Cinderella

October 30, November 2, 4, 6 and 7, 2010

A rollicking rendition of a fairy tale favorite.

Amid a blaze of vocal pyrotechnics and a shimmering score, Angelina finds her Prince Charming (despite the efforts of her idiot stepfather and obnoxious stepsisters). Though The Barber of Seville made Rossini famous, his take on the Cinderella story cemented his reputation as a master of comedy. This fairy tale stars Romanian mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu, making her debut on the American opera stage opposite the dashing tenor John Tessier.

Sung in Italian with English translations projected above the stage.

Estimated run time, including intermission is 3 hours and 1 minute.

Dates + Performances

*Section F is Partial View. Stage and/or surtitles may be partially obstructed from seats in this area.

+Student/Senior discount is available Tuesdays and Thursdays only. To order, call the Ticket Office at 612-333-6669 Mon.-Fri., 9am-6pm.

Act I

In a hall of Don Magnifico's castle, his vain and demanding daughters Clorinda and Tisbe are busy primping. Their stepsister, Angelina (known as Cenerentola), consoles herself with a song about a king who chose a kind-hearted bride rather than a rich one. A beggar (actually Prince Ramiro's tutor Alidoro) comes in; Angelina gives him some coffee and bread, angering the stepsisters. The prince's courtiers enter, announcing the imminent arrival of the prince himself - that evening at a palace ball, he will choose the most beautiful woman among the guests as his wife. The ensuing excitement generates great confusion. The knights leave and so does the "beggar," foretelling that Angelina will be happy the next day.
    

Quarreling for the privilege of telling their father the good news, Clorinda and Tisbe accidentally awaken him. Don Magnifico interprets a dream he was just having as a prediction of his fortune: the impoverished baron's vision of himself as grandfather of kings is apparently confirmed by his daughters' announcement.
    

Prince Ramiro, having decided to explore the situation incognito, has exchanged clothing with his servant, Dandini. Alidoro has advised him that kindness, truth and virtue can be found in this home. When the disguised prince enters the house, he and Angelina instantly fall in love. Dandini arrives, awkwardly playing the prince, and Clorinda and Tisbe are introduced to him. Angelina begs her stepfather to take her to the ball, but Magnifico orders her to stay at home. Alidoro, with a list of the unmarried women in the city, asks Don Magnifico about a third daughter, but Magnifico quickly covers his tracks, stating that she is dead. After everyone has left, Alidoro returns in finer apparel and invites Angelina to the ball, alluding to a change in her fortunes. He supplies an elegant dress and jewelry so that she may be appropriately attired.
    

At the palace, Dandini, still disguised as the prince, appoints Magnifico his wine steward if he can successfully taste all the wines in the cellar and still remain sober. Magnifico rises to the challenge and proclaims new drinking laws: wine shall no longer be mixed with water. Clorinda and Tisbe each vie for the prince's attention - Clorinda is the eldest, therefore, more suitable for marriage, but Tisbe counters that she, as the younger one, shall not age as quickly. Ramiro confers with Dandini - Alidoro said that a daughter of Magnifico would be the one, yet both girls are equally repellent. Dandini further tests them - he shall select one sister to be his queen, the other shall marry his valet (that is, Ramiro). Both Clorinda and Tisbe are disgusted by the mere suggestion of marrying beneath their station, should they not win the prince, and rebuke the offer. All are enchanted by the sudden arrival of a mysterious lady. When she unveils herself they are struck by her uncanny resemblance to someone very familiar.

Act II

From a discreet distance the courtiers laugh at the sisters' distress. Magnifico imagines himself in the privileged position as the prince's father-in-law, making money in exchange for granting favors. Angelina enters, with Dandini in an amorous pursuit. Hiding nearby Ramiro overhears her refusal of the poseur's attentions because she loves his valet. Overjoyed, Ramiro asks her to be his, but departing, she gives him one of her bracelets, stating that if he can find her wearing its twin, she will marry him. Ramiro reassumes his princely role, and gathering his courtiers, determines to look for Angelina at once. Dandini encourages Magnifico's fantasies, and then reveals his real identity, much to the baron's ire. He blusters out of the room.
    

Returning home, the sisters find Angelina by the fire and berate her incessantly for looking like the beautiful lady at the ball. Alidoro arranges an accident for the prince's carriage, which overturns in front of the house during rather serendipitously inclement weather. Angelina and Ramiro recognize one another, and he matches the bracelet to its mate, proclaiming her as his bride. Angelina goes to embrace her awestruck family, but is rebuked. Angered, Ramiro whisks Angelina away, while Alidoro convinces the sisters to ask forgiveness so as to avoid ruin. Tisbe is the first to see reason.
    

At the wedding banquet, Angelina intercedes with the prince for Magnifico and her stepsisters, offering as her "vendetta" their pardon. She revels in her newly found happiness.

print synopsis

Cinderella

Creative Team

The Cast

Don Magnifico, Baron of Monte Fiascone

Setting

Roxana Constantinescu (La Cenerentola)

Mezzo-soprano Roxana Constantinescu had already enjoyed several earlier competition successes in Belgium, Romania, Munich and Cologne, but it was as the winner of the prestigious ARD Music Competition in September 2006 that her international career was launched. Ms Constantinescu subsequently joined the Ensemble at Vienna's State Opera in the 2007–2008 season making her house debut as Cherubino/Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Seiji Ozawa.

