La Cenerentola

Imagine Cinderella with no glass slipper and no fairy godmother—no magic at all, in fact. That’s what Rossini creates in La Cenerentola. Riding high on the success of Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville, 1816), the 25-year-old Rossini found himself overwhelmingly in demand. He premiered no fewer than four operas the following year, of which La Cenerentola was the first. With time tight and Rome waiting impatiently, the composer reached for a familiar story, and a pre-existing libretto, tailored to fit Rossini’s new take on the tale. Swap a wicked stepmother for pompous stepfather Don Magnifico, a magical godmother for Alidoro—tutor to Prince Ramiro—and add valet Dandini (who switches identities with his master the Prince) and you have one of Rossini’s most popular comedies. The composer trades the sparkle of magic for the glint of human emotion—both cruelty and tenderness are vividly drawn in a score created so quickly (probably within three weeks) that Rossini was forced to borrow music (including the "Overture") from his earlier works, and enlisted help to supply still more. But the result is a breathless mixture of high-wire ensembles (Act I quintet “Signor, una parola” layers voice upon voice in a daring musical game of reverse-Jenga) and show-stopping arias, of which Angelina/Cinderella’s final “Non più mesta”—a glittering tumble of trills and runs—is the most famous.