OPERAWISE: BEL CANTO MELODRAMA

In this series of podcasts, Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean gives listeners a taste of nine different types of traditional opera. Bel Canto Melodrama refers to for serious Italian opera from the first part of the nineteenth century, when opera singing was about dazzling trapeze acts and opera plots tended toward the wild, far-fetched, and grotesque. Inspired by their newfound obsession with Shakespeare, Europe’s Romantic generation created some of opera’s most enduringly popular works, including Verdi’s Rigoletto and Bellini’s Norma.

Praise for Cinderella

Miriam Costa-Jackson (Clorinda), Peter Kalman (Don Magnifico), and Maya Gour (Tisbe). Philip Newton photo

"Two exciting casts, a solid score, and staging as speedy as a runaway train: Seattle Opera audiences had a rollicking good time this past weekend with Rossini’s Cinderella."
—The Seattle Times

"The audience at Seattle Opera's Cinderella knew from the first note of the overture that this evening was going to be fun."

—Seattle Gay News 

"A performance to relish in a production that produced continuous laughs."
—Opera Wire

"It's a charming take on a classic tale. Seattle Opera's production of Cinderella brings toe-tapping tunes, bright ensembles, and colorful characters together for an enchanting evening. [The] ultimate rags-to-riches show."

—KING5 TV, Evening Magazine

"It’s the concept and imagination of stage director Lindy Hume which makes this production so delicious, ably abetted by production designer Dan Potra, lighting with some wonderful effects by Matthew Marshall and the choreography of associate stage director Dan Pelzig. Not least are the apt supertitles of Jonathan Dean which caught each nuance of the libretto, which might otherwise have been missed, and frequently gained laughs for themselves."

—Bachtrack  

"Wow. Cinderella was phenomenal. Great show, @SeattleOpera. Beautiful performance and good for plenty of laughs too!"
—@thybeardedbard via Twitter, opening night 

Cinderella: Director's notes

Wallis Giunta as Cinderella in the production directed by Lindy Hume. Photo courtesy of Giunta

By Lindy Hume, Stage Director of Seattle Opera's Upcoming Cinderella 

It’s nearly two hundred years after Rossini, a precociously brilliant 25-year-old celebrity, wrote Cinderella (La Cenerentola) in three weeks. He wrote it over Christmas, and it opened on January 20, 1817. Two centuries later, notwithstanding the speed with which it was written, and the worldwide fame of The Barber of Seville, for me Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant (the full original title) is his most wonderful creation.

Rossini’s Cinderella not only has a unique place in the history of opera in Australia—my homeland—the story of Cinderella has embedded itself in the Australian psyche, as it has all over the world. The upcoming production you’ll see at Seattle Opera seeks to respect two centuries of this opera’s performance history, while referencing popular contemporary entertainment styles such as the rom-com, the sitcom, and music theater—vernacular styles that speak to today’s audiences.

DANDINI, WHO ARE YOU?

Wallis Giunta (Cinderella) and Jonathan Michie (Dandini). La Cenerentola, Oper Leipzig © Kirsten Nijhof

By Jonathan Dean 

La Cenerentola is Cinderella...almost. 

Rossini’s opera differs from most of the world’s many Cinderella stories because of a few key features: there is no magic, the traditional evil stepmother and fairy godmother are replaced with male counterparts, and the prince identifies Cinderella thanks to a bracelet, not a slipper. And then, of course, there’s Dandini, the prince’s clever and mischievous servant. He isn’t part of the standard Cinderella-story cast list. What is he doing in this opera? He provides a much-needed reality check; while in real life there are people as virtuous as Cenerentola, or as awful as Magnifico, mostly there are people like Dandini.

Cinderella lights up the stage with vocal fireworks

Wallis Giunta as Cinderella. Photo courtesy of Opera Leipzig 

When stage director Lindy Hume last worked at Seattle Opera, her powerful Rigoletto sparked important #MeToo conversations with a story intended to be devoid of hope. Next up, she’s bringing something completely different to McCaw Hall—a sparkling fairy tale that families will fall in love with. 

“When Rossini composed his Cinderella (La Cenerentola), the alternative title was Goodness Triumphant,” Hume said. “Cinderella ends in a blaze of optimism, which is sorely needed in these times. This show is joyful, quirky, and led by a feisty heroine whose defining character is her goodness.”

Hume’s upcoming production stars audience favorite Ginger Costa-Jackson (Carmen in Seattle Opera’s 2019 Carmen) alternating with Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta (company debut) as the title character. Inspired by the whimsical worlds of Charles Dickens and Tim Burton, Hume sets the familiar classic in and around an emporium filled with multi-level sets, unexpected twists, and Victorian-era costumes, including two jewel-encrusted ball gowns for the heroine. But this fairytale isn’t Disney

Rossini’s original Cinderella

Gertrude Righetti Giorgi (1793-1896) was a contralto and the first to sing the heroine in Rossini’s Cinderella (La Cenerentona). According to Alto: The Voice of Bel Canto by Dan H. Marek, her voice was “full, powerful, and of rare extension, rising from F below the staff to B-flat above it.” Righetti Giorgi had a short career, retiring in 1822 because of ill health, but she created the leading roles in two of the immortal masterpieces of the Italian lyric stage: Rosina in The Barber of Seville and the title role in Cinderella, which premiered on January 25, 1817.