In Vienna, where Roxana remained in the ensemble through the end of the 2009–2010 season, further roles and experience to date have included Zerlina/Don Giovanni; Rosina/Il barbiere di Siviglia; Siébel/Faust; Stéphano/Roméo et Juliette; Lola/Cavalleria rusticana; Nicklausse/Les contes d'Hoffmann; Dryade/Ariadne auf Naxos and Fjodor/Boris Godunov.

After another prize-winning success at Italy's "Tito Schipa" Singing Competition, Roxana Constantinescu was invited to make her debut as Angelina/La Cenerentola at the Teatro Politeama di Lecce and went on to appear as Rosina/Il barbiere di Siviglia at Austria's Tirol Festival. It was also as Rosina that Roxana enjoyed great acclaim in Cologne when she took over their opening night at short notice in September 2007.

Other operatic appearances to date have included Ramiro/La finta giardiniera and Hermia/A Midsummer Night's Dream at Munich's Prinzregententheater; Conception/L'heure espagnole at Italy's Teatro Diego Fabbri; Holofernes/Juditha Triumphans at Munich's House of Art and Prince Orlovsky/Die Fledermaus at both Bucharest's State Opera and Essen's Philharmonie.

As a concert singer, Roxana Constantinescu is in high demand and has recently debuted at Carnegie Hall and Chicago's Symphony Hall singing Stravinsky's Pulcinella with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Boulez. Roxana enjoys an ongoing relationship with Helmuth Rilling and has performed with him around the world in music by Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Other conductors with whom Roxana Constantinescu has collaborated include Gerd Albrecht, Christoph Poppen, Marco Armiliato, Manfred Honeck, Kirill Petrenko, Yannik Nézet-Séguin, Sebastian Weigle and Franz Welser-Möst.

Also an avid recitalist Roxana Constantinescu has performed in Bucharest, Vienna, Frankfurt, Munich, Wiesbaden and Washington as well as extensively in the Far East. In the current season she will be presented in recital at Vienna's famous Musikverein as well as in Goethe's house in Weimar. Even at this early stage in her career, Roxana Constantinescu has already participated in numerous recordings for Haenssler Classic, OEHMS Classics, SWR, Artmode Records, Weltbild and Carus Verlag.

Born in Bucharest, Roxana Constantinescu firstly studied percussion and piano at the George Enescu Music Academy, continuing with voice studies at the National University of Music. In 2003 she was awarded an Erasmus Scholarship to attend Vienna's prestigious University of Music and Fine Arts, and a DAAD scholarship enabled her to attend Postgraduate Studies at the University of Music and Theater in Munich with Edith Wiens.

The current season brings a number of important house and role debuts: La Cenerentola at the Minnesota Opera, Dorabella/Così fan tutte at the Theatre du Capitole, Stéphano/Roméo et Juliette at the Dallas Opera and Donna Elvira in the new production of Don Giovanni at the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Franz Welser-Moest.

Donato DiStefano (Don Magnifico)

One of the most sought after buffo basses in the opera world, Donato DiStefano was heard in the 2008–2009 season as Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola at La Monnaie in Brussels and L'Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy, in the title role of Gianni Schicchi in Frankfurt, and as Don Basilio in Leipzig. In the 2009–2010 season, he will be heard at the Dallas Opera as Don Pasquale, the Metropolitan Opera for Gianni Schicchi, and the Washington National Opera as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Other future engagements include a return to the Canadian Opera Company as Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Rossini's Bartolo in Leipzig and Hamburg, Don Magnficio in Nancy, and his debuts at San Diego Opera as Sulpice in La fille du régiment, and the Minnesota Opera as Don Magnifico.

In the past three seasons Mr. DiStefano has been heard as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia in Toronto and L'Opera de Montreal, in Dallas as Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, with the Florida Grand Opera as Geronte in Manon Lescaut, in Tel Aviv as Gianni Schicchi, and made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Simone in Gianni Schicchi. In the 2005–2006 season, Mr. DiStefano was Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola at the Dallas Opera and the Michigan Opera Theatre, was in Amsterdam and Tokyo, under the baton of Seiji Ozawa, as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and was Don Magnifico in Trieste. In 2004–2005, he appeared as Fra Melitone in La forza del destino at the Frankfurt Opera, Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia in Amsterdam, Don Magnifico in Milwaukee, and Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro in Florence.

In recent seasons, Mr. DiStefano has been heard as Simone in Gianni Schicchi at the Opéra National de Paris and in Toyko, as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia in Zürich, Frankfurt and the Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin, Don Magnifico in Brussels, Madrid, Tel Aviv, and Toyko, Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore on a tour with the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv and at the Scottish Opera, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro at the La Fenice in Venice, in Cardiff, Madrid, and Florence, and was Don Pasquale in Miami and Detroit.  Mr. DiStefano made his debut as Falstaff at the Saito Kinen Festival of 2003, under the baton of Seiji Ozawa.

