La fille du régiment

File:Le ténor Marié, père de Galli-Marié, premier interprète du rôle de Max à l'Opéra - Gallica 2010 (adjusted).jpg

File:Marie-Julie Halligner-small.png

The opening night was "a barely averted disaster."{{sfn|Ashbrook|1982|p=146}} Apparently the lead tenor was frequently off pitch.{{sfn|Ashbrook|1982|p=651, note 45}} The noted French tenor Gilbert Duprez, who was present, later observed in his Souvenirs d'un chanteur: "Donizetti often swore to me how his self-esteem as a composer had suffered in Paris. He was never treated there according to his merits. I myself saw the unsuccess, almost the collapse, of La fille du régiment."Gilbert Duprez, Souvenirs d'un chanteur, 1880, [https://archive.org/stream/souvenirsdunchan00dupr#page/95/mode/1up p. 95] (at the Internet Archive).Quoted and translated by {{harvnb|Ashbrook|1982|p=146}}

It received a highly negative review from the French critic and composer Hector Berlioz (Journal des débats, 16 February 1840), who claimed it could not be taken seriously by the public or its composer, although Berlioz conceded that some of the music, "the little waltz that serves as the entr'acte and the trio dialogué ... lack neither vivacity nor freshness." The source of Berlioz's hostility is revealed later in his review:

What, two major scores for the Opéra, Les martyrs and Le duc d'Albe, two others at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Lucie de Lammermoor and L'ange de Nisida, two at the Opéra-Comique, La fille du régiment and another whose title is still unknown, and yet another for the Théâtre-Italien, will have been written or transcribed in one year by the same composer! M[onsieur] Donizetti seems to treat us like a conquered country; it is a veritable invasion. One can no longer speak of the opera houses of Paris, but only of the opera houses of M[onsieur] Donizetti.

The critic and poet Théophile Gautier, who was not a rival composer, had a somewhat different point of view: "Donizetti is capable of paying with music that is beautiful and worthy for the cordial hospitality which France offers him in all her theatres, subsidized or not."{{sfn|Ashbrook|1982|p=651, note 46}}

Despite its bumpy start, the opera soon became hugely popular at the Opéra-Comique. During its first 80 years, it reached its 500th performance at the theatre in 1871 and its 1,000th in 1908.Wolff, S. Un demi-siècle d'opéra-comique (1900–1950). Paris: André Bonne, 1953, pp. 76–77

The opera was first performed in Italy at La Scala, Milan, on 3 October 1840, in Italian with recitatives by Donizetti replacing the spoken dialogue.{{sfn|Ashbrook|1982|p=568}}{{harvnb|Warrack|West|1992|p=243}} (recitatives by Donizetti){{harvnb|Loewenberg|1978|loc=col. 804}}, has 30 October 1840 for Milan. It was thought "worthless" and received only six performances. Only in 1928, when Toti Dal Monte sang Marie, did the opera begin to be appreciated in Italy.{{sfn|Ashbrook|1982|p=651, note 50}}

La fille du régiment received its first performance in America on 7 March 1843 at the Théâtre d'Orléans in New Orleans.{{sfn|Loewenberg|1978|loc=col. 805}}{{sfn|Warrack|West|1992|p=243}} The New Orleans company premiered the work in New York City on 19 July 1843 with {{ill|Julie Calvé|sv}} as Marie.{{sfn|Loewenberg|1978|loc=col. 805}} The Spirit of the Times (22 July) counted it a great success, reporting that, though the score was "thin" and not up to the level of Anna Bolena or L'elisir d'amore, some of Donizetti's "gems" were to be found in it.{{sfn|Brodsky Lawrence|1988|p=215}} The Herald (21 July) was highly enthusiastic, especially in its praise of Calvé: "Applause is an inadequate term, ... vehement cheering rewarded this talented prima donna."Quoted in {{harvnb|Brodsky Lawrence|1988|p=215}} Subsequently the opera was performed frequently in New York, the role of Marie being a favorite with Jenny Lind, Henriette Sontag, Pauline Lucca, Anna Thillon and Adelina Patti.{{sfn|Kobbé|1919|p=[https://archive.org/stream/completeoperabo00kobbgoog#page/n429/mode/1up 355]}}{{harvnb|Brodsky Lawrence|1995|p=226}} (Anna Thillon).

