Rossini and his librettist Jacopo Ferretti dispense with the magic that usually accompanies the Cinderella story. There is no pumpkin, no rats turned into coachmen, no glass slipper and no fairy godmother. Instead there is Alidoro a very worldly adviser to Don Ramiro. Alidoro appreciates Cenerentola's good-natured charm and points Ramiro in her direction. Cenerentola's stepfather is more stupid than wicked and her stepsisters come across as recognizable human-beings rather than pantomime monsters. By taking out the magic and making this a story of ordinary, fallible mortals, Rossini and Feretti have done something rather wonderful and made the story even more magical.
Cecila Bartoli was born to play the role of Cenerentola. Her coloratura is breathtaking, she never sings 16 notes when 32 will do and her stage presence is beguiling. It is difficult to image any singer ever bettering this performance. The tenor role of Don Ramiro is almost as demanding and Raúl Giménez sings it with apparent ease. Enzo Dara is a hilarious Don Magnifico and effortlessly gets round the vocal pyrotechnics of his patter songs. Allessandro Corbelli makes a wonderful fop as Dandini. They are ably supported by Laura Knoop and Jill Grove as the not-so-ugly sisters and Michele Pertusi as Alidoro. The coloratura arias are magnificent but even more impressive are the ensemble pieces when all seven performers are emoting together.
This production, from Houston Grand Opera really sets a standard by which other Cenerentolas will be judged. The film is in widescreen but sadly, in the version I saw, it is captioned for television with the subtitles underneath the picture so you have to watch it in squarevision.
Cecila Bartoli was born to play the role of Cenerentola. Her coloratura is breathtaking, she never sings 16 notes when 32 will do and her stage presence is beguiling. It is difficult to image any singer ever bettering this performance. The tenor role of Don Ramiro is almost as demanding and Raúl Giménez sings it with apparent ease. Enzo Dara is a hilarious Don Magnifico and effortlessly gets round the vocal pyrotechnics of his patter songs. Allessandro Corbelli makes a wonderful fop as Dandini. They are ably supported by Laura Knoop and Jill Grove as the not-so-ugly sisters and Michele Pertusi as Alidoro. The coloratura arias are magnificent but even more impressive are the ensemble pieces when all seven performers are emoting together.
This production, from Houston Grand Opera really sets a standard by which other Cenerentolas will be judged. The film is in widescreen but sadly, in the version I saw, it is captioned for television with the subtitles underneath the picture so you have to watch it in squarevision.