Donizetti’s Parisian State of Mind….

A romantic comic opera with militaristic undertones sounds like a rather odd juxtaposition of style and substance, but La Fille Du Regiment (Daughter of the Regiment) pulls off that feat with a delightful combination of tuneful melodies, along with a considerable amount of charm that’s hard to resist. With their second offering of the season the Union Avenue Opera have produced a winning combination of mirth and merriment with their staging of this work.

The story offers up the suggestion that during the Napoleonic wars the mascot of the troops of the twenty-first regiment of the French army just happened to be a foundling that they raised themselves into a fine young woman named Marie. The soldiers, and in particular Sergeant Sulpice, regard her just as a father would, and have retained the right to approve of anyone she dallies with, preferring she marry one of the troops. So, naturally a Tyrolean peasant named Tonio, who just so happened to have saved her life, is taken prisoner. But, after Marie lets them know her feelings, and tells of his heroic efforts, they warm a little bit toward him. Get more from Chris Gibson of Broadwayworld.com: http://stlouis.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW_Reviews_The_Union_Avenue_Operas_Production_of_LA_FILLE_DU_REGIMENT_20100804