A Night ( and a Morning) at the Opera

I am not a big opera buff, but I do enjoy many of the well-known operas such as "Aida" and "Carmen".  My exposure to live opera is very limited.  Back when I was a kid, back in the days when the Metropolitan Opera used to come on tour to Cleveland, my mother took me to a couple performances, and in college I saw a couple works staged by the music conservatory at my college.  Later the Metropolitan Opera began screening live performances at movie theaters.  I went to several of those with an older friend who was a fan.  (Sadly she has passed away.)

Yesterday I was looking at a blog called Countdown to Mexico.  The author's latest entry deals with activities to do at home now that so many of us are not leaving the house.  She included a link to the Metropolitan Opera's website.  Due to the fact that the Met has canceled the remainder of its season due to the pandemic, they are now offering free streams of operas from the past.  Each evening at 6:30 P.M. a new opera is available for twenty four hours.

Last night's opera was "La Fille du Régiment" ("The Daughter of the Regiment"), a comic opera written in French by the Italian composer Donizetti in 1840.

(image taken from the web)

   

The tale revolves around Marie, a young woman who, when she was an orphaned babe, was taken in and cared for by a regiment of French soldiers.  She vowed that one day she would marry one of the soldiers of the regiment, but then she falls in love with a young Swiss fellow named Tonio.  (Luciano Pavarotti first became a star playing the role of Tonio.)  The plot is a piece of fluff, and there is more slapstick comedy than you would expect from opera.  The lead singers were excellent.  Marie was played by French soprano Natalie Dessay, and Tonio was played by Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez.

(image taken from the web)

I watched the first act of the opera last night and the concluding second act this morning.

If you enjoy opera (or if you want to see if you might like opera) here is the link...

Metropolitan Opera

And by the way, there are English subtitles, so that you can follow along with the story.

Now, if you will excuse me, I am going to watch tonight´s offering, another Donizetti opera, "Lucia di Lammermoor".