Righetti Giorgi was a spirited advocate for Rossini, and in turn, Rossini appreciated her ideas and strength of character. Righetti Giorgi in fact convinced Rossini to convert an aria that had been written for Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville into Cinderella’s famous celebration of forgiveness, “Non più mesta” (“No Longer Sad”).

Lindy Hume, Stage Director of Seattle Opera's upcoming Cinderella describes Rossini as a composer who was known to portray dimensional, interesting women:  

Cinderella: Disney vs. Rossini

Left: Disney's Cinderella. Right: "Cinderella," San Diego Opera, 2016 © J. Katarzyna Woronowicz Johnson.

Rossini's opera Cinderella (which comes to Seattle Opera this fall), might be a little different than the one you're used to. The narrative familiar to many Americans comes from the 1950 Disney cartoon, which took its inspiration: fairy godmother, transformed pumpkin, glass slipper, midnight spell and all, from Charles Perrault’s 1967 Cendrillon (Rossini was also inspired by Perrault, however, conscious of his theater producer's budget, the composer avoided expensive magic and transformation scenes).⁣

Listen now to our Cinderella podcast

Photo courtesy of Oper Leipzig

Curious to learn more about Rossini's masterpiece, Cinderella (La Cenerentola)? Here's an excerpt of a recent Seattle Opera podcast hosted by Dramaturg Jonathan Dean:

"When introducing Rossini's opera Cinderella (La Cenerentola) it's almost easier to tell you what it's not than what it is. It's not the Cinderella you know from Walt Disney, with a fairy godmother, a pumpkin that turns into a magic carriage, a glass slipper, and an impossibly idealized female lead. This story is much more about human behavior.

Although musically, Rossini's Cinderella and The Barber of Seville are similar, the humor in Cinderella isn't nearly as anarchic or as juvenile as in The Barber of Seville. Unlike that opera, in this one, the hero and heroine actually get to sing a love duet. There's an adorable meet-cute scene for Cinderella and her prince—he's disguised as a servant because he wants to find a woman who loves him for who himself and not for his money. It's love at first sight, Italian style where it's both super sexy and sweetly innocent. Imagine two young Italians discovering each other ... Rossini casts the prince, Don Ramiro, as a high tenor and Cinderella, a mezzo (technically at the first performance, a contralto), their voices almost overlap.

The Genius of French Opera

La Marseillaise (Jean Béraud, 1880)

In honor of Seattle Opera's upcoming premiere of Beatrice and Benedict, today we celebrate French opera! (We're singing B&B in English, since our production kicks off Seattle Celebrates Shakespeare; but it's a very French opera.)

Ever since opera first came to France from Italy in the seventeenth century, the French have had their own wonderful way of blending the arts to create the hybrid which is opera. French opera has always been a balancing act: balancing poetry with music, musical delights with visual spectacle, dance with stasis, public with private, sorrow with high spirits, and above all balancing—and sometimes encouraging the tug-of-war between—passion and reason.

The following survey of French opera history features moments from some of our favorite French operas as performed at Seattle Opera. CLICK HERE to listen to a full playlist without interruption.

GLUCK TAKES REFORM OPERA TO FRANCE

Orphée Leads Eurydice from the Underworld (Corot, 1861)

Opera is fundamentally a fusion of music and drama, words and notes.

Count Ory: History of a Dirty Joke

Some Rossini comedies are G-rated. The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola, and The Italian Girl in Algiers are great operas for little kids. (Enjoy music from our productions of these shows on SOUNDCLOUD.) Not only are those three full of zany humor; their music is extremely accessible to young people, full of catchy tunes, dazzling pyrotechnics, and—most importantly for young listeners—propulsive rhythms. These three operas also teach important lessons. The stories reward characters who display loyalty, perseverance, humility, and quick thinking, whereas characters who are bossy, cruel, selfish, or vain get punished by the great scourge of comedy: laughter. And in Rossini’s Italian comedies, all the characters—even the villains—always live happily ever after.

Count Ory marches to a different drumbeat. Written in French, this sex-obsessed opera really isn’t for little kids.

AIDAN & LINDY HUME INTRODUCE THE WICKED ADVENTURES OF COUNT ORY

In this downloadable podcast, General Director Aidan Lang discusses The Wicked Adventures of Count Ory—coming to Seattle for the first time this summer, in a brand-new Seattle Opera production—with stage director and Rossini specialist Lindy Hume. Listen to Aidan, who’s British, and Lindy, who’s Australian, share their enthusiasm for this delightful and outrageous comedy—or read this transcription of what they had to say.

Hello, everyone, it’s Aidan Lang here. Normally I do these podcasts on my own, but it’s the first day of rehearsal, there’s a music call going on, so I took Lindy Hume, our wonderful director, out of rehearsal to join me here. Lindy, welcome to Seattle!

Thanks, Aidan! It’s great to be here.

How to Distinguish ROSSINI from BELLINI from DONIZETTI

Can you tell a Monet from a Renoir? Are you proud of your ability to differentiate Keats from Shelley? If you want to be a true Bel Canto aficionado, train your ears so you can hear the difference between the music written, in those strict Bel Canto forms, by the leading composers of the period: Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti.

Cinderella - Preparing for the Ball

Seattle Opera Costume Shop Manager Susan Davis illustrates the more playful elements of Joan Guillén’s costume designs for Cinderella and demonstrates how some of the characters' looks evolve throughout the opera. She also reveals what the heroine leaves behind at the ball in this version of the story. (Hint: it's not a glass slipper!)



Learn more about Cinderella on the Seattle Opera Website