librettists, Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard to create La Fille du Régiment. It was first performed on February 11, 1840, in Paris and later, the same year at La Scala in Milan. It has been a staple of opera repertoires ever since. (more...)
