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Cinderella is sponsored by Mike and Julie Bock.
Insider's Look
The Music
“Questo è un nodo avvilupato"
"Miei rampolli femminini"
"Come un'ape ne' giorni d'aprile"
"Si, ritrovarla io giuro"
"Nacqui all'affano…Non piu mesta"
The Look
The set designer for Cinderella, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, was a noted French director and designer who had one of the great careers in opera. He began his career in Germany as a theatre designer for Hans Werner Henze's opera Boulevard Solitude. He was greatly influenced by the work of art director Georges Wakhévitch who also designed sets and costumes for the theatre, the ballet, and the opera. Among his many productions throughout the world, including major productions at Royal Opera House Covent Garden and New York’s Metropolitan Opera, Ponnelle designed several productions for San Francisco Opera. Ponnelle died in 1988 in Berlin while staging a production of Carmen. Rossini’s La Cenerentola from San Francisco Opera is perhaps one of Ponnelle’s most charming creations that still survives. Opera Colorado audiences will enjoy the master’s lavish sets and beautiful costumes in a staging being recreated by two of Ponnelle’s original collaborators, Grischa Asagaroff and Greg Fortner.
Did You Know?
Rossini composed the opera in only three weeks, partially because he reused several musical pieces from other operas he had written.
In the opera, Cinderella’s name is actually Angelina.
The alternate name for Cinderella is La bontà in trionfo, or Goodness Triumphant.
This opera has several differences to the original fairy tale. In this version, the wicked stepmother is replaced by a stepfather, Don Magnifico. The Fairy Godmother is replaced by Alidoro, a philosopher and the Prince's tutor. Additionally, Cinderella is identified not by her glass slipper, but by her bracelet.
Production Photos
Photo credit: Kristen Loken Anstey and Ken Friedman (San Francisco Opera).