Since his 1989 debut in Rome as Zaccaria in Nabucco, Donato DiStefano has worked with such prominent conductors as Salvatore Accardo, Bruno Campanella, Riccardo Chailly, Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti, as well as stage directors Luc Bondy, Ferruccio Soleri and Bob Wilson. In his native Italy, he has performed regularly at the Teatro alla Scala, the Teatro Comunale di Firenze, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, the Teatro Bellini di Catania, the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, the Teatro Regio di Parma, the Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, the Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro, and the Festival dei Due Mondi of Spoleto. His international operatic credits include performances in the principal theaters of Bilbao, Monte Carlo, Valencia, Toronto, Lille, Tenerife, at the Salzburg Festival, and the Swiss Radio Orchestra in Lugano.

Mr. DiStefano's repertoire also includes Norma (Oroveso), Die Zauberflöte (Sarastro), La bohème (Colline), La serva padrona (Uberto), Il turco in Italia (Selim), L'italiana in Algeri (Mustafà), I quattro rusteghi (Lunardo), Le comte Ory (Tuteur), and Linda di Chamounix (Prefetto).

Some significant performances DiStefano have included the protagonist in the world premiere of Hanjo by Marcello Panni produced by Bob Wilson at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro in Salzburg conducted by Nicolaus Harnoncourt and staged by Luc Bondy, Simone in Gianni Schicchi at the Teatro alla Scala, Mustafà in L'italiana in Algeri at the Rossini Opera Festival and at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Uberto in La serva padrona at the Théâtre la Monnaie in Brussels conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken, Il turco in Italia at the Teatro alla Scala under Riccardo Chailly, Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore at the New Israeli Opera and the Teatro Comunale di Firenze.

Donato Di Stefano's discography includes two recordings of La serva padrona, with La Petite Bande conducted by Sigiswald Kuijken for Accent Live, and one under Gustav Kuhn for Ricordi-Bmg. A broadcast production of the same title for RAI International is slated for release on DVD. He can also be heard as Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro on Naxos, La traviata with Zubin Mehta on Philips, Rendine's Un segreto di importanza for Ricordi, Linda di Chamounix on Frequenz and Soliva's Giulio e Sesto Pompeo for the Radio Svizzera Italiana label.

Donato Di Stefano was nominated for the Dora Mavor Moore Award in 1998-1999 for Oustanding Performance by a Male in a Principal Role-Musical) for his performances as Don Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Canadian Opera in Toronto.

Donato Di Stefano is the winner of various international vocal competitions including the « Giuseppe Verdi » Competition in Parma, the As.Li.Co. in Milan and the « Mario del Monaco » in Castelfranco Veneto.

Christopher Franklin (conductor)

"relishing their respective mercurial natures (Chabrier's Une éducation manquée and Rossini's Il cambiale di matrimonio for the Wexford Festival), Christopher Franklin conducts both with engaging momentum in streams of stylish phrasing...."   – Irish Independent, October 24, 2009

Christopher Franklin was brought to the attention of several major Italian opera houses after a successful production of Il viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Mr. Franklin has subsequently conducted: a new production of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd at the Teatro Regio di Torino, Carmina burana at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, a new production of Michael Daugherty's Jackie O at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Così fan tutte and several symphonic engagements at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, the modern-day premiere of Francesco Cilea's Gina (compact disc recording on the Bongiovanni label) and a new production of Lehar's Die lustige Witwe, as well as coproductions of La bohème at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Così fan tutte with the historic staging of Giorgio Strehler at the Teatro Piccolo di Milano. Mr. Franklin has also conducted several symphonic concerts at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, and Falstaff, Carmen and Werther at the Fondazione Pergolesi-Spontini in Jesi, Treviso. Upcoming engagements include a double-bill of Rossini's Il cambiale di matrimonio and Chabrier's Une éducation manquéee at the Wexford Festival in the fall 2009.

Recent opera productions outside Italy include Le comte Ory at the National Opera of Greece in Athens, and at the Rossini Opera Festival in Wildbad, Germany, where he has conducted L'amour coniugale, by Giovanni Simone Mayr (recently released on the Naxos label). In addition, he has conducted Rossini's Il cambiale di matrimonio, and La gazzetta (both scheduled for upcoming CD-DVD release). He has toured with tenor Juan Diego Florez the last few seasons at the following venues: Konzerthaus Wien, Herkulessaal-Muenchen, Alte Oper-Frankfurt, Philharmonie-Koeln, Theatre des Champs-Élysées, Musikhalle-Hamburg, Festspielhaus-Baden-Baden, Konzerthaus-Dortmund, Cadogan Hall-London, Palau de les Arts (Valencia), Carnival Center (Miami), International House of Music (Moscow) and is scheduled for several upcoming tours throughout Europe (Germany, Austria, Spain and France).

