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To many non-opera fans, the phrase "Opera-comique" or comic opera may sound like something out of a George Carlin routine, an example of a hilariously incongruous phrase that our befuddled bureaucratic world has unwittingly produced, like "death benefits" or 'military intelligence." True opera buffs, however, know that one of opera's greatest secrets is that its canon features a number of hilarious, classic comedies that can leave you in stitches while also offering the opportunity to hear some truly great music and enjoy vocal performances by the finest singers in the world at the top of their craft. For sheer transcendent delight few other mediums can compare.
One of the most famous examples of the "Opera-comique" is Donizetti's "La Fille Du Regiment." This video offers a recorded performance of a new production directed by Laurent Pelly that premiered at the Royal Opera House in the winter of 2007 (where this production was filmed) that subsequently appeared elsewhere, including at the Met in the spring of 2008.
"La Flle Du Regiment" takes on several classic opera tropes -- forbidden love, false identities, class conflict -- and extents them to their farthest extremes. After a fairly straight-faced opening, featuring the citizens of a small Alpine village praying to a small shrine to deliver them from the advancing French hordes, the laughs begin with the arrival of La Marquise de Berkenfeld (even the character's names bring a smile) and keep on coming. Much of the first act takes place on a field when a French army division has bivouacked, and features a backdrop of mixed-up military maps, perhaps suggesting the pointlessness of warfare. The second act takes place in a mansion, where characters op in and out of doorways and drawers. This production is generally light on scenery and props, keeping the focus on the performers as much as possible.
The cast is really fine. Felicity Palmer, in the Margret Dumont-type role of the Marquise, makes the most as the "straight-woman" of the mad proceedings around her. Alessandro Corbelli provides a stern yet affectionate Sulpice Pingot. As Torio, the male lead, Juan Diego Florez looks cute both as a dashing soldier and as an Alpine hiker who goes looking for love and finds himself in front of a firing squad, and he delivers the vocal goods in the famous "Ah! Mes Amis, Quel Jour de Fete!" aria in the first act.
The star of this production, however, is Natalie Dessay. Indeed, in many ways this is essentially a star vehicle for her. From the moment she appears on stage as Marie, with her Pippi Longstocking haircut, slinging an iron across an ironing board, a metaphor for the years of sublimated sexual heat this "daughter" of the regiment has built up, Ms. Dessay lights up the stage with enough energy and charisma to power the city of Paris for a year.
Som,e commentators have complained that Ms. Dessay's performance is too much over-the-top, too physical, too manic, too much out of the Bugs Bunny or Lucille Ball school of acting, and detracts from their enjoyment of the opera as a whole. This is all subjective, of course. During her turbulent career (is there any other type of career for a superstar soprano?) Ms. Dessay famously had a love/hate relationship with opera, believing that too often the medium constrained her instincts and talents as an actress. Here, though, she is clearly enjoying herself, and drawing on all her talents, as a singer and an actress, to deliver a performance that captures the emotional shifts Marie must go through as her world spins rapidly out of control, taking her from the only world Marie has known since she was adopted as a battlefield orphan to the mansion of La Duchesse de Crackentorp. When she is reunited with Sulpice and Tonio and breaks out in joyous song and dance, it makes for one of the most transcendently joyous scenes I've seen in an opera (or anywhere else) in a very long time. Anytime you're feeling a little blue or even suffering from a case of the "mean reds" pop this into your DVR player and I'll guarantee you'll feel better.
One additional note: The direction of this video production, by TV director Robin Lough, is first-rate. Lough keeps the camera gliding over the action, staying away from both too many close-ups, which can be deadly in opera, or too many long shots, distancing us from the action, making for a terrific home-viewing experience.
Definitely recommended for opera fans, especially those just starting out and who may feel a little intimidated by the heavier tragedies but want to start building up a home library of the canon. Also, a perfect 'starter opera" for young people or others you may know who think opera is strictly the preserve of old people who dress up like Mr. Monopoly and his wife.
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