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Revision as of 14:25, 26 June 2005 by 203.15.35.68 (talk)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)La Cenerentola is a comic opera by Gioacchino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacobo Ferretti based on the fairy tale Cinderella. Rossini's La Cenerentola was first performed in Rome in 1817.
Rossini composed La Cenerentola at age 25 in some three weeks, following the success of The Barber of Seville the year before. It is considered to have some of his finest writing for solo voice and ensembles.
At the first performance, the opera was received by hostility, but it soon became popular throughout Italy and beyond; it reached London in 1820 and New York in 1826. Through most of the 19th century, its popularity rivalled that of the Barber, but as the coloratura contralto became rare it fell slowly out of the repertoire. However, from the 1970s onward, as Rossini enjoyed a renaissance, a new generation of Rossini mezzo-sopranos such as Cecilia Bartoli, Jennifer Larmore, Kathleen Kuhlmann and Ann Murray ensured the renewed popularity of the work.
La Cenerentola is part of the standard operatic repertoire. There are a number of recordings of it, and it is regularly performed.
Synopsis
Angelina (Cenerentola) has a Step-Father (Don Magnifico), instead of the traditional Step-Mother, and the traditional Fairy Godmother is replaced by Alidoro (Philosopher and Tutor of the Prince). Don Magnifico has two spoilt and vain daughters, Clorina and Tisbe, who are very self-absorbed. Prince Ramiro and his valet, Dandini, change places so that the Prince can find a bride who will love him for himself, and not for who he is. Matching bracelets replace the traditional glass slipper as the means by which the Prince finds Cenerentola. The reason for the changes from the traditional fairy tale is because Rossini did not want magic to feature in his opera.
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