The Daughter of the Regiment
Marie is a spirited and charming tomboy, adopted and raised by a French army regiment, and she has fallen in love with the handsome Tonio. When she receives new information about her identity, she must decide whether to follow her place in society, or follow her heart. Acclaimed director E. Loren Meeker leads this production of Donizetti’s screwball comedy set among the Swiss Alps.
Andriana Chuchman will sing the role of Marie, and Atlanta Opera Studio alum Santiago Ballerini will sing the challenging role of Tonio (Including those famous 9 high-Cs!). Ballerini was last seen on the main stage during the 2015-16 season as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet.
Performed in French with English supertitles
Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Friday evening’s performance is sponsored by Victoria and Howard Palefsky.
Santiago Ballerini is sponsored by John and Rosemary Brown.
Additional support for Andriana Chuchman is provided by John L. Hammaker.
Choose a date to buy tickets
Mangia!
All Performances: Pre-show fine dining
$53 for Sat, Tues, Fri dinner
$42.40 for Sun brunch
Opera’s Night Out
Friday, March 2: Young professionals enjoy a pre-show cocktail hour + ticket to the show
$40 for Under 40
Student Rush Tickets
All Performances: Students with ID may purchase discount tickets two hours in advance at the Cobb Energy Centre
$25 – 35 per seat
Final Dress Rehearsal
Thursday, Feb 22: Teachers with students may attend the final dress rehearsal for FREE
Apply here
Student Short
Thursday, March 1: Schools groups attend a special performance at the Cobb Energy Centre
Groups
All Performances: Save up to 25%
For groups of 10 or more
Contact: [email protected]
Total time estimate: 2 hours 5 minutes
Synopsis
Librettist: Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-François Bayard
Premiere Date: February 11, 1840
Act I
A group of Swiss, including the Marquise of Berkenfield and Hortensius, her major-domo, nervously await the outcome of a skirmish with the French troops. They pray to the Virgin for protection, but the Marquise cannot refrain from commenting how the French troops are like pirates, not respectful of rank. Assured that the danger is past, the Marquise enters a nearby cottage. Sgt. Sulpice of the 21st Regiment enters, soon followed by the vivandière Marie. Marie has been raised since infancy by the men of the 21st, who regard her as their joint “daughter.” Marie has learned the easy ways and surprising oaths common to French soldiers. The men of the Regiment come in with Tonio, a Tyrolean peasant they have caught loitering about. Marie reveals that Tonio saved her life when she was about to fall off a precipice, and now she has fallen in love with him. The regimental “fathers” cannot conceive of giving their daughter in marriage to a man who is not a French soldier, let alone a man who is not a member of the 21st. Marie sings the regimental song, an irresistible performance that inspires Tonio to confess that he has followed Marie because he loves her. Marie weighs the evidence of Tonio’s affection and decides in his favor. In a scene between the Marquise, who reappears from the cottage, and Sulpice, it comes out that, as she tells it, her sister had been married to Captain Robert of the 21st and they had a daughter, who had been mislaid in earliest infancy. Sulpice assures her that her niece is not at all dead, as the Marquise feared, but rather she has been dutifully raised by the Regiment. The Marquise insists that this is no proper environment for a child of the aristocracy and maintains that Marie must go home with her to receive the training her position warrants. Just then Tonio returns with a uniform of the 21st; he has enlisted to make himself eligible to marry Marie. Marie is upset by this and says she must leave with the Marquise and gives a moving farewell to Tonio and the Regiment. As Marie is led away by the Marquise, Tonio swears that he will find her again one day.
Characters & Cast
Marie
The adopted canteen girl of the French regiment who falls for Tonio.
Andriana Chuchman
Soprano Andriana Chuchman reprises the role of Marie which she recently sang with the Washington National Opera.
Tonio
The young Swiss who joins the regiment and is Marie’s suitor.
