Synopsis

The Story of the Opera

The Tyrolean mountains.

ACT I. On their way to Austria, the terrified Marquise of Berkenfeld and her butler, Hortensius, have paused in their journey because a skirmish has broken out. When the Marquise hears from the villagers that the French troops have retreated, she comments on the rude manners of the French people. Sulpice, sergeant of the 21st regiment, assures everyone that his men will restore peace and order. He is joined by Marie, the mascot, or “daughter,” of the regiment, which adopted her as an orphaned child. When Sulpice questions her about a young man she has been seen with, she explains that he is a local Tyrolean who once saved her life. Troops of the 21st arrive with a prisoner: this same Tonio, who says he has been looking for Marie. She steps in to save him, and while he toasts his new friends, Marie sings the regimental song. Tonio is ordered to follow the soldiers, but he escapes and returns to declare his love to Marie.

The Marquise of Berkenfeld asks Sulpice for an escort to return her to her castle. When he hears the name Berkenfeld, Sulpice remembers a letter he found near the young Marie on the battlefield. The Marquise soon admits that she knew the girl’s father and says that Marie is the long-lost daughter of her sister. The child had been left in the care of the Marquise, but was lost. Shocked by the girl’s rough manners, the Marquise is determined to give her niece a proper education and to take her to her castle. Tonio has enlisted so that he can marry Marie, but she has to leave both her regiment and the man she loves.

ACT II. At the Berkenfeld castle. The Marquise has arranged a marriage between Marie and the Duke of Krakenthorp. Sulpice is also at the castle and is supposed to be helping the Marquise with her plans. The Marquise gives Marie a singing lesson. Encouraged by Sulpice, Marie slips in phrases of the regimental song, and the Marquise loses her temper. Left alone, Marie thinks about the meaninglessness of money and position. She hears soldiers marching in the distance and is delighted when the whole regiment files into the hall. Tonio, Marie, and Sulpice are reunited. Tonio asks for Marie’s hand. The Marquise is unmoved by the young man’s declaration that Marie is his whole life. She declares her niece engaged to another man and dismisses Tonio. Alone with Sulpice, the Marquise confesses the truth: Marie is her own illegitimate daughter.

Hortensius announces the arrival of the wedding party, headed by the groom’s mother, the Duchess of Krakenthorp. Marie refuses to leave her room, but when Sulpice tells her that the Marquise is her mother, the surprised girl declares that she cannot go against her mother’s wishes and agrees to marry a man that she does not love. As she is about to sign the marriage contract, the soldiers of the 21st regiment, led by Tonio, storm in to rescue their “daughter.” The guests are horrified to learn that Marie was a canteen girl, but they change their opinion when she tells them that she can never repay the debt she owes the soldiers. The Marquise is so moved by her daughter’s goodness of heart that she gives her permission to marry Tonio. Everyone joins in a final “Salut à la France.”

-Courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera

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Photos

Audio

Recommended recordings of Donizetti's The Daughter of the Regiment (La Fille du Régiment):

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Guide

Check out the Click/Read/Watch/Listen guide, which provides links to the opera's score, character descriptions, plot synopsis, video performances, and more.

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Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2012
Recently with MO: A Masked Ball, Opera in the Park 2013

Recently: Barbarina, Le Nozze di Figaro, (Dayton Opera); The Child Ghost, Paranormal Playhouse  and Bonny Jo Loco, The Good, the Bad, The Divas (Fresco Opera); Papagena, Die Zauberflöte (Pittsburgh Opera Theatre); Gretel, Hansel and Gretel (Opera for the Young); Maria, West Side Story (Aspen Opera Theater Center); Norina, Don Pasquale (Candid Concert Opera)

Upcoming: Handel’s Messiah (Dayton Philharmonic)

Website:  www.caitlincisler.com

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Javier Abreu
Tonio

Madison Opera Debut

Recently: Almaviva, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Central City Opera, Lismore Music Festival); Don Ramiro, La Cenerentola (Nashville Opera, Lyrique-en-Mer); Ernesto, Don Pasquale (Opera Santa Barbara); Padre Rufiano, The Inspector (Wolf Trap Opera); Lindoro, L’Italiana in Algeri (Opera de Oviedo, Austin Lyric Opera)

Upcoming: Almaviva, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Santa Fe Concert Association); Carmina Burana (Pennsylvania Ballet)

Website: www.javierabreu.com

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Nathan Stark
Sulpice

Madison Opera Debut: Don Giovanni

 

Recently: The One-Armed Brother, Die Frau ohne Schatten (Metropolitan Opera); Il Commendatore, Don Giovanni and Pope / Barberini / Simplicio, Galileo Galilei (Cincinnati Opera); Hunding, Die Walküre and Friar Laurence, Roméo et Juliette (Dayton Opera); Nourabad, The Pearl Fishers and The King, Aida (Virginia Opera); The Bonze, Madama Butterfly (Arizona Opera); The Speaker, Die Zauberflöte (Cincinnati Opera)

 

Upcoming: First Nazarene, Salome (Boston Symphony Orchestra); Verdi’s Requiem (Defiant Requiem Foundation); Beethoven’s 9th Symphony (Dayton Philharmonic)

Website: www.nathan-stark.com

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Allisanne Apple
The Marquise of Berkenfeld

Madison Opera Debut: Hansel and Gretel
Recently with MO: Galileo Galilei, Eugene Onegin, La Traviata

Recently: Lettice Douffet, Lettice and Lovage (Madison Theatre Guild); Aunt March, Little Women (Four Seasons Theatre)

 

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Douglas Swenson
Hortensius

Madison Opera Debut: The Tenderland
Recently with MO: Eugene Onegin, Madama Butterfly

Recently: Georg, She Loves Me and Candide, Candide (Four Seasons Theater); Uncle Billy, A Wonderful Life (Children’s Theater of Madison); Archibald, The Secret Garden (Music Theater Madison, First United Methodist Church)

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John DeMain
Conductor/Madison Opera Artistic Director

Madison Opera Debut: The Magic Flute

Recently with MO: Tosca, Acis & Galatea, A Masked Ball, Cinderella, Eugene Onegin

Recently: Lost in the Stars, The Music Man (Glimmerglass Festival), Show Boat (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera), Aida (Virginia Opera), Porgy & Bess (Seattle Opera), Pagliacci / Carmina Burana (Portland Opera)

Upcoming:  Dead Man Walking (Madison Opera); Show Boat (San Francisco Opera); Carmen (Virginia Opera)

Website: www.madisonopera.org/about/artistic_director

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David Lefkowich
Stage Director

Madison Opera Debut: Acis and Galatea

Recently: Simon Boccanegra (Kentucky Opera); Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Pagliacci (Mill City Summer Opera); La Bohème (Fort Worth Opera Festival); Idomeneo, Le Nozze di Figaro (Ravinia Music Festival); Roméo et Juliette (Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera); Il Trovatore (Fort Worth Opera Festival, New Orleans Opera); Così fan tutte (Opera Saratoga); Tosca (Boston Lyric Opera

Upcoming: La Fanciulla del West (Eugene Opera); Tosca (Mill City Summer Opera); Don Giovanni (Ravinia Music Festival)

Website: www.davidlefkowich.com

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