A disarming delight with the soldiers’ sweetheart

La Fille Du Regiment (Royal Opera House) Verdict: The tenor stops the show ★★★★★ PERHAPS the best tenor singing today, Mexican Javier Camarena set Covent Garden alight on opening night and even encored his aria with the nine high Cs — as he did at the Met in New York.

But Camarena is not just a high-note specialist: his lyrical voice has a velvety middle register and he sings with a beautiful legato which is pure bel canto.

A relatively small figure, he is paired with an even tinier soprano. She is Sabine Devieilhe from Caen, who sings the title role of the regiment’s adopted daughter with superb coloratura technique, beautiful French diction and a real gift for comedy. Donizetti’s score features some of his most touching melodies for both lead singers, so we are alternately beguiled and amused. Italian baritone Pietro Spagnoli is a marvellous foil as the comical Sergeant Sulpice.

Stoking the fun are Albanian mezzo Enkelejda Shkoza as the Marchioness of Berkenfield, Scottish baritone Donald Maxwell as her dour major-domo and Miranda Richardson in the spoken role of the outrageous Duchess of Crakentorp.

The first notes of the overture establish that Maestro Evelino Pido is bringing the best out of the orchestra: he helps all the principals to ‘make their numbers’, while letting the choristers enjoy themselves.

Laurent Pelly’s funny production, in which the anachronisms enhance the comedy, has been slightly toned down so the stars are able to sing without having to leap about too much. This season, the Royal Opera House has saved the best sparkling wine for the last course.