Director
Roberto de Simone

Performers
Angelina : Cecilia Bartoli
Don Magnifico : Enzo Dara
Don Ramiro : Raul Gimenez
Dandini : Alessandro Corbelli
Alidoro : Michele Pertusi
Tisbe : Jill Grove
Clorinda : Laura Knoop

Houston Symphony Orchestra
Houston Grand Opera Chorus
Christoph Eschenbach (conductor)


At just 19, Cecilia Bartoli appeared on a TV talent show, and impressed one viewer so much he invited her to audition for his ensemble. The viewer was Riccardo Muti, and the ensemble was La Scala. However, it was her captivating 1995 performance in the lead role of Rossini's La cenerentola which succeeded in bringing the mezzo soprano to worldwide attention.

The story is, of course, that of Cinderella, though a rather different version than the one familiar to pantomime-goers. Angelina, la cenerentola, is the step-daughter of Don Magnifico and lives with his vain and stupid daughters Clorinda and Tisbe. After a visit from a Prince (who is actually the Prince's servant, Dandini, participating in a temporary switch), Angelina is invited to the Prince's ball. After the ball, Don Ramiro, the real prince, succeeds in finding the beautiful woman with whom he has fallen in love by recognising her bracelet. And naturally, La Cenerentola has the requisite happy ending, in which the heroine's sweet nature and lack of guile triumphs over the deviousness and jealousy that surrounds her.

A charming and lighthearted classic, beloved of devoted opera-goers and the uninitiated alike, this is a marvellous production, tailored specifically to make the most of Bartoli's theatrical flair and comic talents. She gives Angelina a much more up-to-date interpretation than previously seen, tranforming her from a hapless victim to a feisty, independent young woman taking control of her destiny.

With its seductive Mediterranean setting and superb performances from the supporting cast, Rossini's mature romantic comedy is both sparkling and luxuriant, and serves as a timely reminder of the reasons the world first fell in love with Cecilia Bartoli.