An opéra-comique by an Italian composer? This was a rarity in its day, but after the "barely averted disaster" of its opening night, Donizetti's La Fille du régiment became a popular success, not least for the high Cs demanded from Tonio in the famous tenor aria "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête!" The story revolves around Marie, the canteen girl of the Regiment, whose lover Tonio joins the army to be near her just as she is claimed for marriage into nobility. This acclaimed Teatro Donizetti production was considered by turns "hilarious... tender and moving... {and} overwhelmingly brilliant" by bachtrack.com
