The Daughter of the Regiment is stunning and joyful, hilarious and fabulous, gorgeous and exquisite, clever and poignant. The music is beautiful. The arias soar. The performances are unforgettable. The orchestra’s terrific. It sounds fantastic and looks amazing. And above all, it is just pure fun. Undeniable, absolute fun. If you’re looking for an opera you can love, this is it.
To the casual observer, opera might seem a little out of reach. From a distance, it looks like a bunch of singing in Italian, marked by intense moments of deep sadness. Someone’s sings, then people sing together, then two people sing to each other, then someone is dying, then someone is dead, and then there’s more singing. Though true fans know opera is perhaps the most extraordinary form of artistic expression–an experience singularly capable of raising one’s soul, filling one’s heart, then breaking it, and then filling it up again–there are times when it all might feel, well, out of reach.
The Lyric Opera of Chicago’s The Daughter of the Regiment is not that kind of opera.
Gaetano Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment debuted in Paris at the Opera Comic in 1840 at the peak of the bel canto composer’s popularity. That summer, all seven opera houses in Paris were running Donizetti operas. This Italian invasion proved a source of vexation for the French composers of the time. “Monsieur Donizetti seems to treat us like a conquered country,” the French composer Berlioz wrote.” One can no longer speak of the opera houses of Paris but only of the opera houses of Donizetti!” Though it ran for only nineteen performances that summer, audiences soon looked past the tepid reviews and flocked to see the comic opera again and again. The Daughter of the Regiment held its place in the limelight with more than 1,000 performances–including many commemorating Bastille Day–in the century to come.
As a bel canto opera, The Daughter of the Regiment was written to give performers the freedom to express themselves, show off their talents, infuse the production with an air of lightness and exuberance, and be fun. Donizetti’s popular masterpiece is unapologetically patriotic, if you’re French, and unapologetically sentimental, clever, and joyful, no matter where you’re from. The traditional operatic recitative is out in favor of clever dialogue updated for each production. There’s a good storyline, though there’s never any danger. There are characters with real needs–young love, friendship, and the tender affection of 1,500 fathers for their daughter (really)–but, spoiler alert, no one dies. Honestly, no one even comes close.
So, yeah, fun.
And the Lyric Opera’s production is phenomenal. Everything works. The voices are perfect, and the comedic acting is delightful. The orchestra is fantastic, and the set looks amazing. And it’s at the Lyric, so the venue is incredible.
The Daughter of the Regiment lifts our hearts with extraordinary performances by two of the best voices in opera today. The renowned soprano Lisette Oropesa charms and delights as Marie. With her soaring arias and brilliant comedic timing, Oropesa revels in her role as the love-struck, sentimental daughter of the regiment, hopelessly in love with Tonio, the peasant who saved her life, and unceasingly loyal to the soldiers who raised her. She’s joyful and poignant, filled with hope for the future, longing for past days, and always extraordinary.
Lawrence Brownlee’s Tonio is a true gift. Brownlee leaps into the exceptionally challenging role, attacking every bel canto moment. Like Oropesa, Brownlee is at the top of his game and loving every second. Brownlee’s voice is a wonder in the role that catapulted Luciano Pavarotti to stardom (though he was, no doubt, already well on his way). And again, like Oropesa, he can move the audience to love and laughter with soaring arias and tender moments.
Here, we must valiantly, through inadequately, attempt to convey the awe inspired by the nine high Cs executed (twice!) by the superb tenor in his show-stopping “Ah, mes ami.” On opening night, Brownlee answered the call for an exceedingly rare mid-opera encore after moving the audience to raucous applause with a final, long-held high C that threatened to blow the roof off the Lyric. Knowing he had perfectly–and with great gusto–executed a vocal feat that would be unthinkable for the vast majority of tenors, and with an audience and orchestra were more than willing to join him for another round, Brownlee nodded to the pit and then followed the orchestra into a flawless second trip through the nine high Cs that end the aria.
Oropesa and Brownlee are joined by Ronita Miller as the haughty, strong-willed Marquise of Berkenfield, opposite Sergeant Sulpice, played by Alessandro Corbelli. As Marie’s parental influences, Miller and Corbelli bring depth, comedy, and beauty to their performances.
Joy Hermalyn shines as the Duchess of Krackenthorp, an enormously fun and rare operatic role that involves no singing. Hermalyn’s hilarious and wonderfully regal snobbery echoed the performances of famed actors like Kathleen Turner, who played the Duchess at the Met, not to mention the Bea Arthur and the beloved Supreme Court Justice and huge opera fan Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who stole the show for the night when The Daughter of the Regiment opened at Lincoln Center.
Fresh from productions at London’s Royal Opera House and the Metropolitan Opera, Speranza Scarappucci conducts the Lyric, showcasing the orchestra’s precision throughout the Donizetti score. Karine Girard’s choreography punctuates the opera with balletic moments like the fantastic overture of dusting maids that opens the second act and the hilarious synchronicity of the soldiers and the nobility, whose movements are oddly similar and equally fabulous.
Laurent Pelly’s iconic production revived for the Lyric by Christian Rath is a sight to behold. Chantal Thomas’s genius set is visually stunning. Thomas evokes the feeling of the Alps with a series of giant maps upon which the opera is set. For the second act, the Marquis’ chateau is layered on top of the maps at a tilted angle that fits perfectly with the bel canto tone of the opera. But words don’t do it justice, so here’s a photo…
See what I mean? Genius.
One final note. What makes this production of Donizetti’s opera especially wonderful is the strong sense everyone involved is having a really good time, the kind of fun that’s contagious. The performers, the orchestra, the audience, everyone is having a blast. Bel canto opera is joyful by nature, and The Daughter of the Regiment is the perfect combination of beauty and comedy. Let’s be honest. There aren’t enough moments like this, so let’s enjoy this one.
The Daughter of the Regiment runs through Sunday, November 25, at The Lyric Opera of Chicago, 20 N Wacker Dr, Chicago. You can get tickets here. For more Chicago reviews or show information, see chicagoonstage.com or theatreinchicago.com.