A downtrodden woman whose life is made nearly unbearable by mean stepsisters and an evil stepmother is made anew by a fairy godmother wielding a magic wand, giving her the chance to meet a handsome prince who will take her away to a new life. For most people, that combination of characters immediately brings to mind the classic fairy tale "Cinderella." But magic is replaced by realism in a comic version of the tale being staged by the Yale Opera Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26.
Yale Opera's production of Cinderella, which will be directed by Joshua Major, is a version by Gioachino Rossini and his librettist Jacopo Ferretti called "La Cenerentola," written in 1817. The synopsis of "La Cenerentola" differs in several ways from the familiar Cinderella fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm. Though the nasty stepsisters remain, the role of the evil stepmother is replaced by that of Don Magnifico, the girls' father, who is a character drawn "straight out of the ranks of the commedia dell arte," according to John Baril, opera coordinator at the School of Music and the conductor of "La Cenerentola." And because Rossini objected to supernatural elements in opera, the fairy godmother is substituted by the flesh-and-bones Alidoro, the mentor and principal adviser to the handsome prince, and who sets the drama into motion.
The character of Cenerentola herself, while mistreated, is not as naive and helpless as the traditional fairy-tale Cinderella. Rather, she is a young woman of "uncommonly mature wisdom and keen foresight," says Mr. Baril.
While Mr. Baril has conducted a number of operatic scenes at the School of Music and is a former conductor for the Nevada Opera, "La Cenerentola" is the first full-length opera he is conducting at Yale. Like other Rossini operas, he says, "La Cenerentola" is "a bubbly and vivacious work" and an "audience pleaser." Though the work has never been as popular in this century as Rossini's "The Barber of Seville," "it stands on par with that work as well as Rossini's other comic masterpieces 'The Italian Girl in Algiers,' 'The Turk in Italy' and the recently popular 'Il viaggio a Reims,'" says Mr. Baril, noting that Ferretti wrote the verses for "La Cenerentola" in only 22 days and Rossini completed the music for the opera in only 24 days.
Although the work itself was produced quickly, the opera requires a lot of preparation by its performers, however, Mr. Baril says.
"It's a very challenging work because it involves both a combination of comic timing and virtuosic singing," he explains. In fact, because the part of Cenerentola requires a coloratura mezzo- soprano with "the highest degree of technique and vocal control," a dearth of capable singers led to the opera being only rarely performed until the Bel Canto revival in the 1960s, Mr. Baril adds.
Another challenge of the Yale production will be to make the music, which will be played solely on two pianos and a harpsichord -- sound like the orchestra it was written for.
"It's not easy to make pianos and a harpsichord sound like an orchestra," explains Mr. Baril. "But our lead pianist, Mark Lawson also a lecturer in music , is a master at doing the impossible; he's the creme de la creme of operatic pianists." Performing on the piano and harpsichord will be Alan Darling, lecturer in the School of Music and in the department of music, who is "equally talented," says Mr. Baril.
The opera's director, Joshua Major, began his stage directing career with "La Cenerentola" at Opera Omaha. He is presently on the music faculty at the University of Michigan and oversees the Opera Program there. He has directed operas in the United States, Canada and Israel. Conductor Baril was also a tenor who has performed in numerous operas. In addition to conducting and coordinating opera productions, he has served as a chorus master for several operas.
The cast for "La Cenerentola" includes Teresa Buchholz as Cenerentola; Joanna Mongiardo as Clorinda; Monica Bellner as Tisbe; Brian Downen as Don Ramiro; James Taylor as Dandini; Patrick Carfizzi as Don Magnifico; and James Creswell as Alidoro.
The performance will be sung in Italian. Shows both nights are at 8 p.m. in Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall, 470 College St. Tickets are $10 general admission; $5 for students. To order tickets, call 432-4158.