First given in England in Italian, it appeared on 27 May 1847 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London (with Jenny Lind and Luigi Lablache). Later—on 21 December 1847 in English—it was presented at the Surrey Theatre in London.{{harvnb|Loewenberg|1978|loc=col. 805}} (both London performances){{harvnb|Warrack|West|1992|p=243}} (Her Majesty's in London with Lind and Lablache).

W. S. Gilbert wrote a burlesque adaptation of the opera, La Vivandière, in 1867.

File:La fille du regiment 1910 poster.jpg

The Metropolitan Opera gave the first performances with Marcella Sembrich and {{ill|Charles Gilibert|de}} (Sulpice) during the 1902/03 season. These were followed by performances at the Manhattan Opera House in 1909 with Luisa Tetrazzini, John McCormack, and Charles Gilibert, and again with Frieda Hempel and Antonio Scotti in the same roles at the Met on 17 December 1917.{{sfn|Kobbé|1919|p=355}}

It was revived at the Royal Opera, London, in 1966 for Joan Sutherland. On 13 February 1970, in concert at Carnegie Hall, Beverly Sills sang the first performance in New York since Lily Pons performed it at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1943.{{Cite web|url=http://www.beverlysillsonline.com/|title=Beverly Sills – beverlysillsonline.com – Biography, Discography, Annals, Pictures, Articles, News|website=www.beverlysillsonline.com}}[https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/search.jsp?q=%22Lily%20Pons%22&PERF_ROLE=Marie&src=browser&sort=PDATE "Lily Pons {{Bracket|Marie}}"], [https://archives.metopera.org/MetOperaSearch/ Met Opera Database].

This opera is famous for the aria "{{Lang|fr|Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête ... Pour mon âme|italic=no}}", which has been called the "Mount Everest" for tenors. The cabaletta "Pour mon âme" features eight high Cs (a ninth, frequently inserted, is not written). Luciano Pavarotti broke through to stardom via his 1972 performance alongside Sutherland at the Met, when, according to an obituary by James Naughtie in The Times, he "leapt over the 'Becher's Brook' of the string of high Cs with an aplomb that left everyone gasping."{{cite news |last1=Naughtie |first1=James |author1-link=James Naughtie |title=Goodbye Pavarotti: Forget the Pavarotti with hankies. He was better younger |url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2400764.ece |work=The Times |date=7 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517100901/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article2400764.ece |archive-date=17 May 2011}}

It was performed at Wolf Trap Farm in the summer of 1974 with Beverly Sills as Marie in one of the first attempts to telecast an opera in the USA.

At a 20 February 2007 performance of the opera at La Scala, Juan Diego Flórez sang "{{Lang|fr|Ah! mes amis|italic=no}}", and then, by popular demand, repeated the "{{Lang|fr|Pour mon âme|italic=no}}" section with its nine high Cs,{{cite web |title=Show-Stopping Aria Encored at the Met |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89884693 |website=NPR |access-date=3 March 2019 |date=23 April 2008}} breaking a tradition against encores at La Scala that had lasted nearly 75 years.{{cite news |title=Peruvian tenor breaks La Scala encore taboo |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/peruvian-tenor-breaks-la-scala-encore-taboo-1.637125 |access-date=3 March 2019 |work=CBC News |date=23 February 2007}} Flórez repeated this feat on 21 April 2008, the opening night of Laurent Pelly's production (which had been originally staged in 2007 at Covent Garden in London) at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, with Natalie Dessay as Marie;{{multiref2|

