Boston Doodle Dandy: Boston Lyric Opera presents La Fille du régiment

Brenda Rae (Marie) and chorus

Angela Yam (Hortensia) and Neal Ferreira (Duchess Crakenthorpe)

Kenneth Kellogg (Sulpice), Brenda Rae (Marie) and Spencer Britten (Tonio)

Spencer Britten (Tonio) and Brenda Rae (Marie)

By Kevin Wells, 04 May 2026

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“Neal Ferreira’s battleship of a Duchess Crakenthorpe hove into view under full sail”

Reviewed at Emerson Colonial Theatre, Boston on 1 May 2026

Donizetti, La Fille du régiment

Boston Lyric Opera

Kelly Kuo, Conductor

John de los Santos, Director

Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra

Boston Lyric Opera Chorus

Brenda Rae, Marie

Spencer Britten, Tonio

Sandra Piques Eddy, Marquise de Berkenfield

Kenneth Kellogg, Sulpice

Angela Yam, Hortensius

Neal Ferreira, Duchesse de Crakentorp

Boston Lyric Opera’s Macbeth is hobbled by miscalculations

Kevin Wells, 10th October

David Angus leads a taut, spirited performance, but Steve Maler’s staging of Verdi's first Shakespearean opera raises many questions.

**111

Korngold’s Die tote Stadt, more alive than ever in Boston

Cameron Kelsall, 30th January

The composer's magnum opus, unjustly neglected in English-speaking countries, receives magnificent treatment from Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, anchored by David Butt Philip and Christine Goerke.

*****

Flawed staging, compelling singing: Eurydice at Boston Lyric Opera

Kevin Wells, 10th March

Conducting a reduced version of his own opera, Matthew Aucoin's Eurydice still packs a big punch.

***11

Beantown rags to riches: BLO’s Cenerentola an unalloyed delight

Kevin Wells, 12th November

Impeccable ensemble work in Dawn M Simmons' first foray into opera.

*****

Harrowing intimacy: Boston Lyric Opera’s Bluebeard’s Castle

Kevin Wells, 26th March

Boston Lyric Opera decamps to a 1919 wharf shed for a production of Bartók's eerie two-hander, framed by four of Alma Mahler's songs.

****1

Merrily We Roll Puccini: Boston Lyric presents Bohème in reverse

Kevin Wells, 30th September

Yuval Sharon’s production of La bohème turns the opera upside down... with captivating consequences.

****1

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Kevin Wells

Kevin Wells was bitten by the opera bug at 10, having heard a 1936 recording of Jussi Björling singing “Che gelida manina”. He has never been the same since. A student of voice, performance practice, the history of singing and opera, he holds advanced degrees in Italian and has lived and worked in Italy off and on since the 70s. La Scala became a second home as the Met had been during college daze. Now in his native Boston, he works as translator, tutor, and language coach, haunts Symphony Hall, and would haunt the Opera House had it not been demolished in 1958!