Review: La Cenerentola"La Cenerentola: Opera New Jersey's production of Rossini's work is an untrammeled delight"The Princeton Packet (Stuart Duncan) When Gioachino Rossini introduced his opera La Cenerentola he was a brash 25-year-old. He had completed the work in just three weeks and apparently had discarded much of the old fable as he had done so. He also had merged classical and romantic and, in general, had showed all of the exuberance of his youth. You will find no mention of a pumpkin coach, nor for that matter, any magical godmother and, perhaps most surprising, no glass slipper. So, Disney fans had better read up on the libretto carefully and those who rely on the 1697 work by Charles Perrault should best beware. It is rumored that one of the reasons Rossini skipped the glass slipper in favor of bracelets is that the local censors frowned upon glimpses of a bare feminine ankle. La Cenerentola is at McCarter’s Berlind Theatre under the flag of Opera New Jersey and it is an untrammeled delight. Deft comic touches abound, contributed by stage director Michael Scarola, conductor Robert Wood, Rossini himself and the talented cast. Leah Wool sings the role of Angelina (our Cinderella) with lighthearted fervor. She has lovely doe eyes and a stunning smile, in brilliant contrast to her stepsisters, who are both tall and angular. Rebecca Kier and Alissa Anderson spend much of the three hours stealing laughs. One comes complete with a hot-air balloon hairdo and costume, the other as a steam ship. They have managed to invent comic thrusts without ever challenging each other. While Angelina is charming the prince, Javier Abreu in the role of Ramiro switches identity with his servant, Dandini, which enables Eric T. Dubin to steal scenes of his own, plus the audience’s huge approval. All the while, the girls’ father, Don Magnifico (played by Matthew Lau), tries not to make a complete ass of himself, not always succeeding. Clearly everyone is having a wonderful time romping through the material. The subtitle of the opera is “Goodness Triumphant,” and everyone apparently is working toward that end. Composer Rossini even contributes by inserting a few bars of The Barber of Seville at the appropriate moment. A hard-working male chorus has its moments as well, both in vocal quality and comic inventiveness. And all this from a company that grows with each performance. |
