Marlies'Artbeat: Rossini's Feminist "La Cenerentola" in HD

Hurray for the female sex! This ahead-of-its-time opera version of the Cinderella story replaces the wicked step-mother with an avaricious step-FATHER. It’s to be remembered that this women’s lib rendering for Gioachino Rossini's hilarious opera, La Cenerentola, premiered in Rome in 1817!

Jacopo Ferrettti (1784-1852) partially based his libretto on the tale by Charles Perrault  (1628-1703) who obviously was an even earlier female-friendly visionary. (The Grimm brothers are the culprits who frequently painted women as cruel and men more benevolent.)

So here our Cinderella, (the Cenerentola, who’s real name is Angelina) has to deal with two very nasty stepsisters and a stepfather who not only flitted away her inheritance, but reduced her to being the housemaid servicing them all. In a super-complicated plot that has the Prince Charming disguise himself as his valet (a shtick so frequently used in early Italian opera) in order to test the purity and goodness of his future consort.

It all involves attendance at a ball at which he will choose the bride, and that Angelina can only attend because of the supernatural help of Alidoro (equipped appropriately with golden wings) who supplies the necessary gown etc.

There is no fairy godmother, no pumpkin coach – not even any glass slipper. The  slippers were planned but had to be eliminated by orders from Rome’s censors. “Less revealing” bracelets were substituted. (Those same censors did not approve of Rossini’s Otello strangling Desdemona, so for that opera the two leads reconcile, and a happy ending ensues. Good thing that Verdi’s Otello allowed the horrendous, but tremendously moving ending.) 

As you suspect, in La Cenerentola’s case, all ends happily, with Angelina graciously forgiving her cruel relatives in the most incredibly intricate vocal pyrotechnics only a Rossini could compose. And those pyrotechnics go for the total cast and chorus for the entire opera. In this fabulous performance it all was offered in absolute perfection.

History records that Rossini finished La Cenerentola in just 22 days. How did he accomplish this incredible feat? The way many composers have done: by plagiarizing parts of his own works. The first performance was not well received, but Rossini who has been dubbed “the Italian Mozart” with 29 operas to his credit, is constantly performed where any good bel canto voices are around. And aren’t we lucky that these days we have a fantastic group of them.

This particular Met cast flaunts probably the best of the spectacular specie. It was headed by the amazing American mezzo soprano Joyce DiDonato, who has sung the title role internationally for years, but finally came to sing it this season at the Met. During an interview with the HD host, Deborah Voigt, she explained that this was her very last performance of this, probably her most important, signature role. So the afternoon audience was privy to operatic history. The diva’s flawless and spirited performance will be remembered by every one around the globe who witnessed it in HD. Thank goodness she is only giving up that particular role, as far as we know…

Juan Diego Florez of fantastic silvery high Cs fame, was absolutely smashing as the Prince/King Charming, here named Don Ramiro. His costume/exchanging valet, Dandini,  Pietro Spagnoli, the Roman baritone, and baritone Alessandro Corbelli from Turin, who sang the conniving stepfather, were in top form. The double role of the heavenly-sent golden-winged Alidoro and the prince’s great advisor, fell to the elegant tones of Venezuela’s bass-baritone, Luca Pisaroni.

Rachelle Durkin and Patricia Risley, the nasty stepsisters, though vocally totally dependable, were hampered by the direction that forced them into almost annoying, over-the-top slapstick. Of course, the whole performance it laced with slapstick, and most of it works. Theirs, was just too much.

The orchestra, under the able baton of Fabio Luisi, was stunning in the way it backed the intricate work of the many patter ensembles that start fast and accelerate to incredible super speeds. Terrific -- what a triumphant afternoon all around!

This production, somewhat surrealist, is vaguely set in the 1930’s. By Cesare Lieve, with sets and costumes by Maurizio Balo, it made its first appearance at the Met in 1997 with Cecilia Bartoli as Angelina.

History has it that when Beethoven met Rossini, he congratulated him for The Barber of Seville and advised him “never try to write anything but opera buffa; any other style would do violence to your nature.” He proved right. Rossini’s attempts at tragedy are rarely, if ever performed, at least in this hemisphere. But we'll be able to judge for ourselves, since one of the HD transmissions scheduled for next year, is Rossini's La Donna del Lago, which is based on the poem The Lady of the Lake, by Sir Walter Scott. It isn't a comedy by a long shot, but to pacify Beethoven, at least it has a happy ending!

I am aware that I used a great many superlatives reviewing this Cenerentola. It deserved them.

The opera encores on Weds. 5/14/2014 at 6:30 P.M. at WP City Center and NewRok in NR. 

FYI: Charles Perrault, the French author of Tales of Mother Goose, a series of stories mostly derived of pre-existing folk tales, supposedly simply wrote them as entertainment for his children. Thus the world permanently gained such gems as: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty, Bluebeard, Puss n Boots and Little Tom Thumb. (Just imagine if he had not, we would have to do without another great musical offering, Maurice Ravels’s enchanting Mother Goose Suite!)

P.S. A sudden storm interrupted satellite transmission, uncannily just at the start of the only intermission of the opera, and came back on just before that intermission ended. The management at WP City Center and NewRoc most graciously handed out a free ticket to every opera-in-HD patron. These tickets can be used for the encore, or any movie, or an opera next season. They do not expire.

Here are remarks about La Cenerentola from some of your Westchester neighbors:

Charles Robert Erler of Hawthorne, an opera buff since the age of 18, who as a volunteer at the Met, conducted backstage tours for 20 years, remarked that “the two leads here were absolutely magnificent.” He praised the conducting and the exceptional ensemble work in the ever-accelerating patter songs. He called this is “a wonderful opera, which he had seen in 1997 with Cecelia Bartoli in the title role.” His only criticism of this Cenerentola was the handling of the two stepsisters. “Their acting was so exaggerated  – it was driving me crazy!” (He was not alone in that judgement. I overheard others saying the same thing, and obviously I agree.) Mr. Erler looks forward to next season's La Donna del Lago. He feels the serious Rossini operas are underrated and are incredibly beautiful.

Harriet Barnett of Sleepy Hollow had not seen Cenerentola before. “It was wonderful”, she said. “The voices were superb. I enjoyed it immensely, but could have done with a little less of the obvious slapstick.” She plans to attend as many of next season’s HD performances as her busy schedule permits. 

Grace Speare of Hartsdale, an extremely well-informed opera buff, whom I have quoted before, cornered me to say: “You are not going to have to work too long on your review. There’s nothing to criticize. The performance was just perfect!”