Recent engagements include a new production of Verdi's Attila in Lima, Peru, with Idar Abdrazakov and Dimitra Theodossiou, concerts with the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, the Filarmonica Toscanini in Parma, the Orchestra della Radio Svizzera-Italiana in Lugano, and a new production of Sweeney Todd at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Piacenza, the Lugo Opera Festival. Mr. Franklin has conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and West Australian Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic of Russia, a German tour with the Muenchner Symphoniker, SWR Orchester in Germany, Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Firenze, Orchestre de la Monnaie in Brussels, Orchestra de Comunitat di Valencia, Orchestra de la Navarra in Spain, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, Orchestra della Radio Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, Orchestra Verdi di Milan, Orchestra della Toscana, Orchestra Filarmonica dell'Arena di Verona, Orchestra ‘900 of the Teatro Regio di Torino, Orchestra Toscanini of Parma, Orchestra of the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, Orchestra da Camera di Padova, I Pomeriggi Musicali of Milano, Accademia della Scala di Milano.

An active advocate of contemporary music, Mr. Franklin has conducted the works of many living composers including Marco Tutino's La lupa, Dylan Dog, the world premiere of his clarinet Clarinet Concerto, symphonic works by Australian composer Ross Edwards (Symphony No. 3) and Marcus Lenz (Ngangkar) and for the past two years the International Composition Competition Alfredo Casella in Siena with the Orchestra della Toscana. Winner of the Gino Marinuzzi International Conducting Competition, he traveled as assistant to Gianluigi Gelmetti at the Teatro dell'Opera, Covent Garden, La Scala, La Fenice (Venice), Muenchner Philharmoniker, and several other theatres. As winner of the conducting competiton Toti dal Monte (La Bottega in Treviso), Mr. Franklin was named resident conductor and assistant to Peter Maag at the Teatro Comunale di Treviso. In this theater, he made his Italian debut, conducting Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann along with several symphonic concerts. Previous to winning these competitions, he attended the conducing class of M. Gelmetti at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena where he was awarded the prestigious Franco Ferrara Prize.

Franklin began studying the violin at the age of 6, and after completing a BA in violin and German literature, earned his M.M. in conducting at the University of Illinois and his D.M.A. at the Peabody Conservatory. He was awarded a scholarship to study at the Tanglewood Music Center, where he worked with Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, and Gustav Meier, and subsequently, a Fulbright Fellowship to study at the Musikhochschule in Saarbruecken. He began his conducting studies with Charles Bruck at the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors in Hancock, USA. Christopher lives in Lucca, Italy.

Daniel Mobbs (Alidoro)

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, his awards include first place in both the College Division of the MacAllister Awards and the Mario Lanza Scholarship. He is a winner of the Sullivan Foundation Award and also a recipient of a grant from the Puccini Foundation. In 2008, New York City Opera awarded him the Kolozsvar Award, recognizing his "memorable performance of multiple roles in Purcell's King Arthur." He is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

John Michael Moore (Dandini)

Baritone John Michael Moore hails from Okoboji (Milford), Iowa. He is a recent graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in New York City, where in 2008 he made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia. At Minnesota Opera, he has been seen as Masetto in Don Giovanni and Sciarrone in Tosca. He has also appeared with Minnesota Orchestra as Sciarrone and as Schaunard in La bohème. Mr. Moore has performed the role of Figaro in Barbiere with the Welsh National Opera and also in the summer of 2009 with Des Moines Metro Opera. At Des Moines he has also performed Yamadori in Madame Butterfly, Henry Cuffe in Gloriana, and Papageno in The Magic Flute. John has spent the past two summers at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont. In 2010, Moore can be seen as Fiorello at the Metropolitan Opera, at Pensacola Opera as Silvio in Pagliacci, Donald in Billy Budd at Glyndebourne and a return to the Marlboro Festival.

Angela Mortellaro (Clorinda)

Soprano Angela Mortellaro joins the Minnesota Opera's Resident Artist program in 2010–2011, singing the roles of Amore in Orpheus and Eurydice, Clorinda in Cinderella and Annina in La traviata and the Offstage Voice in Wuthering Heights. This year, Ms. Mortellaro has sung the role of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with both PORTOpera and Sarasota Opera. Last summer she was a Chautauqua Opera Apprentice Artist, performing the roles of Edith in The Pirates of Penzance and Anna Gomez in The Consul. For Orlando Opera Company, she sang Sister Genovieffa in Suor Angelica, Sally in Die Fledermaus and Clorinda in La Cenerentola. The soprano also appeared as Clorinda for Aspen Opera Theatre as well as Frasquita in its production of Carmen. Internationally, she has performed Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro for Operafestival di Roma.

Ms. Mortellaro has a master of music degree in vocal performance from Rice University (Houston, Texas), where she sang Diana in La Calisto, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Sandrina in La finta giardiniera and the Governess in The Turn of the Screw. She completed her bachelor of music degree at the University of Wisconsin (Whitewater).

