Merlin Music Society Review February 2006

La Cenerentola, or “Goodness Triumphant”

On 9^th February, the stage of The Blake Theatre was graced by the presence of the Garden Opera Company, as they performed a new English translation (by Amanda Holden) of Gioacchino Rossini’s La Cenerentola, for the Merlin Music Society. The title translates as ‘Cinderella’, and the story is similar to the one we are all familiar with, with some notable differences. Cinderella’s real name is Angelina; the evil step-mother is replaced by an evil step-father, Don Magnifico; there is no midnight curfew by which Cinderella must leave the ball; the glass slipper is instead a bracelet; for the majority of the opera the Prince, Don Ramiro, and his man-servant, Dandini, change places, disguised as each other, and the role of the ‘fairy-godmother’ is played by Alidoro, the Prince’s tutor and philosopher. This was because Rossini did not wish magic to have a place in his work (he was, like many of his contemporaries, a devout Christian).

From the opening bars of the overture, I knew that I was going to enjoy this.  An ensemble that could capture the essence of Rossini’s music, and of the opera itself, in such a short introduction could never disappoint. This essence is the light-hearted romp nature of the piece, contrasted with brief interludes of melodrama and the generally moral tone of the story. The ensemble, led by pianist Peter Bridges (who also directed this performance), played admirably throughout, providing the perfect backdrop to some of the wonderful singing which was to come.

Vocal interpretations were of a high calibre. The performers understood their characters well, this being especially true of Yvonne Patrick and Thomasin Trezise (playing Angelina/Cinders’ evil step-sisters Clorinda and Tisbe) who really managed to get the vanity, vulgarity and general nastiness of the characters to come out in their belting of lines such as “Cinderella get me dressed!”; they sounded appropriately self-confident when singing “I’m alarmingly discreet, so I charm each man I meet” (of course an utter fallacy).

This was all in contrast with my favourite female performer of the evening, Serena Kay, who played our heroine.  She was amazing, really helping the audience to feel sorry for ‘Cinders’ with her beautiful and often sadness-laced performance. Her graceful singing was matched only by her acting, by which she was able to really do her character justice. My favourite aria of hers, being the song which she sung at the very beginning, and then reprised in act two, where she sang forlornly of her dreams to be swept off her feet by a regal man who loves her for who she is.

My favourite male voice was John Upperton who played Don Ramiro, hero of the opera and the prince who falls in love with ‘Cinderella’. His performance was simply delightful. Possessed of a lovely, rich tenor voice he was the clearest singer of all the cast. His projection was superb and he too was able to make the audience believe that he really was smitten. His angry singing, where he rails at Don Magnifico “I’m enraged by your pretence” was also very convincing.

All of this combined with a constant stream of visual jokes, some brilliantly over the top outfits with the step-sisters being especially badly dressed (commendation to Dulcie Best, the costume designer, for that), good dialogue and a generally hilarious atmosphere made this great fun to watch, and really lightened up my evening. Some people, I know, felt disappointed with the overtly pantomime nature of Garden Opera’s interpretation, however, I think this may be exactly how Rossini would have liked it, and the moral of the story was still as clear as day. For me, only two complaints arose. The first was that this new libretto was occasionally a little too farcical, stretching the limits of English and comedy (thankfully the cast made the most of it, largely eclipsing the occasional weakness). The second was my disappointment in the set design. The kitchen set used towards the beginning and end of the opera was novel, and did work well. However, when we were supposedly transported to the Palace, little in it changed, aside from some cupboards being swung out to reveal portraits, and the kitchen elements were still visible. I understand the constraints that were in place, but I just felt that more could have been done in this area.

I really enjoyed this opera. Rossini’s music was fabulous and the ensemble did it justice, the cast all sang brilliantly with the two lead characters rising above the rest (just as it should be), the portrayal was humorous and convincing (something quite hard to pull off) and even where there were problems the best was made of them. I would recommend that if you ever get the opportunity to see La Cenerentola or any other Garden Opera performance, go for it. Whether or not you like classical music or traditional operas, you’re still bound to have an enjoyable time, and if you do, all the better.

D. Wilkes