Composed while Gaetano Donizetti was living in Paris, Daughter of the Regiment is sung in French instead of Italian. This comedy is full of surprises, laughter, some very athletic bel canto singing, and the superlative melodies of the master of song, Donizetti.

The story unfolds around orphaned infant Marie. She is found by a regiment of French soldiers and they decide to raise her themselves. She grows up to be a spunky, self-assured young woman who adores her “father” Sergeant Sulplice and the army life — the only one she has ever known.