John Tessier (Don Ramiro)

On the international stages of opera, concert, and recital, Canadian tenor John Tessier has gained attention and praise for the beauty and honesty of his voice, for a refined style and creative versatility, and for his handsome, youthful presence in the lyric tenor repertoire. The Juno Award winning artist has worked with many of the most notable conductors of our day including Lorin Maazel, Leonard Slatkin, Plácido Domingo, John Nelson, Franz Welser-Möst, Donald Runnicles, Robert Spano and Bernard Labadie.

During the 2009-2010 season, John Tessier's operatic diary includes the role of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Lyra Ottawa under Pinchas Zukerman and L'Opéra de Montréal, Nemorino in a new Jonathan Miller production of The Elixir of Love at English National Opera, and Laërte in Hamlet - sharing the stage with Carlos Álvarez, Diana Damrau, and Samuel Ramey in a return engagement at Washington National Opera conducted by Plácido Domingo. The artist's concert schedule brings him to the Philadelphia Orchestra for Berlioz' Te Deum under the direction of Charles Dutoit and to Vienna, Paris, Frankfurt, Cologne, and Milan on a tour presentation of Handel's Messiah with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d'Astrée.

John Tessier made two prominent house debuts in the past season: he bowed as Almaviva in The Barber of Seville at the English National Opera and as the Steuermann in a new Tim Albery production of Der fliegende Holländer at the Royal Opera House - Covent Garden, conducted by Marc Albrecht. The artist also returned to Glimmerglass Opera to sing Ramiro in La Cenerentola, a role he covered for his debut on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera conducted by Maurizio Benini. On the concert stage, he gave performances of Berlioz' L'enfance du Christ under the baton of John Nelson in Spain, Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Itzhak Perlman and the Russian National Orchestra at Festival of the Arts Boca.

On the opera stage, John Tessier has sung in Don Giovanni for his debut at the Washington National Opera, Il viaggio a Reims at Oper Frankfurt, I Capuleti e i Montecchi for Glimmerglass Opera, and Il barbiere di Siviglia for New York City Opera, Edmonton Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, L'Opéra de Québec, and in a new Leon Major production at Glimmerglass Opera. He has bowed in L'elisir d'amore at the New York City Opera, Lakmé for the operas of Calgary and Edmonton, Così fan tutte at Vancouver Opera and in a new production by Tim Albery at Glimmerglass Opera, Don Pasquale with Opera Lyra Ottawa and Arizona Opera, The Merry Widow with L'Opéra de Montréal, L'italiana in Algeri, Dialogues des Carmélites, Don Giovanni and La fille du régiment at Vancouver Opera, Don Giovanni, Falstaff and Acis and Galatea at New York City Opera, Il re pastore at the Mostly Mozart Festival, Die Zauberflöte with the Opera Company of Philadelphia and the Edmonton Opera, Die Entführung aus dem Serail with L'Opéra de Québec, Little Women with Minnesota Opera and Haydn's Orlando paladino and Handel's Imeneo at Glimmerglass Opera.

Symphonic performances of the recent past have included John Corigliano's A Dylan Thomas Trilogy with Leonard Slatkin and the Nashville Symphony (recorded and commercially available on Naxos), Stephen Paulus' To Be Certain of the Dawn with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra (recorded and commercially available on BIS Records), Haydn's Mass in the Time of War with Bernard Labadie and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Mozart's Requiem with Donald Runnicles and the Orchestra of Saint Luke's at Carnegie Hall, Mozart's Mass in C with Lorin Maazel and the New York Philharmonic, Schumann's Scenes from Goethe's Faust with Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra, and Haydn's The Creation with Jane Glover and Chicago's Music of the Baroque and with John Nelson and Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. He has given performances of the Messiah with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Carmina burana and Szymanowski's Symphony No. 3 with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the Mozart Requiem with Donald Runnicles and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (recorded and commercially available on Telarc), Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Paavo Järvi and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and Bach's St. Matthew Passion with Nicholas McGegan and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Other engagements have brought him to Les Violons du Roy with Bernard Labadie, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Handel & Haydn Society, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra with John Nelson, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra with Bobby McFerrin and to Lincoln Center with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Nicholas McGegan.

Victoria Vargas (Tisbe)

Mezzo-soprano Victoria Vargas completed her master of music degree from Manhattan School of Music this past May, where she appeared as Euryclée in Fauré's Pénélope, and the Beggar and Mrs. Peachum in The Beggar's Opera. Other credits include Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro for Ash Lawn Opera and Martina Arroyo's Prelude to Performance; the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, the title role in Carmen and Dorabella in Così fan tutte for Hillman Opera; Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music for Lyric Arts International; and Miss Todd in The Old Main and the Thief for Fredonia Opera Theater.

Ms. Vargas has been a young artist at Sarasota Opera, where she covered the role of Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria rusticana. She covered the same role at Chautauqua Opera last summer, won the opera company's Guild Studio Artist Award and has been invited back as an Apprentice Artist. For her first season as a Minnesota Opera Resident Artist, Ms. Vargas will sing Tisbe in Cinderella, Anna in Maria Stuarda and Flora in La traviata.

