Rossini;Gioacchino La Cenerent

La Cenerentola has been well served on DVD. The recently released Jean-Pierre Ponnelle filming of the opera was an excellent production, joining Cecilia Bartoli's star vehicle with the Houston Opera as fine representatives of Rossini's unfairy tale retelling of Charles Perrault's Cendrillon (or Cinderella). This new, vividly realized Glyndebourne production traditionally staged (in the finest sense) by Sir Peter Hall is perhaps the best of the three: combining intelligent insight into Rossini's unique operatic vision as well as a perceptive grasp of the historical importance of Cenerentola in the evolution of art, situated as it is on the cusp of the Romantic Era.

La Cenerentola is given the sub-heading (by Rossini) "a Dramma giocoso in two acts"; significantly, it is an inscription deliberately shared with Don Giovanni, the finest "serious comedy" ever staged. Mozart's spirit hovers over this opera; combining, as it does, comedy and a darker world view than is the youthful Rossini's norm. There is no room for farce. This is a relatively sober tale of impoverished gentility struggling to regain a social foothold. There is no fairy Godmother; rather a Voltaire-like philosophe (Alidoro) who attempts to manipulate events for ends never completely clear. This opera is truly representative of it's age and that is how Sir Peter stages it. The London Philharmonic is nicely conducted by the youthful Vladimir Jurowski. That this opera succeeds so well is a tribute to all concerned in this beautiful, resonant production.

First performed at the Teatro Valle, Rome on 25 January 1817 on the heels of Rossini's successful il Barbieri di Siviglia, and with a libretto by Jacopo Ferretti, La Cenerentola is as much a child of the Enlightenment with it's rational values and philosophe trained Prince in the person of Don Ramiro as it is an expression of nascent Romanticism with it's triumph of love over social hierarchy. If you are expecting a traditional fairy tale you will be disappointed. It is more a comedy of manners with serious overtones: the struggles of individual merit attempting to overcome class restrictions. It is an expression of the Age of Franklin, Washington and Jefferson. This Cinderella will better herself not through magic but through intrinsic worth, as coached by Alidoro, a philosopher/social mechanic. Sir Peter Hall suggests (in the 30 minute documentary on disc 2 entitled Insights) that opera singers should be clothed in the style of the music they sing. This production is placed in the era of 1815-1830 and is stunningly visual. The grandees are beautifully dressed in their period clothing, Cenerentola and her family suitably seedy in costumes looking moth-eaten, lived-in and dirty, yet suggestive of former gentility. It is obvious that great thought went into the staging of this opera. The sets also reflect the social position of their denizens, a loving recreation of the era which draws you into the world of this opera like no other component. It is a visual treat.

The acting and singing are fine because both aspects of the drama are stressed. The vile, narcissistic step-sisters Clorinda (Raquela Sheeran) and Tisbe (Lucia Cirillo) are excellently portrayed. The Father ironically named Don Magnifico (Luciano di Pasquale) is superbly repugnant. The philosophe Alidoro (Nathan Berg) is sung with a suitably rich Bass-Baritone reminiscent of Mozart's Sarastro in the Magic Flute. Dandini (appropriately named), the servant who masquerades as the prince to discover which of the sisters is most worthy of marriage, is sung by Simone Alberghini. The prince Don Ramiro (Maxim Mironov) is youthful with a fine, slightly reedy tenor. Angelina (another appropriate name) also known as Cenerentola is sung by lovely Ruxandra Donose. Her voice struck me as slightly problematic. It is a dark mezzo-soprano leaning toward contralto and is an excellent instrument: lyrical and supple. It's a voice that will only improve with time. At her lower register she projects softly so that hearing her distinctly on my sound system required my close attention and an occasional finger on the volume button. Her upper register is fine, with no difficulty in projection (though she's no Bette Midler).

The opera was recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House on June 2 & 4 2005. It is shot in 16/9 anamorphic widescreen high-definition film and looks beautiful. The double layer DVD is NTSC encoded for all regions. Sound is available in LPCM stereo and 5.1 DTS Digital Surround and is stunningly lifelike with great presence and immediacy. Good home theater systems will have a field day. Subtitles are in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Extras include a Cast Gallery, an Illustrated Synopsis and a short documentary Insights with Sir Peter Hall and Vladimir Jurowski. The running time of the 2 discs is 187 minutes.

On balance, this is my favorite Cenerentola because of its insightful production. It is intelligently presented and beautiful to look at. Opus Arte is releasing some fine DVD sets and this is another example of their high standards. Strongly recommended.

Mike Birman

I agree with just about everything Mike Birman had to say in his exhaustive and very informative review of this wonderful DVD of Rossini's 'La Cenerentola.' (I urge you to read it. My review is really just an addendum to his.) I would only add that I thought the musical direction by Vladimir Jurowski was spot on, beautifully shaped. He doesn't dawdle and that is a plus in Rossini. (Yet he was able to linger appropriately in Cenerentola's opening aria about the lonely king.) The all-but-patented Rossini crescendi and accelerandi are marvelously timed. The London Philharmonic are masterly in this June 2005 production at Glyndebourne.

My only very minor quibbles -- and this comes from this being a live production -- are that sometimes there is some problem with the singers being a bit behind the beat in the faster passages of the buffo arias. All the singers are excellent although Alberghini (Dandini) is a bit wooly-voiced, especially in the early scenes. I was not at all bothered by Donose's lower register as Birman was, but I see why he mentions it. At first I thought Mironov (Don Ramiro), whose voice was aptly described by Birman as 'reedy', had a bothersome Supervia-like rapid vibrato/tremolo but he got that under control and impressed with his accurate coloratura and some sly comic acting.

I loved that this production was traditional. Sir Peter Hall knows not to mess with a librettist's invention and yet he did come up with some inventive stage action within the context of the traditional mise en scene. Bravo for that. (Though I was a bit taken aback when the stepsisters, early in Act I, appeared to be receiving the prince's heralds while still in their undergarments. Tsk tsk.)

This is definitely five-star production and gets my hearty recommendation.

Scott Morrison

I am not going to say too much as all the other reviewers have done an adequate job. This is just a wonderful dvd with excellent singing, acting, costumes, and sets. One could quibble a little here and there about some of the coloratura on the part of the basses, but all in all everybody pulls together a wonderful show. Donose has such a desirable voice - I certainly hope we can get some more recordings of her in the near future. And the Dandini had such a beautiful sound. The whole thing is a delight. I've seen all the commercial Cenerentola's available except the movie with von Stade, and this is the best I have seen so far.

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