The story of Gaetano Donizetti’s comic opera “The Daughter of the Regiment” goes like this: Marie, an infant girl, is adopted by Napoleon’s 21st Regiment. She grows up a daughter of the battlefield, the tomboy darling of her soldier-fathers and a remarkably good soprano to boot.

She falls in love with a Tyrolian peasant, also quite a singer, then learns of her aristocratic roots and is taken away by the Marquise of Birkenfeld, who claims to be an aunt, but is actually Marie’s mother, too caught up in her class stature to ‘fess up. Indeed, she sets about preparing Marie for her true position in life, and plans to marry her off to a wealthy young man, whose singing ability is never integral to the plot.

If you know Dickens’ curious coincidences, or Jane Austen’s class criticisms, or the witty charm of Gilbert and Sullivan’s loopy works, then you can probably guess the way the story ends. All for the best, of course. Or, as the “Regiment” characters put it: “Hail France! To hope! To love!”

Hard to imagine that this spunky opera was rejected when it debuted in 1840 in Paris. Either theatergoers didn’t have such a good sense of humor then or it was a Sunday afternoon, just like the presentation by the New York City Opera National Company at the Maine Center for the Arts, which was poorly attended compared with the sold-out success opera usually has in these parts.

It’s possible, too, that hard-core operaphiles find this opera gratuitously ostentatious, but for the rest of us, it’s a whole lot of fun. And this touring company, an affiliate of the prestigious New York City Opera, had the sparkling talent to make this an unforgettable opera experience. Since 1979, this group has been packing up the bus and traveling across the country to provide talented young artists with performing experience. The Maine Center often has been included on the roster, and the productions almost never have been disappointing.

This year’s cast, however, was among the best of the talent this company has sent north. Robin Blitch Wiper, as Marie, was a tiny dynamo of song and humor. Thomas Trotter, as her beloved Tonio, tossed up high C’s as if they were juggling balls. The combination of elegance and caricature were perfectly blended in Sondra Gelb as the Marquise, and William Fleck’s sweetly patriarchal Suplice was endearing. These roles easily could be made cartoonish as the vocal parts invite a certain coarseness. Mostly, these four singers, and the entire cast around them, managed to keep this production at a high level of quality and mirth.

Conductor Barden Toan and the live orchestra deserve some of the credit here for the bouncy pacing of the show. Also, Allen Moyer did fine work with Victorian costumes and sparse yet sophisticated sets — which included a miniature village for Act I and an impressionistic chateau drawing room for Act II.

But the real round of applause goes to Matthew Lata for his sharp directorial vision. This was a show of true theatricality with performers whose singing abilities were attractively rivaled by their acting skills. Plus the attention to detail was more than satisfying. It was entertaining and good-humored and warm.

This production of Donizetti’s convivial romp — both an exposition of vocal treats and an amusing expose on love, class and forbearance — could hardly have achieved more verve. It left the newcomers and the old-timers feeling exactly the words sung by the chorus: Long live pleasure. That is, after all, what boy-gets-girl stories should be all about. And it helps if they can sing like champs, too.