{{cite news |title=Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez wows crowd at Met with 18 high Cs |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/latino/peruvian-tenor-juan-diego-florez-wows-crowd-met-18-high-cs-article-1.280422 |access-date=5 March 2019|newspaper=New York Daily News |agency=Associated Press |date=22 April 2008}}

|{{cite news |last=Bernheimer|first=Martin|author-link=Martin Bernheimer|title=La fille du régiment, Metropolitan Opera, New York |url=https://www.ft.com/content/be436a3c-1153-11dd-a93b-0000779fd2ac |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/be436a3c-1153-11dd-a93b-0000779fd2ac |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 March 2019|newspaper=Financial Times |date=23 April 2008|ref=none}}

|{{cite news |last1=Waleson |first1=Heidi |title=The Place to Be if You Like Hearing High C's |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120960897994358401 |access-date=5 March 2019|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=1 May 2008|ref=none}}

|{{cite news |last1=Kirshnit |first1=Fred |title=The Met's New La Fille du Régiment |url=https://www.nysun.com/arts/mets-new-la-fille-du-rgiment/75123/ |access-date=3 March 2019|newspaper=The New York Sun |date=23 April 2008|ref=none}}

|Hoelterhoff, Manuela (22 April 200). [https://web.archive.org/web/20111205022259/https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a9hsbKQn3SNc "Lederhosen and Laughs as Met Tenor Struts His High C"]. Bloomberg.com. Archived version retrieved 7 June 2019.}}

a live performance of this Met production, without an encore of "{{Lang|fr|Pour mon âme|italic=no}}", was cinecast via Metropolitan Opera Live in HD to movie theaters worldwide on 26 April 2008. In March 2018, in a filmed production of the opera at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing,{{cite news |last1=Chen |first1=Nan |title=Tenor Shi Yijie set to thrill opera fans with role in Donizetti's work |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201803/02/WS5a98a368a3106e7dcc13f083.html |access-date=18 September 2023 |work=China Daily |date=2 March 2018}} Chinese tenor {{ill|Yijie Shi|zh|石倚洁}} (Chinese style: Shi Yijie) encored "Pour mon âme", singing 18 high Cs;{{cite web |title=Profesor SHI Yijie 科目分类 Ópera y Voz: Biografía |url=https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0WU2s8347M7qJyQH2C2XCP5sSR5esMd5R2dJUXCFE1WyYPbeYY7EpdoTA8K5Cs4rPl&id=100057364222329 |website=Facebook |publisher=Asociación 10 de Octubre de la Colonia China |access-date=18 September 2023 |language=Spanish |date=29 October 2022}}{{cite web |title=【国家大剧院管弦乐团&国家大剧院合唱团】国家大剧院制作多尼采蒂歌剧《军中女郎》（国家大剧院戏剧场演出版本）|trans-title=(NCPA Orchestra & NCPA Chorus) NCPA production of Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment (NCPA Drama Theatre version)|url=https://www.bilibili.com/video/av415442643/?p=3&frsrcid=4185&fr0=B&fr1=B&lid=8760787093816783766&referlid=8760787093816783766&ms=1 |website=Bilibili |access-date=21 September 2023 |format=Video}} the audio of this 2018 NCPA production was broadcast across the U.S. and elsewhere on the WFMT Radio Network Opera Series on 16 September 2023.{{cite web |title=Donizetti's La fille du régiment: China's NCPA {{!}} September 16, 2023 |url=https://www.wfmt.com/2023/09/16/donizettis-la-fille-du-regiment-2/ |website=WFMT| date=16 September 2023|access-date=18 September 2023}} On 3 March 2019, Mexican tenor Javier Camarena also sang an encore of the aria at the Met, singing 18 high Cs in a performance broadcast live worldwide via Metropolitan Opera radio and cinecast worldwide via Metropolitan Opera Live in HD.{{cite web |last1=Salazar |first1=Francisco |title=Javier Camarena Makes Met Opera HD History |url=http://operawire.com/javier-camarena-makes-met-opera-hd-history/ |website=OperaWire |access-date=3 March 2019 |date=3 March 2019}}{{YouTube|uYgRFZdinTQ|La fille du régiment: "Ah! Mes amis ... Pour mon âme" (encore)}}, Javier Camarena, Metropolitan Opera, 7 February 2019

