Opera Queensland’s La Cenerentola burst into bloom on the QPAC Concert Hall stage as part of the second Brisbane Bel Canto festival. Directed and designed by Laura Hansford, with Assistant Director Eugene Lynch, this semi-staged version of the Cinderella tale was wonderfully funny, floral, and full of personality.
La Cenerentola is a timeless fairytale, and she has been known by many names – in Australia, most children hear the tale of Cinderella, the young woman who lives in servitude to her self-absorbed stepmother and stepsisters but is granted one magical night at the royal ball and wins the love of a prince. Rossini’s comic opera does away with glass slippers and fairy godmothers – this Cenerentola (which means “among the ashes” in Italian) is named Angelina, and the only magic she possesses is her pure, kind heart.
Angelina lives with her arrogant stepfather, Don Magnifico, and her two indulged stepsisters, Clorinda and Tisbe, caring for them and their dilapidated manor. When the Prince’s tutor Alidoro arrives on their doorstep, disguised as a beggar, her stepsisters are disgusted but Angelina offers him something to eat. The household is then sent into a frenzy by the arrival of the Prince, Don Ramiro, who is seeking a bride. The Prince is also disguised, sending his valet Dandini in his place so that he can discover the true nature of the woman he will marry. The Magnifico household is invited to the ball but Angelina is not permitted to attend, and her stepfather tells the Prince and his entourage that she is dead. Angelina later arrives at the ball anyway, escorted by Alidoro, and confesses her love for the Prince’s valet (who is really the Prince). She leaves without revealing her identity, but after much searching he finds her again in the house of Don Magnifico. Disguises are removed and truths are revealed – Don Magnifico and his daughters are horrified by the Prince’s choice, but in Angelina’s kind-heartedness and generosity of spirit they are all able to reconcile at the royal wedding.
Gioachino Rossini’s comedic opera La Cenerentola was first performed in Rome’s Teatro Valle in 1817, with the score completed in just 24 days and the libretto by his collaborator Jacopo Ferretti in 22 days. Rossini was only 25 when he composed La Cenerentola and its popularity came to rival that of his earlier (and enduring) success in the genre, The Barber of Seville.
Rossini’s score was performed live by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Richard Mills AM, who is also the Music Director of the Brisbane Bel Canto Festival. Bel canto, which translates from Italian as “beautiful singing” is a florid style of singing that traces its roots to the Italian madrigal of the 1520s. Mills wrote in his programme note that the ideals of bel canto can be summarised as “beautiful singing at the expressive service of text, melodic gesture, and drama”. The combined power and beauty of operatic and orchestral voices performing live never fails to thrill me.
The opera was sung in Italian, with English surtitles projected above the onstage action on a long horizontal screen heavily adorned with pink and peach flowers. The surtitles also provided some narration, but sections with a lot of overlapping dialogue occasionally caused confusion in the attribution of meaning.
Italian-born mezzo-soprano Mara Gaudenzi played the starring role of Angelina/Cinderella, the kind-hearted stepdaughter who the disguised Prince falls in love with, in her Australian debut. Czech tenor Petr Nekoranec also made his Australian and Opera Queensland debut in this production, playing the Prince, Don Ramiro.
Nekoranec’s powerful voice soared over the music with incredible control and clarity, and Gaudenzi astonished with the depth and expansiveness of her singing. From their sweet and awkward first meeting to their wedding day, the two leads had a wonderful onstage chemistry and their evolving relationship was reflected in the performers’ body language.
Samuel Dundas was a comedic standout as Dandini, the valet (mostly) relishing his day in the Prince’s shoes, with exaggerated characterisation and swaggering charisma in addition to a powerful voice. The self-important Don Magnifico was played with excellent comedic timing by James Roser, and his scenes with the Chorus as The Connoisseur of Royal Wines were especially funny. Sarah Crane and Hayley Sugars played Angelina’s stepsisters Clorinda and Tisbe, with padded hips and towering bouffants adding to their outstanding physical comedy which was often ongoing even in the background. Shaun Brown leant his rich, resonant voice and gravitas to the role of Alidoro, the Prince’s trusted advisor. The articulation and speed of the Opera Queensland Chorus’ tenors and basses was mesmerising, often a harmonious repetition underlying the leading cast’s dialogue and contemplations.
La Cenerentola is an opera buffa, a comic opera, and Opera Queensland’s production drew out the humour in both anticipated and unexpected ways. For example, the exceptional creative staging of the Prince’s search for Angelina through a storm, featured an industrial fan, handfuls of glittering “rain”, and flickering lightning beneath the surtitles as the Prince and his entourage moved across the stage and through the front rows.
Hansford’s set design was simple but charming, with a sheer pink backdrop and a few pieces of furniture that seemed overgrown with moss and flowers, evoking an enchanted woodland. In the same style, costuming by Karen Cochet and Bianca Bulley drew inspiration from both nature and couture to dress the Chorus in mossy greens and browns and the lead characters in shades of cream and vibrant pinks and reds. Lighting design by Christine Felmingham shifted audience attention across the minimalist stage, bathing most scenes in shades of pink and illuminating the royal household with the warm glow of fairy lights.
Telling an age-old story in a fresh flurry of flower petals, Opera Queensland’s La Cenerentola was a refreshing burst of joy and frivolity with delightful design, impeccable comedic timing, and awe-inspiring opera singing.
La Cenerentola was performed at the QPAC Concert Hall on 4 March 2025
For further information, visit the Opera Queensland website
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