Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
New LA Opera Production Reinvents The 'Cinderella' Story
From the spectral whiteface makeup and the gunmetal cloaks of their sailor suits in "The Flying Dutchman" on Saturday night to the blue hair and sunglasses accompanying their livery outfits in "La Cenerentola" the following afternoon, the distinguished men's chorus of the LA Opera will be sporting a wide array of distinctly whacked-out styles this weekend. But while most of the production choices in "Dutchman" are just weird, designer Joan Guillen's over-the-top costumes seem much more appropriately whimsical for Rossini's take on the classic "Cinderella" fairy tale.
"La Cenerentola" is on exactly no one's list of great opera scores, but it really is pretty funny. Director Joan Font's production is not an argument for the work's reevaluation, but rather a demonstration of how a contemporary aesthetic can invigorate the latent charms of a bel canto showpiece.
Take the rats, for instance. We have no record that Rossini considered including human-size rats in his opera, but Font and choreographer Xevi Dorca give prominent stage time to half a dozen silent dancers dressed up as rodents, with long, pointy carnival masks, who scurry alongside our Cinderella through despair and triumph alike. See this production now and you'll likely never encounter another interpretation of "Cenerentola" again without thinking, "Sure, but where are the rats?"
Of course the whole anarcho-psychedelic spirit of this "Cinderella" story would quickly collapse without the commitment of all the singing performers, and thankfully the whole cast on stage at LA Opera is clearly on board with this production's aims. Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsay's performance in the title role on opening night indicated the emergence of a genuine rising star, with a vocal power that never overwhelmed the properly modulated winsome sweetness of her character.
Support for LAist comes from
Stacey Tappan and LA Opera regular Ronnita Nicole Miller don't let their hilarious shock wigs get the best of them as Cinderella's evil stepsisters, and Alessandro Corbelli is nicely buffoonish as Don Magnifico, their evil stepfather (yes). Tenor René Barbera effectively plays the Prince more as a comic than a romantic figure. Vito Priante is brilliantly funny, and in very fine voice, as the servant Dandini who exchanges identities with the prince before and at the ball in order to trick and test the ladies of the land who are angling for a spot on the throne.
More than any of the principal solo arias, the most memorable passages in "La Cenerentola" are some of the duets and the "ensemble" numbers. Dandini's extended revelation of his and the prince's identity ruse, prompting Magnifico's horrified realization that he and his daughters have been buttering up the wrong man the whole time, is played by Corbelli and Priante for all the laughs of a classic comic routine. And both the quintet at the end of Act One, where Magnifico rejects Cinderella's plea to be allowed to attend the prince's ball, and the Act Two sextet, in which all the main characters acknowledge that the whirl of events is just a bit too much for them, are sung entertainingly and with precision.
LA Opera Music Director James Conlon writes in his program notes that he's been waiting his entire career for a second crack at conducting Rossini's "Barber of Seville," and his light, sure touch in "La Cenerentola" right now suggests that we might eagerly share this anticipation with him.
Lindsay sings the title role in LA Opera's "La Cenerentola" tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. before Georgian mezzo Ketevan Kemoklidze takes over for three more performances in April. Tickets start at $19.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist