La Cenerentola Critique

La Cenerentola Critique

La Cenerentola is Rossini's operatic version of the classic fairy tale Cinderella. The opera was likable in some areas, but it may disappoint all, but devoted opera fans.
The first thing I didn't like about it was being unable to get the subtitles to work. After wrestling with this feature several times, I gave up and watched it without them. This made the opera hard to understand, but I was lucky that I understood the Cinderella story when I was a kid. Another thing I didn't like was when the camera focused away from the stage, you could see the conductor's hand movements, which I found to be rather distracting. The next thing that was unlikable was the fairy godmother being replaced by character named Alidoro (The prince's tutor). The wicked stepmother was also removed and replaced by Don Magnifico (Cinderella's stepfather). Another thing that was replaced was the glass slipper, by Cinderella giving the prince one of her diamond bracelets. This was probably done to avoid plagiarism.
The first thing I liked about this opera was when it started, the characters looked like they came out of thin air. This was thanks to a translucent screen instead of a curtain. When the second act was about to start, the props rotated to a certain position to set the right scene. Along with this, there were chandeliers coming down from the ceiling to set the scene for the ball. This was something that I have never seen before, and hope to see in future operas. There were also parts where the sound a harpsichord was heard. Harpsichords were used mostly during the baroque era. This raises a question of them still being used today.
My overall impression of La Cenerentola was mediocre. It contained half likable and unlikable parts. If you are not a devoted opera fan, you shouldn't see it, but if you are, and really enjoy opera, it might be worth seeing after all.