La cenerentola

Everyone is familiar with the story of Cinderella, immortalised by Charles Perrault and the brothers Grimm. Yet this is not quite the story of La cenerentola, even though Jacopo Ferretti was inspired by it when he wrote the libretto. There are very few references to magic. There is no fairy, pumpkin or glass slipper! This drama giocoso, whose full title is Cinderella or Goodness Triumphant, focuses on the adventures of Angelina, a frail and brilliant heroin for whom Rossini has reserved his most tender melodies, deliciously interwoven with those of Prince Ramiro. Suddenly the voices sparkle, flow forth and mingle in arias and ensembles punctuated with clever puns and witticisms: this is Rossini’s vis comica at its finest. The latter was indeed proud of this highly successful piece, which he wrote when he was only 24 in just three weeks. There is certainly some magic in that!