Santiago Ballerini
One of the leading tenors in Bel Canto repertoire, Ballerini has sung in all major opera houses in South and North America.
Sulpice
Sergeant of the Twenty-First Regiment of the French army and father figure to Marie.
Stefano de Peppo
Bass-baritone Stefano de Peppo was last seen at The Atlanta Opera as Bartolo in The Barber of Seville in 2014. He is one of the most sought after artists for character bass parts.
The Marquise of Berkenfield
A mysterious noblewoman who takes Marie away to be educated as a “proper lady.”
Stephanie Blythe
A renowned opera singer and recitalist, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe is considered one of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed artists of her generation.
Newbie Guide
The Opera Experience
Operas on our mainstage are grand theatrical experiences. You can always expect the unexpected, and for our productions to be presented at the highest quality.
Supertitles
Many operas are in a foreign language. Supertitles are similar to subtitles in a film, except they are projected above the stage. These translations will help you follow what’s happening on stage.
What to Wear
There is no dress code at The Opera and you will see everything from jeans to evening gowns and formal suits. Most people use it as a chance to enjoy dressing up in their own style.
Arriving in Good Time
If you are late, you will be escorted to the nearest late seating area. At intermission ushers will show you to your seat. Plan ahead to arrive with extra time.
Enhance Your Visit
Pre-Performance Talk
Learn about the history of the opera, the composer, and more from artists and opera aficionados. One hour prior to curtain. Free with your ticket!
Familiarizing Yourself with the Story
Because of the foreign languages, classical music, and often complex plots, you will very likely enjoy the performance better if you spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the story and characters in advance. Some people even like to listen to the music in advance and others prefer to let it wash over them during the show and perhaps look it up afterwards.
How is an Opera Staged?
Auditions
Actors first audition for roles up to a year in advance, or for more experienced artists, directors also invite them to play a role.
Rehearsals
Most of the rehearsals are held in our rehearsal hall, and not the actual theatre. The conductor begins orchestra rehearsals about a week and half before opening night. They have four rehearsals with the conductor, and then the singers are added into the mix.
Sets & Costumes
The Atlanta Opera Costume Shop alters the costumes to fit our singers. Sometimes they do have to make costumes if there aren’t enough, or if there is nothing that fits, etc. Once the sets are in place, the cast begins rehearsing at the theatre. The Opera production staff works with staff at the theatre to get all of the lighting and technical aspects of the production together.
Sitzprobe & Dress Rehearsal
The orchestra comes together with the singers in a special rehearsal called sitzprobe. There are no costumes during the sitzprobe, this is mainly to hear the voices with the orchestra. There is a piano dress rehearsal, when the singers rehearse in full costume for the first time so they can get used to wearing them. Finally, all of the pieces are put together for two full dress rehearsals leading up to opening night.
Composer
Gaetano Donizetti
(1797 – 1848)
Gaetano Donizetti was born November 29, 1797 in Bergamo, Italy. He, Bellini and Rossini were the three great masters of the opera style known as bel canto. Bel canto operas have set numbers of separate arias and ensembles that feature particularly florid vocal writing designed to show off the human voice to maximum effect. These works demand great virtuosity from singers and once served as star vehicles for leading operatic performers. Donizetti dominated the Italian opera scene during the years between Bellini’s death and Verdi’s rise to fame after Nabucco.
Donizetti’s musical talents were apparent at an early age, and he was admitted to the Lezioni Caritatevoli school on full scholarship when he was nine years old. The school was founded by Simon Mayr, who had a significant influence upon Donizetti’s musical development and helped the young composer launch his professional career. Mayr sent Donizetti to Padre Stanislao Mattei, the teacher of Rossini, for further compositional instruction. Mayr also partially paid for the lessons with Mattei and arranged for Bartolomeo Merelli to write the librettos for Donizetti’s early stage works.
