Germany Donizetti, La fille du régiment: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Bayerische Staatsoper / Stefano Montanari (conductor). Nationaltheater, Munich, 31.12.2024. (ALL)
Production:
Director – Damiano Michieletto
Settings – Paolo Fantin
Costumes – Agostino Cavalca
Lighting – Alessandro Carletti
Choreographer – Thomas Wilhelm
Chorus master – Stellario Fagone
Dramaturgy – Saskia Kruse, Mattia Palma
Cast:
Marie – Pretty Yende
The Marquise of Berkenfield – Dorothea Röschmann
The Duchess of Crakentorp – Sunnyi Melles
Tonio – Xabier Anduaga
Sulpice – Misha Kiria
Hortensius – Martin Snell
A corporal – Christian Rieger
A peasant – Dafydd Jones
It is very logical to have entrusted this new La fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) to Damiano Michieletto after his antimilitaristic interpretation of Aida from the previous season (review here). In this opera, there is no need to force the point to mock these immature and irrelevant soldiers, one simply needs to listen to the music and read the texts.
Michieletto’s conception, cheerful and light, was quite successful. The choice to replace the recitatives with spoken interventions by Sunnyi Melles (known to cinephiles for her role in The Triangle of Sadness) with a certain detachment proved to be quite funny. The relatively simple sets served the purpose, particularly in the second act where soldiers hide behind trompe-l’oeil painted trees without fooling anyone. Costumes were crafted with great care. At the podium, Stefano Montanari drove the music forward with a certain dynamism more appropriate than in his the recent Le nozze di Figaro (review here) at the Nationtheater.
Surprisingly for an opera house with such an extensive repertoire, this is the first time in 90 years that this opera has been staged in Munich. It is true that for such a work, it is essential to have a first-rate cast. Pretty Yende, in the title role, showed great ease on the stage. Her upper register had much flexibility and colour. She began with a rather delightful, yodelled Marseillaise. However, it took her a moment to find her footing, the orchestra being a bit loud in places, and she was placed too far back in the first act finale. But this was not the case in the second act, which allowed us to appreciate her talent. Misha Kiria was a wonderfully sonorous Sulpice while Dorothea Röschmann was slightly disappointing as La Marquise de Berkenfield even though some high notes have real amplitude.
But the discovery of this production was the young Spanish tenor Xabier Anduaga, proving a magnificent tenor di grazia as Tonio. Readers of Seen and Heard may have already read about – or even seen – him (review here). He has simply impeccable technique across the entire range, remarkable phrasing, and real mastery of style. The timbre is superb and, need it be mentioned at this point, the nine high Cs were dazzling. He will be performing in Barcelona (Verdi and Bellini), Vienna (Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore) and Madrid (Verdi). Don’t miss him if he performs near you. And thanks to all involved, the audience came back from this Sylvester performance in festive spirit to greet the New Year.
Antoine Lévy-Leboyer