La fille du régiment

Comic opera in two acts, in French with Hungarian and English surtitles

Since being orphaned as a small child, the young and plucky Marie has grown up in the French army. Unaware of her aristocratic origins, she falls in love with a handsome peasant lad. Will she really marry him out of love? Set during the Napoleonic Wars, La fille du régiment was one of Gaetano Donizetti’s most successful operas during its own era, and singing the title role was the dream of every coloratura soprano throughout the entire 19th century. In 1838, tired of his constant struggles with the Italian censors, Donizetti moved to Paris. There, the great Italian bel canto composer wrote his first French-language comic opera, modelling it much more on the unique features of the French opéra comique style and its composers. Donizetti’s opera is a candid love letter to France – and the country reciprocated his affection, staging it every 14 July, on Bastille Day.