Between 1817 and 1821, Donizetti received several commissions from Paolo Zanca. His first staged opera was Enrico di Borgogna in 1818. He wrote several other works during this period, including chamber and church music as well as opera. It was the success of his fourth opera, Zoraide di Grenata, that caught the attention of Domenico Barbaia, the most important theater manager of his time. Barbaia offered Donizetti a contract. The young composer accepted it and moved to Naples, which was Barbaia’s primary business location. For the next eight years Donizetti wrote works for Rome and Milan as well as Naples, with mixed success. It was not until 1830, with the performances of Anna Bolena in Milan, that Donizetti achieved international fame.
Conductor
Christopher Allen
The recipient of The 2017 Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, Christopher Allen has been featured in Opera News as “one of the fastest-rising podium stars in North America.” His conducting career was launched when he received the Bruno Walter Conducting Award and Memorial Career Grant, and fostered by Plácido Domingo and James Conlon, who brought him to Los Angeles Opera as an Associate Conductor.
Named The John L. Magro Resident Conductor for Cincinnati Opera, Christopher Allen returned in the summer of 2017 to conduct Barrie Kosky’s production of Die Zauberflöte. He has previously been seen conducting the new production of Tosca, the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star and, for three seasons, the Cincinnati Opera’s Washington Park Concert leading the Cincinnati Symphony. In the 2016-2017 season, Mo. Allen made his Washington National Opera debut in Donizetti’s La fille du regiment and Florida Grand Opera debut in Cuban-American composer Jorge Martín’s Before Night Falls. He was seen at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas and debuted at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the new revised version of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Grapes of Wrath. Mo. Allen also made his Atlanta Symphony Orchestra debut conducting a program of Wagner, Tchaikovsky, and Beethoven. In the 2017-18 season, Mo. Allen will return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to conduct a new production of La traviata directed by acclaimed soprano Patricia Racette. He will also conduct the North Carolina premiere of Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain at North Carolina Opera and debut at The Atlanta Opera conducting La fille du regiment. Mo. Allen will lead Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Aspen Music Festival in the summer of 2018, and he will serve as music director of the Bel Canto Trio’s 70th anniversary tour, featuring today’s internationally acclaimed rising opera stars in the program originally toured by Mario Lanza, George London, and Frances Yeend.
Director
E. Loren Meeker
Loren Meeker is a stage director whose work has been seen at leading companies across the United States, Argentina, and Singapore. She is a diverse artist with a background in dance and theatre that allows her to bring a unique vision to her work.
As a director Loren has received critical acclaim for recent productions of Carmen at Washington National Opera and Lucia di Lammermoor at New Orleans Opera. Tim Smith, of Opera News wrote “There was nothing routine about the production of Carmen at the Kennedy Center Opera House. Attractively cast, fluently directed by E. Loren Meeker and incisively conducted by Evan Rogister, the venture crackled with energy from the top of the Prelude to Act I.” Theodore P. Mahne of the Times-Picayune titled his review of Lucia, “’Lucia di Lammermoor’ more than a mad scene in director’s strong vision”. He went on to say, “Meeker’s concept behind this weekend’s production is to transfer Sir Walter Scott’s Scottish tale from the late 16th-century House of Stuart to the period roughly of ‘Downton Abbey’: Edwardian Britain. The result is both a theatrical and musical success, a production filled with vitality.”
Recent honors and awards were plentiful in 2015. They include “Best Opera of 2015″ from the Gambit Awards in New Orleans for her production of Die Fledermaus. DC Metro Theater Arts named her production of Carmen for the Washington National Opera one of the “Best Operas of 2015″. Lakmè for Rutgers University was awarded first prize in Division IV of the 2015 Opera Production Competition sponsored by the National Opera Association. Her production of Cendrillon for the Boston University Opera Institute is also currently nominated for 6 “Best Of” ArtsImpluse Theatre Awards. Categories include: Best Opera, Best University Production, Best Ensemble in an Opera, Best Student Actress, Best Costume Design, and Best Music Direction.