As a non-singing role, the Duchess of Crakenthorp is often played by non-operatic celebrities, including actresses such as Dawn French, Bea Arthur, Hermione Gingold, and Kathleen Turner, or by retired opera greats such as Kiri Te Kanawa and Montserrat Caballé. In 2016, US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a lifelong opera fan, played the Duchess on opening night of the Washington National Opera's production.{{cite news|title=Standing ovation greets Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cameo in DC opera|url=https://www.theguardian.com/law/2016/nov/13/ruth-bader-ginsburg-washington-opera-supreme-court|date=14 November 2016|access-date=15 November 2016|work=The Guardian}} In February 2023, the Duchess of Crakenthorp was re-tooled by the Minnesota Opera as a singing role and performed by American drag queen Monét X Change.{{cite web|title=Opera That Serves|url=https://mnopera.org/season/2022-2023/the-daughter-of-the-regiment/monet-x-change|access-date=9 March 2023}}

Today, the opera has become part of the standard repertoire.[http://operabase.com/oplist.cgi?id=none&lang=en&is=La+fille+du+regiment&by=&loc=&stype=abs&sd=1&sm=1&sy=2012&etype=abs&ed=&em=&ey= Report of performances from 1 January 2012 forward] on operabase.com Retrieved 9 May 2014

The opera was filmed in a silent film in 1929; a sound film with Anny Ondra in 1933 in German and separately in French; in 1953; and in 1962 with John van Kesteren as Tonio. It inspired the 1944 Mexican musical comedy film La hija del regimiento.

File:Curtain Call (6766562451).jpg's performance of 24 December 2011 with (l to r) Lawrence Brownlee (Tonio), Nino Machaidze (Marie), and Ann Murray (Marquise)]]

:Time: The Napoleonic Wars, early 19th century

:Place: The Swiss Tyrol{{sfn|Osborne|1994|p=273}}

{{Listen|type=music|filename=Donizetti - Le beau vingt-et-unième (extrait de la Fille du régiment) - Atelier Vocal des Herbiers ( petit ensemble Amarante) - juin 2000.ogg|title="Chacun le sait, chacun le dit ... Le beau vingt-et-unième!"|description=performed by l'Atelier Vocal des Herbiers and piano accompaniment}}

War is raging in the Tyrols and the Marquise of Berkenfield, traveling in the area, is alarmed to the point of needing smelling salts to be administered by her faithful steward, Hortensius. While a chorus of villagers express their fear, the Marquise does the same: "Pour une femme de mon nom" / "For a lady of my family, what a time, alas, is wartime". As the French are seen moving away, all express relief. Suddenly, provoking the fear of the remaining women, who scatter, Sergeant Sulpice of the Twenty-First Regiment of the French army (in the Italian version it is the Eleventh) arrives and assures everyone that the regiment will restore order.

Marie, the vivandière (canteen girl) of the Regiment enters, and Sulpice is happy to see her (duet: Sulpice and Marie: "Mais, qui vient? Tiens, Marie, notre fille" / "But who is this? Well, well, if it isn't our daughter Marie"). After he questions her about a young man she has been seen with, she identifies him as Tonio, a Tyrolean (in the Italian version: Swiss). At that moment, Tonio is brought in as a prisoner because he has been seen prowling around the camp. Marie saves him from the soldiers, who demand that he die, by explaining that he saved her life when she nearly fell while mountain-climbing. All toast Tonio, who pledges allegiance to France, and Marie is encouraged to sing the regimental song (aria: "Chacun le sait, chacun le dit ... Le beau vingt-et-unième!" / "Everyone knows it, everyone says it ... The beautiful 21st"). Sulpice leads the soldiers off, taking Tonio with them, but he runs back to join her. She quickly tells him that he must gain the approval of her "fathers": the soldiers of the Regiment, who found her on the battlefield as an abandoned baby and adopted her. He proclaims his love for her (aria, then love duet with Marie: "Depuis l'instant où, dans mes bras" / "Ever since that moment when you fell and / I caught you, all trembling in my arms"), and the couple express their love for each other.

