It was an enjoyable opera, notably different from the Mozart and Puccini operas my wife and I have seen before. It was always unusually long, with 80 minutes from curtain rise to the intermission. There was one major foul up. As Cenerentola's carriage returned to her step-father's home it collided with the changing scenery. No word if Peg Lautenschlager was behind the wheel. The scenery was impressive as it nearly always is with the Florentine Opera.
It is the familiar story of Cinderella with modification. Instead of the wicked step-mother we have the comic but cruel step-father seeking a rebirth of fortune through a fruitful marriage of his two natural daughters, having frittered away Cenerentola's fortune (after embezzeling it, of course). The Prince and his valet change places so that he can observe the daughters as the pursue a fortunate marriage with "the Prince." However, so much of the play takes place in the early stages that, by the point where we should expect the climax of the story, all that is left to be resolved is whether Cenerentola will forgive her step-family their cruelties.
I especially enjoyed the character Alidoro, who first appears as a blind beggar seeking kindness. Is he, Teiresas the blind Greek prophet, or Oedipus perhaps to redeem himself with his "daughter" as he refers to Cenerentola, or is he perhaps Christ, having sought out the good with as a beggar, rewards her with an Earthly Heaven? From blind beggar to "fairy godfather" to consigliere to the Prince, he moves the action of the opera even as he foretells what happens next. (I'll throw another one at you. Readers of the Dune series by Frank Herbert might recognize the Paul character from Children of Dune, though no tragic ending.)
As you can see, transformation is the theme and no character goes untouched save the chorus (more echo than informative). In the end, the Prince and his valet (portrayed in a Michael Richards-like fashion by Mel Urich) reveal themselves to have changed places, Alidoro reveals himself to have been the blind beggar of earlier, and pretty soon everyone figures out who Cenerentola really is (this time, via matching bracelets). Cenerentola spares her step-family misery after they clearly repent their wicked ways (on the advice of Alidoro). Then, Rossini gives us a wonderful mezzo-soprano moment of vocal celebration well performed by Vivica Genaux who managed to hit each note clearly and dead on to the delight of the audience.
This not necessarily an opera necessary for the classical music collection, but worth experiencing.
Update: Tom Strini's review in the Journal Sentinel (which has gotten very hard to find) completely ignores the collision of the carriage with the set and the Florentine's decision to turn Alidoro into a "fairy godfather figure" even if that had not been Rossini's intent. Why is he allowed to do reviews again?