Doug Varone (stage director)

Award-winning choreographer and director Doug Varone works in dance, theater, opera, film, television and fashion. He is a passionate educator and articulate advocate for dance. By any measure, his work is extraordinary for its emotional range, kinetic breadth and the many arenas in which he works.

His New York City-based Doug Varone and Dancers has been commissioned and presented to critical acclaim by leading international venues for more than two decades. In 2008, Varone's Bottomland, set in the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky, was the subject of the PBS Dance in America's Wolf Trap's Face of America.

In opera, Varone is in demand as a director and choreographer. Among his four productions at the Metropolitan Opera include Salome with its sensational Dance of the Seven Veils for Karita Mattila, and the world premiere of Tobias Picker's An American Tragedy. He has staged multiple premieres and new productions for Minnesota Opera and Opera Colorado and choreographed for Washington Opera and New York City Opera, among others. Varone is a frequent collaborator of composer Ricky Ian Gordon: choreography, The Grapes of Wrath (2008); direction and choreography, Orpheus and Euridice for Lincoln Center (2006 Obie Award). The two are at work on a new opera about the US Civil War commissioned by the Virginia Festival of the Arts and University of TX/Austin.

Doug Varone's numerous theater credits include choreography for Broadway, Off-Broadway and regional theaters across the country. He staged several seasons of designer Geoffrey Beene's NYC couture runway shows. Film credits include choreography for the Patrick Swayze film, One Last Dance.

Varone has also created works for the Limon Company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Rambert Dance Company (London), Dancemakers (Canada), Batsheva Dance Company (Israel), Bern Ballet (Switzerland) and An Creative (Japan), among others. His dances have been staged on more than 30 college and university programs. Varone received his BFA from Purchase College, where he was awarded the Presidential Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007. Honors also include a Guggenheim Fellowship, two American Dance Festival Doris Duke Awards for New Work, three from the National Dance Project and two New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies) - for Sustained Achievement in Choreography, and for his 2006 Boats Leaving.

Rossini composed La Cenerentola (Cinderella) during an especially busy period that followed The Barber of Seville's premiere in February, 1816 at Rome's Teatro Argentina. He was still under contract at the Neapolitan Royal Theaters and had to return for the production of two further works, La gazzetta (September 26, 1816) and Otello (December 4, 1816). The Naples theater impresario, Domenico Barbaja, had the good sense to give Rossini some latitude in their agreement, and the composer had (unwisely) made another commitment in Rome, this time to the rival Teatro Valle's impresario, Pietro Cartoni, to start the Carnival season on December 26. As Otello had just opened earlier that month, Rossini was in a tight spot, as no libretto had been written, nor had a subject even been chosen.

At first he and librettist Jacopo Ferretti turned to Ninette à la cour, a French comedy inspired by the licentious behavior of infamous womanizer François i (who also would become the model for the Duke of Mantua). And much like Rigoletto would later do, Ninette became a touchy issue with the especially prickly Roman censors (though it was later set as Francesca di Foix by Gaetano Donizetti for Naples). As the deadline was quickly approaching, Cartoni, Rossini and Ferretti sat up late one night brainstorming over hot toddies. After 20 various suggestions, Ferretti threw out Cenerentola, which seemed to peak Rossini's interest. The librettist traded his cocktail for some plain java and worked up a scenario that very night.

Of course, all parties knew of a Cenerentola that had premiered in Milan just two and a half years before – Rossini had had two operas produced at the Teatro alla Scala during the same season and happened to be there in April 1814, when the work had its premiere. The opera in question was Agatina, o la virtù premiata by Stefano Pavesi, itself a copy of Nicolò Isouard's Cendrillon, which had recently premiered in Paris four years earlier. All of this was perfectly legal, as copyright had yet to become a real legal issue – one only had to live with verbal charges of plagiarism and general discontent among the parties involved. Rossini would raid and eclipse Pavesi a total of five times during his career, in each instance producing a vastly superior work.

Time was of the essence. Cartoni managed to postpone the opening to the end of January, but it was still a formidable undertaking, with both composition and rehearsals to take place in just one month. Ferretti may have had an extant libretto from which to pillage, but Rossini also had a few shortcuts at his disposal. Another composer, Luca Agolini, was brought in to compose the recitatives and also to contribute two arias, Clorinda's "Sventurata! mi credea" and Alidoro's "Vasto teatro è il mondo" (revised by Rossini in 1821 to become "Là del ciel nell'arcano profondo"), and the chorus "Ah! della bella incognita." Rossini also ravaged his other operas for material – from the failed La gazzetta (which likely wouldn't be seen again) he borrowed the overture, and from Barber he assimilated the notoriously difficult (and often cut) Almaviva cabaletta from the end of Act ii, "Ah, il più lieto," which he had composed for the celebrated tenor Manuel García. Transposed and embellished further, the aria became the title character's brilliant rondò finale "Non più mesta."

