LA CENERENTOLA (CINDERELLA) at Theater Basel

Melodramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. Libretto by Jacopo Ferretti. In Italian with German and English surtitles. Recommended ages: 10 and over

From housemaid to princess: in his opera «La Cenerentola» Gioachino Rossini takes the famous fairy tale of Cinderella to a cutting and comic extreme, letting off a firework of breath-taking coloratura arias.

While her spoilt step-sisters Clorinda and Tisbe lead a comfortable life, Angelina («Cinderella») is forced by her step-father Don Magnifico to work as a maidservant and is subjected to constant humiliation. When Don Magnifico learns that Prince Ramiro is looking for a bride, he scents an opportunity for his own two daughters. However, the man who appears in Don Magnifico’s house accompanied by a servant and claims to be the Prince is in fact the servant Dandini – and the «servant» is his master. Only Angelina can recognize the underlying truth – because she sees with her heart.

The Italian director Antonio Latella, Artistic Director of the Venice Biennale’s theatre programme and seen most recently at Theater Basel with his production of Camus’ «Caligula», tackles one of the classics of Italian opera – with the celebrated Russian mezzo soprano Vasilisa Berzhanskaya in the title role. He follows Rossini’s playful lightness while also looking deep down into the depths of the fairy tale. The hurt that is done to young Cinderella ultimately cannot harm her nature because what matters are inner values. The «Triumph of Good» (which is the opera’s subtitle) cannot be hindered.