Naples, at the San Carlo Donizetti's La fille du régiment in the production by Damiano Michieletto, conducted by Riccardo Bisatti

To the San Carlo Theater in Naples back on stage from 18 to 27 May 2025 one of the most enduring successes of Gaetano Donizetti, The fille du régiment: the production, created in co-production with the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, where it debuted last December, is signed by Damiano Michieletto, with scenes from Paul Fantin, the costumes of Agostino Rides and the lights of Alessandro Carletti.

He climbs onto the podium Richard Bisatti, at the helm of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro di San Carlo, the latter trained by Fabrizio Cassi; they will try their hand at the leading roles of Marie and Tonio Pretty Yende (already applauded in Monaco) and Ruzil Gatin, while Sergio Vitale will play the role of Sulpice and Sonia Ganassi will play the Marquise de Berkenfield. The character of Duchesse Krakenthorp, traditionally the prerogative of a brilliant actress-singer, not necessarily coming from the world of opera, will be entrusted to Marisa Laurito.

Opéra-comique in two acts with libretto by Jean-François-Alfred Bayard and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges, The fille du régiment – written by Donizetti in Paris in 1840 – is an irresistible masterpiece, capable of combining narrative lightness and musical refinement. Among the most brilliant and beloved creations of the composer from Bergamo, the opera is full of sparkling marches, comic situations and arias of great technical difficulty: the aria by Tonio “Ah! Mes amis” stands out above all, famous for its dizzying nine chest Cs, one of the pages most feared by tenors, nicknamed – not by chance – “the Everest” of the repertoire.

«The story moves between two levels: nature and the city. Nature – explains the director Damiano Michieletto – as a symbol of an instinctive and spontaneous world and the city as a world of good manners and high culture. The show contrasts these two aspects, with extravagant costumes and cheerful characters, who at the end free themselves from social labels and can happily assume their own identity».

The plot of the The fille du régiment is simple and linear, populated by a few central characters. At the heart of the story are Marie and Tonio, supported by the French Regiment, led by the good-natured Sergeant Sulpice. The action takes place in a small village in Tyrol, where Marie, found as a child on a battlefield, was raised by the soldiers as a daughter and with almost paternal affection from each of them. The young woman is in love with Tonio, an Austrian boy who, reciprocating her feelings, decides to enlist in the French army, thus going over to the enemy's side, although the term "traitor" is never uttered.

The entrance on the scene of the Marchioness of Berkenfield – who introduces herself as Marie's aunt – brings an unexpected twist: for reasons of lineage and family duties, the noblewoman wants to remove the girl from military life and take her with her, to give her an education in keeping with her status and prepare her for an arranged marriage. Marie, raised in a male world but aware of her identity as a free woman, strongly rebels against that prospect that seems distant and hostile to her. In the moment of greatest tension, the Marchioness reveals a long-kept secret: Marie is her daughter. It is a last-ditch attempt to convince her to submit to the destiny chosen for her. But, moved by the girl's love and determination, the Marchioness finally renounces the constraints of rank and decides not to impose on her the same renunciation that she herself suffered in her youth, when she was forced to separate from the man she loved, Robert. The happy ending is entrusted to a choice of the heart: Marie's freedom and her love for Tonio triumph over every convention.