I wasn’t exactly raised by wolves, but as far as opera is concerned, I may as well have been.

Soprano Manon Strauss Evrard as Marie in Virginia Opera’s production of Donizetti’s “The Daughter of the Regiment”.

I was born and reared in the Bronx. And unless memory has added a bleak, romantic coloration to the facts, growing up in that landlocked northern borough of NYC meant no tennis, cotillions, museums, or, god forbid, opera.

So there I was on Friday night, November 20, at the Harrison Opera House, well into middle age and seeing my first opera, Gaetano Donizetti’s mid-19^th century comic tale, The Daughter of the Regiment. Let me begin by saying that I shouldn’t have worn jeans (even though I had on a nice sports coat and a dress shirt). I knew that as soon as my wife, Jo-Ellen, and I saw our next-door neighbor in a tuxedo. Very few men were without ties, and most women looked ready to head out to the governor’s ball after the last aria. But Jo-Ellen and I were unfazed because our press credentials had the usher leading us to the first row.  We waved to our tuxedo-ed neighbor a dozen rows behind us.  Then, of course, we realized that there was no one else in the first row, and we felt as if we were sitting in the orchestra pit. Maybe it was the jeans, I figured.

Then, like some Deus ex machina–we were at the opera after all–Monique Brown, a publicity person at the Harrison gently led us back a few rows to a spot where we didn’t feel like we might be called on to conduct if Joseph Walsh came down with a case of H1N1 during the performance.

Tenor Gennard Lombardozzi as Tonio, Evrard as Marie and bass Todd Robinson as Sergeant Sulpice.

And it was a fine performance–almost as good as a stickball game on Villa Avenue in the Bronx back in the 60’s. It had all the drama, comedy, and melodic squealing of such an event, too. The Daughter of the Regiment is a lively story, actually a French farce if you count all the silly, but entertaining, surprises that come in an avalanche at the end. And the sympathetic lead actress who played the titular “daughter of the regiment,’ Manon Straus Evrard, hit some notes on that Norfolk stage that could have shattered a wine glass in a Virginia Beach condo. It was jet noise to enjoy. Todd Robinson, the bass, had a resonant voice and charisma as well.  The lead tenor, Gennard Lombardozzi, is a handsome guy with a nice voice, but he sounded like he was singing into a paper bag. He had the sort of projection that made you lean toward him as if he were whispering a secret.

In general, the whole cast was wonderful. The music soared as did Ms. Evrard’s powerful voice.

I loved the opera. I’d recommend this one to anyone who has not yet gotten tickets. Or anyone who thinks opera singers sound like a bunch of wolves howling. Take it from one who now knows the difference between a canis lupus and a canzone. I’m hoping to get tickets to the next opera at the Harrison, Don Giovanni.

Next time I’ll wear a tie.

Daughter of the Regiment moves on to Richmond this weekend. Up next in Nofolk is Don Giovanni. Click here for more info or tickets.