This is a provincial performance of the Italian version of Donizetti’s La fille du régiment. Or rather, most of it is; the charming first-act aria composed specifically for this edition is not performed. What we get is a spirited–indeed too spirited in some cases–reading of this operetta/opera buffa in which the cast seems to be having a great deal of fun. The singing, had we come upon this show accidentally while vacationing in Chieti, would be recalled fondly, but I fear that repeated listenings at home will amply display its true weaknesses.
Our Marie, Maria Costanza Nocentini, is a pert, perky singer with an easy if none-too-pretty top that she’s all too ready to show off, and she has a nice way with the text. She overdoes the Lesson Scene–overdoing it is this performance’s downfall–but not as much as her aunt, the Marquise, sung and yelped disgustingly by Milijana Nikolic. The Sulpizio of bass Luciano Miotto is the real thing; his tone is big and round and he’s got the buffo style down pat. But unfortunately, he also exaggerates.
Most controversial is the Tonio of tenor Giorgio Casciarri. He has a rather nice, light voice that is more wayward than we’d like. He has charm but it comes with pitch problems, and while he nails every one of his high-Cs in the big aria, you wouldn’t want to take any of them to a desert island. He and Nocentini both fly up to a high-D at the close of Act 1; his is just shy and hers is slightly sharp. The orchestra and chorus are very lively and Donizettian under Marzio Conti.
What to make of this? Well, nothing really. There are some fine recordings of this opera out there (Sills on Opera d’Oro and Sutherland and Pavarotti on Decca) as well as a superb video with Patrizia Ciofi and Juan Diego Florez–and Naxos’ low price isn’t quite enough to make you want to settle. It’s not terrible, but all the others available are better.
