Live broadcast from MET
Saturday, 13 February 2010 , 20.00

Laurent Pelly seems to have known that ‘Laughter is the best medicine’ when he staged in 2007 La fille du régiment at the Royal Opera House in London’s Convent Garden and imagined it all for the sake and on the pattern of Donizetti’s humour.

Laurent Pelly also knew that only the wonderful singer-actress Natalie Dessay (foto), at the time exceptionally fit both physically and vocally, ‘could play the funniest Marie ever and could, moreover, express the most farcical of implications’. That is why he played the right card and successfully chose her for the London première as well as for the premières at the Vienna State Opera House and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

On the other hand, no other tenor could ‘have performed more beautifully and with such confidence the nine famous Cs of Tonio’s cabaletta’ than Chilean Juan Diego Florez, a Tonio himself: funny and loving the simple life. He resembles Tonio in the sense that he does not set high value on ‘Feste, Pompe, Omaggi, Onore...’

Therefore during the 2007-2008 season La fille du régiment was performed on the three most important stages in the world with the Pelly – Dessay – Florez team and every time the success turned into a genuine triumph!

It was therefore natural for the Pelly production to come back this season and for me to hurry to broadcast it live from the Metropolitan Opera on An evening at the Opera, this time though featuring another Marie – Diana Damrau (photo) who takes on the difficult mission of playing Marie in a Pelly production! – alongside the same Juan Diego Florez (photo).

A truly ‘noble’ Duchess of Krakenthorp interpreted by Diva Kiri Te Kanawa will round the cast for the show set on February 13th 2010 which will be broadcast live from 19:00. La fille du régiment– once again! – a performance not only worth watching, but perhaps rather listening to...