The cast was quite tense on opening night – rehearsals had been fast and furious – and much like The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola was greeted with hostility. The composer was hardly concerned, predicting that within a year, the new opera would be popular around the world. He wasn't far off the mark, and in posterity La Cenerentola would become his second most popular opera after Barber (though Guillaume Tell had a huge following in 19th-century France). Perhaps still smarting from the initial failure of these two comic works, Rossini's interest in opera buffa began to wane – Adina (1818) is a mere one-act farsa and Le comte Ory (1829) is modeled after the French style. Even in Cenerentola we already begin to see seeds of change toward something a little more somber – the sentimental and serious young lovers in pursuit of one another, the doleful timbre of Angelina's recurrent romanza by the fire, "Una volta c'era un re," and the stoically wise and vaguely magical maneuverings of the enlightened filosofo Alidoro all reach beyond the transparent playfulness of buffa style.

Literary Antecedents

But where is the classic tale by Charles Perrault? What happened to the glass slipper, fairy godmother, pumpkin carriage and helpful rodents? As it turns out, by the first decade of the 19th century Perrault's story had already undergone significant revision. Both Pavesi and Isouard's operas replaced the ethereal godmother with Alidor/Alidoro, a byproduct of the Enlightenment, the philosopher who sagely guides the two lovers' union and transformation by way of prudent advice. It's true the magic elements exist only by the slightest implication in La Cenerentola, something that already had started to fade in Isouard and Pavesi's works – their only supernatural effect is a subtle red rose that renders Cendrillon/Agatina unrecognizable. By dispensing with that component completely, Ferretti and Rossini introduce the possibility that Angelina could be recognized by her family at the prince's ball, adding a touch of veracity, tension, and later, abuse.

Thus by removing the fairies, La Cenerentola no longer is a "fairy tale" The drama becomes something more substantial, a comedy of manners with some real gravity. Still, some comic traditions had to be preserved. Hardly evil (though at times not very pleasant) Don Magnifico is a benign replacement as the bubbling and oft-drunken stepparent, coming straight out of the Italian commedia dell'arte. His control and squander of money (and Angelina's fortune) draws an interesting parallel to Dr. Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, though his task is much easier – he is able to snatch Cenerentola's dowry by way of their sketchy familial relationship, rather than the more time-consuming (and in Bartolo's case, fruitless) task of courtship. Dandini shares some of his more devious traits with the stock player Brighella, and his masquerade as well as the doubly disguised Angelina and Ramiro at the prince's ball are further commedia tricks. Patter song, a requisite of the opera buffa genre, is obliged by not one, but two arias given to Don Magnifico as well as a marvelous duet, where he faces off with his buffo adversary, Dandini. In spite of the rapid fire of Magnifico's notes, the even dramatic pacing is another aspect of the work as being both real and human - there is no fretful stroke of midnight to bring the party to a sudden end. Angelina demands the prince play according to her terms in order to determine if his love is genuine.

Finally, there is the absence of the glass slipper, which some say might not have been glass at all. According to those sources, the French word for glass, verre, was mistranslated from its near-homonym, vair, or "squirrel fur." This theory has since been debunked by the latter's utter lack of elegance (remember Perrault's story was originally set during the era of Louis XIV), not to mention the fur's elasticity, which could more easily adapt to a variety of foot sizes. The inflexible, more petit glass slipper reinforces a stereotype of the feminine ideal – the smaller the foot, the more beautiful (and in some cultures, the more submissive) the woman. The reason they decided to omit it? Roman decency forbade the exposure of a woman's bare ankle in the drama's penultimate scene. Ferretti and Rossini had to settle for two matching bracelets.

Isouard, Pavesi and Rossini's operas turn the story away from fantasy and emphasize its virtue – virtù, which is, in fact, spotlighted in the title of the second work and bontà (goodness) in the third. By the mid-century, Samuel Richardson's Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740) had become enormously popular throughout Europe and was tremendously influential on all the various art disciplines. Pamela is in the servant in the house of B–, and it becomes quite clear early in the novel she is one of exceptional character. Unfortunately, she attracts the attention of her mistress' son, who retains Pamela's services after his mother's death. Mr. B–'s inappropriate behavior creates discord in the household and puts the title character's reputation to the test. After a series of awkward episodes, Pamela earns her master's respect by way of her letters (which he secretly reads) and her steadfast unwillingness to submit to his amorous advances. Crossing all social barriers, B– acquires a greater respect for his maid, and the couple eventually marries. Richardson's novel ignited a great literary controversy, with "Pamelists" and "Antipamelists" in heated debate. In part to settle this dispute, the author wrote a sequel, Clarissa, which also has attracted the interest of later composers (including Georges Bizet, though he left his work incomplete).

Among Pamela's many adaptations is a libretto by opera buffa master Carlo Goldoni, set to music by Niccolò Piccinni in 1760. La buona figliuola maritata tells a similar story of a low-bred, orphaned girl, Cecchina. Her employer's brother, the Marchese della Conchiglia, is fixated on the young maid, in spite of his sister's misgivings. For her part, the marchesa cannot marry her boyfriend, the Cavaliere Armidoro, if her brother marries outside his class. Things turn out in a tidy fashion – Cecchina is identified as a long-lost descendant of a German baron (by a birthmark on her arm, not unlike Figaro), and everyone lives happily ever after. Piccinni's opera was immensely successful and was mounted all over Europe.