At that point, Sulpice returns, surprising the young couple, who leave. The Marquise arrives with Hortensius. Initially afraid of the soldier, she is calmed by him. The Marquise explains that they are trying to return to her castle and asks for an escort. Hearing the name Berkenfield, Sulpice immediately recognizes it from a letter found with Marie as an infant. It is discovered that Marie is actually the Marquise's long-lost niece. Marie returns and is surprised to be introduced to her aunt. The Marquise commands that Marie accompany her and learn to be a proper lady. Marie bids farewell to her beloved regiment just as Tonio enters announcing that he has enlisted in their ranks (aria: "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête" / "Ah, my friends, what an exciting day"). When he proclaims his love for Marie, the soldiers are horrified, but agree to his pleading for her hand. However, they tell him that she is about to leave with her aunt (Marie, aria: "Il faut partir" / "I must leave you!"). In a choral finale, she leaves with the Marquise and Tonio is enraged.

Marie has been living in the Marquise's castle for several months. In a conversation with Sulpice, the Marquise describes how she has sought to modify Marie's military manners and make her a lady of fashion, suitable to be married to her nephew, the Duke of Crakenthorp. Although reluctant, Marie has agreed and Sulpice is asked to encourage her. Marie enters and is asked to play the piano, but appears to prefer more martial music when encouraged by Sulpice and sings the regimental song. The Marquise sits down at the piano and attempts to work through the piece with Marie, who becomes more and more distracted and, along with Sulpice, takes up the regimental song.

Marie is left alone (aria: "Par le rang et par l'opulence" / "They have tried in vain to dazzle me"). As she is almost reconciled to her fate, she hears martial music and is joyously happy (cabaletta: "Oh! transport! oh! douce ivresse" / "Oh bliss! oh ectasy!"), and the regiment arrives. With it is Tonio, now an officer. The soldiers express their joy at seeing Marie, and Marie, Tonio and Sulpice are joyfully reunited (trio, Marie, Sulpice, Tonio: "Tous les trois réunis" / "We three are reunited"). Tonio says he has just learned a secret, via his uncle the burgermeister, that he cannot reveal.

The Marquise enters, horrified to see soldiers. Tonio asks for Marie's hand, explaining that he risked his life for her (aria, Tonio: "Pour me rapprocher de Marie, je m'enrôlai, pauvre soldat" / "In order to woo Marie, I enlisted in the ranks"), but she dismisses him scornfully. Tonio reveals that he knows that the Marquise never had a niece. She orders him to leave and Marie to return to her chambers; after they leave, the Marquise confesses the truth to Sulpice: Marie is her own illegitimate daughter. Under the circumstances, Sulpice promises that Marie will agree to her mother's wishes.

The Duchess of Crakenthorp, her son the groom-to-be, and the wedding entourage arrive at the Marquise's castle. Marie enters with Sulpice, who has told her that the Marquise is her mother. Marie embraces her and decides she must obey. But at the last minute the soldiers of the Regiment storm in (chorus: soldiers, then Tonio: "Au secours de notre fille" / "Our daughter needs our help") and reveal that Marie was a canteen girl. The wedding guests are offended by that, but then impressed when Marie sings of her debt to the soldiers (aria, Marie: "Quand le destin, au milieu de la guerre" / "When fate, in the confusion of war, threw me, a baby, into their arms"). The Marquise is deeply moved, admits she is Marie's mother, and gives her consent to Marie and Tonio's marriage, amid universal rejoicing (final chorus: "Salut à la France!" / "Hurrah for France! For happy times!").[http://www.metopera.org/metopera/history/stories/synopsis.aspx?customid=440 Synopsis] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903111809/http://www.metopera.org/metopera/history/stories/synopsis.aspx?customid=440 |date=3 September 2014 }} in part from the Metropolitan Opera as well as the booklet accompanying the 1967 Decca recording.

