Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment aims to please and it succeeds, with its catchy tunes, wildly difficult showpieces for the principles, and a simple, if also simplistic, narrative line. This 2005 live performance at Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice features virtuoso singing by tenor Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio and soprano Patrizia Ciofi, as Marie, the "daughter" of the soldiers who have adopted her. Tonio's big Act I scene and aria, "Ah! mes amis," was a famous showpiece for Pavarotti and Flórez is in that league, nailing the aria's nine high Cs with an ease mere mortals reserve just for breathing. This is knock-'em-dead singing and the audience demands (and gets) an encore. Ciofi's Marie is well acted and sung with lyric beauty and coloratura fireworks. The chief supporting roles are done to a turn. Bass Nicola Ulivieri is a firm-voiced Sulpice, the sergeant who helps the lovers, while Francesca Franci is a wonderful Marquise, displaying subtle comic acting and a rich mezzo as Marie's "aunt" who has grand plans for her future. Conductor Riccardo Frizza leads the Genoa forces with stylish zest.
Stage director Emilio Sagi, has moved the action from Napoleonic times to a French village in the closing days of World War II, replacing the French regiment with victorious Yanks, which makes for some textual anomalies but none that impede enjoyment. This video version offers functional direction but it's often unflattering to the singers (especially Marie who's sometimes shot from above in lighting that shadows part of her face), and uses excessive close-ups and cuts to reaction shots that distract from the main events. Still, a don't-miss buffo opera brilliantly sung. --Dan Davis
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Mes Amis: a recommendation for you:
Juan Diego Florez is reason enough to give this recording a 5 star rating! However, the entire production is a major delight and one you will want to hear over and over again. And then I keep recalling "Mes Amis"--vocal pyrotechnics of the highest order...Hmmmm--I think I will go now to play it yet again!
An outstanding and interesting performance of this comique opera:
This is an outstanding performance of the "Daughter of the Regiment", a comedy-opera by Donizetti. Juan Diego Florez excels in his performance of Tonio, introducing his own interpretation of the role. In addition Patrizia Ciofi excels in using her voice and stage play. All in all this is an excellent performance. The conversion of the story to more modern times of WWII introduces a bit of contemporary feeling.
Le Chien du Regiment:
Do yourself a favor and pass this one by. "Light" tenor Juan Diego Florez is better heard than seen, and he is seen a whole lot from the start, looking more like my dentist than he does like a heart throb and hero. And his acting is -- to put it kindly -- shameful: TOTALLY unbelievable, even by the flimsy standards of bel canto opera; indeed, he comes across transparently as gay. Patrizia Ciofi is a snaggle-toothed gamine and grotesque in a number of ways, grimacing unpleasantly through her famous early... more info
Dont tamper with classic presentations:
I love Italian opera in traditional presentation. I returned this unopened as when I saw modern dress n the cover which I did not notice on the order page, and I knew it was not for me. I have seen "il Barbiere di Seviglia" in San Fran where he enters riding an electric vespa; also there I saw "i vespri siciliani" in 18cent Sicily (the story is Sicilian revenge against French invaders who violated a maiden in 13 century) and they were not there in 18c so historical perspective is lost and the animus they... more info
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