La figlia del reggimento

La Fille Du Regiment I like as an opera, it has great music especially, but I am not sure whether it is one of my favourites. I do consider Lucia Di Lammermoor and L'Elisir D'Amore stronger Donizetti operas. Of the productions of La Fille Du Regiment, I enjoyed the Joan Sutherland and Beverly Sills productions but my personal favourite is the Dessay and Florez ROH performance. This production is certainly not bad. I do think the idea to make Marie's dead father American didn't make much sense, and the ending felt abrupt. I am in two minds also about whether the updating worked. The production does look beautiful, but the updating itself added little to the story and some of the scenes that don't always convince me(the second act music lesson) are made even more senseless as a consequence. However, it does look pretty and is generally well-photographed if at times overly-reliant on close-ups. The orchestral playing is stylish and lyrical in equal measure and the chorus are rousing, helped by the swift conducting. The staging is on the most part engaging, while the footage of rehearsals and the interviews are very informative. The performances are really right on the money, Marquise and Sulpice are very characterful and Patrizia Ciofi is a charming Marie. But the best asset is the astonishing Juan Diego Florez, whose top notes give whoever hears him the impression that they come easy to him without much effort. Overall, I enjoyed the production but I didn't love it. 7/10 Bethany Cox