{{reflist}}

• {{cite book|last=Ashbrook|first=William|author-link=William Ashbrook|year=1982|title=Donizetti and His Operas|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-23526-X}}
• {{cite book|last=Kobbé|first=Gustav|author-link=Gustav Kobbé|year=1919|title=The Complete Opera Book|edition=1st English|location=London & New York|publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons}} [https://archive.org/stream/completeoperabo00kobbgoog#page/n11/mode/1up Online] at Internet Archive.
• {{cite book|last=Brodsky Lawrence|first=Vera|author-link=Vera Brodsky Lawrence|year=1988|title=Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong, 1836–1875. Volume I: Resonances 1836–1850|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-504199-6}}
• {{cite book|last=Brodsky Lawrence|first=Vera|year=1995|title=Strong on Music: The New York Music Scene in the Days of George Templeton Strong. Volume II. Reverberations, 1850–1856|location=Chicago|publisher=University of Chicago Press|isbn=978-0-226-47011-5|author-mask=1}}
• {{cite book|last=Loewenberg|first=Alfred|year=1978|title=Annals of Opera 1597–1940|edition=3rd, revised|location=Totowa, New Jersey|publisher=Rowman and Littlefield|isbn=978-0-87471-851-5}}
• {{cite book|last=Osborne|first=Charles|author-link=Charles Osborne (music writer)|year=1994|title=The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini|location=Portland, Oregon|publisher=Amadeus Press|isbn=0-931340-71-3}}
• {{cite book|last1=Warrack|first1=John|author1-link=John Warrack|last2=West|first2=Ewan|year=1992|title=The Oxford Dictionary of Opera|location=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-869164-5}}

• Allitt, John Stewart (1991). Donizetti: in the light of Romanticism and the teaching of Johann Simon Mayr, Shaftesbury: Element Books, Ltd; Rockport, MA: Element, Inc.
• Ashbrook, William; Hibberd, Sarah (2001). "Gaetano Donizetti", pp. 224–247 in The New Penguin Opera Guide, edited by Amanda Holden. New York: Penguin Putnam. {{ISBN|0-14-029312-4}}.
• Black, John (1982). Donizetti's Operas in Naples, 1822–1848. London: The Donizetti Society. {{OCLC|871846923}}
• {{ill|Leo Melitz|de|lt=Melitz, Leo}} (2015) [1921]. The Opera Goer's Complete Guide. {{ISBN|978-1330999813}} {{OCLC|982924886}}. (Source of synopsis)
• Sadie, Stanley, (ed.); John Tyrell (exec. ed.) (2004). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. {{ISBN|978-0-19-517067-2}} (hardcover). {{ISBN|0-19-517067-9}} {{OCLC|419285866}} (eBook).
• Weinstock, Herbert (1963). Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century, New York: Pantheon Books. {{LCCN|63013703}}.

{{Commons category|La fille du régiment}}

• [http://www.donizettisociety.com/index.html Donizetti Society (London) website]
• {{IMSLP|work=La Fille du Régiment (Donizetti, Gaetano)|cname=La fille du régiment}}
• {{Wikisourcelang-inline|fr|La Fille du régiment|Libretto}}
• [https://archive.org/details/donizettisoperal00donirich Libretto (with some portions of the score)], Internet Archive {{in lang|it|en}}
• [https://archive.org/details/lafilledurgiment00doni La fille du régiment : opéra comique en deux actes], 1840 publication, French and German, digitized by Brigham Young University, Internet Archive

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