To complete the circle, a similar tale, Griselda, was treated by both Boccaccio and Perrault, and set as an opera by Piccinni is 1793. This story also involves the testing of a young maiden, this time the patience and virtue of a shepherdess, by her princely husband. The original tale precedes Richardson's novel and is believed to have provided some inspiration.

Gioachino Rossini

b Pesaro, February 29, 1792; d Passy, November 13, 1868

The most prominent Italian composer of the first half of the 19th century, Gioachino Rossini transformed the form and content of Italian opera. Though best known for his comic works – and for music that is sensuous, brilliant and rhythmically vital – Rossini’s contribution to stage works of mixed genres is equally important, making him Verdi’s most significant forerunner.

Born into the closely knit community of Pesaro, Italy, at a time of war and political upheaval in Europe, Rossini was brought up by parents who were both working musicians. His father, a horn player and teacher at Bologna’s prestigious Accademia Filarmonica, was also an ardent and outspoken Republican who was imprisoned briefly by the Austrians. Rossini’s mother, despite her lack of musical training, was a reasonably successful soprano. Rossini entered Bologna’s Liceo Musicale at the precocious age of 14 and began composing as early as 1802–03. Shortly after finishing his studies, he obtained a commission for a one-act farce, La cambiale di matrimonio, for the Venetian Teatro San Moisè. Further commissions from Venice yielded more successes, and by the time La pietra del paragone had premiered in 1812, the 20-year-old Rossini was without a doubt the leading composer in Italy.

Rossini seemed equally confident in both serious and comic veins. Tancredi was a major landmark in opera seria and L’italiana in Algeri was the same for opera buffa – both were composed in 1813. In 1815 he had the good fortune to be secured by Domenico Barbaja, impresario for the Neapolitan theaters, and significantly developed his style and technique over the next seven years. One of the Teatro San Carlo’s assets was Isabella Colbran, a soprano who specialized in opera seria; as a result Rossini wrote many works specifically for her voice. She was to become his mistress and later his first wife.

Rossini’s contract with the Neapolitan theaters allowed him to accept commissions elsewhere on the Italian peninsula, but by 1822, the composer showed signs of his patience wearing thin; during the contract period he had written a total of 19 operas. The composer later quipped, “If he had been able to do so, Barbaja would have put me in charge of the kitchen as well.”

Rossini was released from his Neapolitan contract that year. The Viennese tour that followed proved enormously successful for the composer, whose works were now familiar all over Europe. Returning to Italy, Rossini signed another contract with La Fenice in Venice for what would become one of his greatest and grandest opera serias, Semiramide.

With Italy and Austria conquered, Rossini turned his attention to France and England. A contract was signed in London, but it appears no opera was ever produced. In Paris Rossini accepted the directorship of the Théâtre Italien for two years (1824–26) and oversaw the remounting and revisions of a number of his works. For the coronation of Charles X, he composed a new opera, Il viaggio a Reims, and a year later he refashioned an earlier opera seria, Maometto II, into Le siège de Corinthe for the Paris Opéra. He would present three more works at that theater: Moise et Pharaon (reworked from the earlier Mosè in Egitto), Le Comte Ory (incorporating music from Il viaggio a Reims) and Guillaume Tell. Cast in the newly evolving form of French grand opéra, Guillaume Tell is a lengthy four-act work complete with ballet. It proved to be exceedingly popular (the opera had over 500 performances during Rossini’s lifetime); it was also Rossini’s last. He retired at age 37.

After a short return to Italy, Rossini found himself back in Paris pursuing a lifetime annuity granted by Charles X but revoked by the new government of Louis-Philippe. What was to be a short stay turned into six years of litigation, and while his wife and father remained at Isabella’s estate in Italy, Rossini formed a new romantic attachment with Olympe Pélissier. When his estranged wife died in 1846, they married soon after.

print composer biography

Recommended Reading

James Harding

The Great Composers: Rossini.
New York: Thomas Y. Crowell College, 1971.

Nicholas John (editor)

English National Opera Guide No. 1: La Cenerentola.
London: John Calder Ltd., c. 1980.

Charles Osborne

The Bel Canto Composers.
Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1994.

Emanuele Senici

Cambridge Guide to Rossini.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

Recommended Listening

Naxos

Didonato, Praticò, Zapata

Zedda; SWR Orchestra Kaiserslautern

Deutsche Grammaphon

Berganza, Alva, Capecchi, Montarsolo, Trama
Abbado; London Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Opera Chorus

London

Bartoli, Costa, Banditelli, Matteuzzi, Pertusi
Chailly; Bologna Teatro Comunale Orchestra and Chorus

Sony Classical

Ravaglia, Valentini-Terrani, Araiza, Dara, Trimarchi
Ferro; Capella Coloniensis and Cologne Radio Chorus

To Learn More …

A class devoted to Cinderella will be held on Monday, October 18, 2010, from 7:00–9:00 p.m. at the Minnesota Opera Center. The discussion will be led by Daniel Freeman.