The Daughter of the Regiment was the first of Donizetti's operas written to a French libretto. After he moved to Paris, he was engaged in directing one grand opera for the Opéra and composing another. He wrote: "During the coming week I begin rehearsals of [Les Martyrs] at the Grand Opéra. Meanwhile , a little opera that I have done, orchestrated and delivered to the Opéra-Comique will be given ..." He goes on to tell of several other projects. The "little opera", mentioned almost as an afterthought, was Marie, later renamed La Fille du régiment.

This was almost a complete failure, possibly orchestrated by Donizetti's French rivals. Until then the French had known only his Italian operas, given at the Théâtre Italien in a French translation. These were not very popular, and the French were not very friendly to an "invasion" of an Italian composer. Berlioz, who had only one opera, Les Troyans, since judged meritorious, was especially harsh. He accused Donizetti of recycling material from his previous works and criticized his involvement in so many projects in Paris. "M. Donizetti seems to treat us as a conquered country; it is a genuine invasion. One can no longer say "the operatic stage of Paris", merely "the operatic stages of Monsieur Donizetti"". The Italian was seen as a threat to French musicians, and many felt it was a patriotic duty to resist him. Thus, it is ironic that the final ensemble of Daughter, the Salute to France soon became a regularly performed work, treated almost as a patriotic anthem at other events, especially on Bastille Day.

However, in spite of attempts to discredit it, The Daughter of the Regiment was performed in France 55 times over the next two years and then revived several years later. Gaining in popularity, it outdid all other scores composed by non-Frenchmen for the Opéra-Comique. It has always been popular during times of war.

Translated into Italian as La figlia del regimento the opera did not do well in Donizetti's home country. It is too "French", and Maria could not compete with the garibaldine or Garibaldi's staunch Italian heroines. However, it soon traveled all over Europe and the Americas; Jenny Lind made it popular in London. First given in New York in 1843, during the great bel canto revival of the twentieth century singers such as Joan Sutherland, Beverly Sills and Luciano Pavarotti, and their televised productions allowed it to be seen by thousands more than ever before.

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Revised October 2008
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