The rags-to-riches story of “Cinderella” is a universal fairy tale beloved by both children and adults. It’s an irresistible tale of a plucky young servant girl who falls in love with a wonderful prince and lives happily ever after.
Of course, everyone is familiar with the Disney, as well as the Rodgers and Hammerstein versions, which have been seen in movies, TV, and on stage. But, before the modern era, Rossini adapted “La Cenerentola” (Italian for “Cinderella”) into an opera in 1817.
While Rossini’s fable (which he wrote at 25 years old in just a month) features the same good-triumphs-over-evil lesson as the fanciful tale, differences are found in the plot by Rossini’s librettist Jacopo Feretti. For instance, instead of Cinderella falling in love with the Prince, she falls in love with a valet before she realizes that he’s really the Prince in disguise. Instead of a fairy godmother, the opera has Alidoro, who appears to be a beggar at the beginning of the production, yet is actually a magician pulling the strings behind Cinderella’s transformation.
The Lyric last presented Rossini’s “Cinderella” in 2015, and it was so popular then that it’s no wonder the opera company decided to revisit it. This time around, the opera is even more playful, whimsical, and fun than before.
With exquisite revival direction by Gregory A. Fortner, who followed the staging of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, the French director, set and costume designer who crafted the original production for the San Francisco Opera in 1969, the opera is a delicious fantasy.
The set design, in which a three-dimensional storybook opens, lets you know that you’ll be watching a fairytale come to life as the book’s pages turn from one stage picture to another. The imagery continues as, when Cinderella enters the Prince’s palace, her drab gray and brown rag-clothing is revamped into a sophisticated evening gown of black and silver. Then, there’s the multi-colored costuming and cotton-candy bouffant hairdos that crown the evil stepsisters’ heads, providing a wonderful mockery of the period’s over-the-top style.
Mezzo-soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya does Cinderella proud, capturing the essence of the humble and kind young woman who captivates a prince. Tenor Jack Swanson is compelling as the handsome Prince Ramiro, and bass-baritone Nicholas Newton is Alidoro, the wizard who delivers a mysterious spell that transforms Cinderella into the most beautiful woman at the ball.
Furthermore, the most hilarious moments of the opera are handled by baritone Alessandro Corbelli, a hoot as Don Magnifico (even his name is a laugh), Cinderella’s nasty and abusive stepfather; and baritone Joshua Hopkins who is laughable as Dandini, a charmer who relishes portraying himself as an aristocrat and who trades places with the prince. In addition, mezzo-soprano Sophia Maekawa as Tisbe, and soprano Teresa Castillo as Clorinda, are a riot as the mean and spoiled stepsisters.
Last, but not least, there are members of the Lyric Opera Chorus, led by chorus master Michael Black, that play the parts of dancers at the ball, courtiers, and other parts.
The only glitch to this production is its short run. Run to see it before its enchantment leaves town.
