Act I
1962, Algeria. The Algerian War is coming to an end. The frightened Marquise de Berkenfyld joins the French gathered on the outdoor terrace, dreading the possible victory of the National Liberation Front of Algeria and its consequences for the colonists. She plans to return to her castle in France, accompanied by her butler, Hortensius. As word spreads that France is preparing to sign an armistice, fear and tension rise. The Marchioness is so excited that the butler has to refresh her with smelling salts. She obliges Hortensius to take care of security and prepare everything for the trip. The ladies retire to the suite.
Panicked, Hortensius tries to sneak through the Arab quarter unnoticed and complete the task assigned to him. However, the sudden appearance of Sergeant Sulpicius of the 21st Regiment of the French Army scares the butler and he prepares to run away. The sergeant is amused by this, because his intentions are as peaceful as possible - he assures that he will bring order to the city. He is bitten by Mari, an orphan found by the soldiers of the regiment in the heat of battle and raised as their own daughter. The grown-up girl remained there to serve as a provider of food, clothing and supplies. Sulpicius is happy to see her and asks who the stranger is that the soldiers of the regiment saw her with. As soon as she says that it is Tony, a young Algerian, the soldiers bring in a young man arrested for snooping around the camp. Mari begs the soldiers not to punish him, because he saved her life - he caught her falling from a high cliff into an abyss. The soldiers thank him, call him friend. They urge Mari to put on a regimental song. At the sound of a drum, Sulpicius leads his soldiers out, taking Tonya with him.
However, he manages to escape from him and returns to Mari. She explains to Tony that in order to be together, they would have to get the blessing of all the "fathers" in the regiment. Tony confesses his love for Mari and the two young men sing a love duet.
Upon his return, Sulpicius finds a pair of lovers, the sergeant orders Tony to leave immediately, and a fight takes place between them. Mari, angry with Sulpicius, runs out to bite the young man.
The marquis appears with her butler and requests the sergeant's escort so that they can safely continue their journey to Berkenfyld Castle. After hearing this name, the sergeant remembers seeing it in a letter found with the baby during the battle. The marquise tells us that her sister was married to a French army captain and their daughter disappeared during the war. Mari turns out to be the marquise's long-lost niece. Mari is very surprised to learn that the Marquise is her aunt. And this one is unpleasantly surprised by the girl's rude manners and barracks vocabulary, so he asks her to go along and learn the behavior appropriate for a lady of her caste. Mari goes against her will, but she can't change anything anymore and agrees to leave.
To be closer to his beloved, Tony decides to join the 21st regiment. He assures his new regiment mates that he loves Mari and asks for her hand in marriage. They agree, but the news from Sulpicius that Mari is going to live with her aunt shocks everyone. Mari comes to say goodbye to Tony and her beloved 21st Regiment.
Act II
Site at Berkenfylde Castle, France. Mari has been living in the marquise's castle for several months. The Marquise decided to marry Marie to the Duke de Crakenthorpe and invited Sergeant Sulpicius to help persuade Marie to marry. In order for Mari to get rid of her rigid manners, the marquise hires a dance teacher and teaches her beautiful singing herself. However, in the presence of Sulpicius, she cannot help herself, and instead of a sentimental song, she puts on a regimental song. The sergeant is happy to join her. The Marquise is disappointed, but the wedding is approaching and she must send out the remaining invitations to the guests, so she entrusts herself to the care of Marie Sulpicius and leaves for a while.
Hortensius informs Sulpicius that a certain soldier asks to speak with him. Left alone, Mari is almost resigned to her fate, but she hears military music and joyfully greets her beloved regiment. Along with him comes Tony, who has been promoted to the rank of officer for his bravery. He mentions to Mari that he has learned a secret from the mayor he knows, which he cannot yet reveal. Mari and Tony ask Sulpicius to intercede for them against the marquis.
The marquis arrives, Tony asks for Mari's hand in marriage, says that he risked his life for her. But the marquise casually rejects his request. Tony then reveals that he knows she never had a niece. The Marquise tells him to leave and Marie to go to her room immediately.
Left alone with Sulpicius, she admits that Mari is not her niece, but her illegitimate daughter. Since she cannot legally inherit her title and property, the Marquise arranges for her marriage to a noble and wealthy groom.
The groom's mother, the noble widow duchess de Krakentorp, arrives at the castle to negotiate a marriage contract. The notary confirms the discussed contract and informs that it will only be signed in the evening. Guests gather at the castle, the noble duchess also arrives, but Mari is late... The Marquise, in an awkward situation, asks Sulpicius to persuade Mari to come and sign the contract.
Enter Mari with Sulpicius, who has just revealed to her the whole truth about the Marquise. She doesn't hide her disappointment in her mother, who hid the truth from her for so long, but she soon realizes that now she just has to sign the marriage contract. However, at the last moment, Tony and the soldiers of the regiment, who burst into the ceremony noisily, inform everyone present that Mari was their caterer and is the daughter of the cool 21st regiment. The news initially outrages the noble guests, but they are later moved by Mari's sincerity as she talks about her gratitude to the soldiers who raised her. The Marquise is also moved by Mari's self-sacrifice and submission to her will, so she allows her daughter to marry the man she loves, Toni. The offended Duchess de Krakentorp rushes out of the castle. Everyone cheers, singing "Will to France!"
The French comic opera La fille du régiment (The Daughter of the Regiment) by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848) has reigned in the world’s opera houses for almost two hundred years ever since its premiere in Paris, in 1840, before it received its first production in Lithuania at the Klaipėda State Music Theatre in November 2021. Donizetti seems to have written the opera in just a few weeks: “What I did well, I always did quickly; and I was often reproached for the very carelessness that cost me the most time.” The success of the La fille du régiment confirms this observation. The music of the opera is bursting with ostensible simplicity and carefree gaiety but all the same requires a veritable tour de force of voices, sometimes reminiscent of vocal pyrotechnics, and calls for extraordinary theatrical abilities of the two leading performers.
In the opera’s staging introduced to the Lithuanian audiences, director Jūratė Sodytė decided to change the period and locale of the action from the time of Napoleon’s Austrian Campaign (1805–1815) to the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962).
The plot of this romantic comedy is enacted on stage of the Klaipėda State Music Theatre by the company’s best opera soloists and guest singers, members of the choir and ballet company. According to the latest trends in the world’s opera houses, the vocal lines are sung in French and spoken dialogues are translated into Lithuanian to ensure better understanding of the circumstances that propel action.
