I was in New York this evening to see Donizetti's La Fille du Régiment, the last opera in my package of season tickets at the Met. This was a very funny piece, with tremendous star power assembled in the form of French soprano Natalie Dessay as Marie and Peruvian tenor Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio. I saw the latter some eighteen months ago at The Met in The Barber of Seville, and he is clearly an ascendant presence in the music world. Flórez was in tremendous form tonight, hitting nine stunning high C's in "Ah! Mes Amis"--in fact, this feat resulted in a five-minute ovation from the audience mid-performance, which spurred a highly unusual solo encore (for a total of 18 high C's!). It's clear to see why this tenor has been dubbed Pavarotti's heir. And Dessy was his match, with an impressive coloratura performance. A magnificent evening!
