Rossini: La Cenerentola

What a joy it is to review a performance such as this! Everything works and the opera emerges as the truly great masterpiece it is. Glyndebourne has a long history of doing well by Rossini from their early days. The great Italian conductor Vittorio Gui presided over celebrated revivals of Barbiere, Le Comte Ory, Cenerentola, L'Italiana..... Indeed if one were to list the "specialties" of the house, one can say that Glyndebourne serves Mozart and Rossini better than any other fare, and better than most other houses. This 2005 Production of Cenerentola is no exception.Vladimir Jurowski, the young conductor, has a marked affinity for Rossini. His performance smiles and makes the London Philharmonic perform with a clarity, precision, and elasticity that unifies the performance and makes it quite thrilling. One is aware of the amount of rehearsal that must have gone into this production as voices and orchestra are so perfectly integrated into a musical whole...... no mere accompaniment here. In many ways it is Jurowsky's show.Peter Hall sets the action in period and it works very well. As we all know, the magical elements of the Perrault tale have been eschewed, and what results is indeed, like Don Giovanni, a "dramma giocoso," profoundly humane and very funny in a wise, mature way. There is no room here for pratfalls and slapstick that so often marr Rossini performances. The sets are simple and elegant, and the costumes are subservient to the characters..... nothing exaggerated or gauche here.The cast is uniformly outstanding: virtuosic singers, naturalistic actors, young and handsome. One cannot ask for more. Angelina (La Cenerentola) is the great Rumanian mezzo Ruxandra Donose; Don Ramiro (The Prince) is the remarkable young Russian coloratura tenor, Maxim Mironov.... he's still in his twenties. Luciano di Pascuale as Don Magnifico and Simone Alberghini as Dandini, play off each other superbly with subtle humor. The sisters are neither ugly nor charicatures...... they are spoilt kids caught in a charade they are destined to loose.The blu ray presentation is superb. Colors are clearly defined, variations in hues are amazing. The sound is spectacular with air and separation between instruments like I have never heard in home video before.In short, this is a great performance of a musical masterpiece by an excellent cast of a clever, elegant, witty, rich Peter Hall production, musically, brilliantly executed by Vladimir Jurowski whose opera work one would wish would become more common in the USA.Cenerentola is probably Rossini's most congenial, singualrly humane, opera. Indeed it is a masterpiece, masterfully realized in this performance.

This production reveals why the close ups of video and the increased detail of blu ray can be, in some cases, a mixed blessing.First, the good. This is a superb performance on many levels. The conducting, singing, choreography and staging are at the very highest level. And, the picture and sound are superb. I would think that seeing this live from anywhere other than the first row, would be a rare and wonderful experience.Second, the not so good. As wonderful an actress and singer as Ruxandra Donose is, up close, she appears to be the mother of the two sisters, rather than a younger sibling. The other distraction, for me, was the costuming of Don Magnifico, the step-father. At a distance, I'm sure the extreme filth and raggedness of his costume, wig and make-up adds to the baffoonish quality of his character. Up close, seeing the wig and makeup peeling from his face and neck is not so appealing. Minor quibbles but enough so that when I see this again on my home video, I will sit farther back from the screen!

This Glybourne production is highly enjoyable with the role of Don Magnifico sung by Luciano Di Pasquale an outstanding singing and comic success followed closely by the excellent performances of the two "Ugly" step sisters who are anything but ugly.The title role of Cinderella sung by the very beautiful Ruxandra Donose was a bit of a disappointment to me. Perhaps her voice was deliberately kept low key as she was often outshone by the sisters although she did come out more strongly in the finale. Those with good surround sound systems will appreciate the dramatic storm scene in the last act and overall I have no quarrel with the audio quality. Very imaginative sets.Rossini at his best and a great starter opera for those interested in coming to terms with the genre. Highly recommended.

This recording of La Cenerentola at Glyndebourne was made in 2005 and this was a new production for Glyndebourne at that time. The setting is strictly traditional in feel and period with appropriate costuming and sets. On that subject, the Baron's home is particularly down-at heel in this production and the baron himself is especially unkempt and this therefore underlines the contrast between his circumstances, and therefore Cinderella's, with those of the prince and therefore Cinderella's potential final home.The cast is a very strong one and is therefore capable of favourable comparison with Bartoli's portrayal at Houston to take an example of strong casting from an earlier generation.As already touched upon, the baron at home is portrayed as essentially unkempt. However he remains blissfully unaware of the impression he gives and exudes an over-developed ego. These characteristics are well brought out by Luciano Di Pasquale who has just the right kind of sonorous voice to carry the role vocally. The three other leading men, Alidoro played by Nathan Berg, Dandini played by Simone Alberghini and Don Ramiro played by Maxim Mironov are all strong characterisations as appropriate to their roles. Thus Simone Alberghini brings a great deal of enjoyable and humorous exaggeration to the role of Dandini, Maxim Mironov brings a passionate desire to undo injustice to his role as Don Ramiro and Nathan Berg brings a young man's relatively inexperienced enthusiasm to the role of the prince. These portrayals work well dramatically and are all sung and acted with complete conviction.The two sisters, Clorinda played by Raquela Sheeran and Tisbe played by Lucia Cirillo, provide an on-going element of comedy as Rossini intended and knock sparks off each other and also work well in this way with Dandini. Both these singers have a fine sense of comedic timing and so avoid heavy-handed overstatement. This makes the whole portrayal far more believable as well as amusing. Both are fine singers as well as actresses and are well able to match the equally gifted pair in the Houston production mentioned above.Cinderella as portrayed by Ruxandra Donose, is a stronger character than usual and is able to stand up to her two step sisters as well as attempting to fight her cause with the baron before the ball. This is more acceptable as an interpretation than some weaker `servant' portrayals and is more in line with a modern woman and her generation's perception of the role of women of any sort. She brings a mature mezzo soprano voice to the part which fits in well with the stronger overall concept. Her technical control is excellent and she despatches her extended final aria with considerable aplomb without in any way losing her essential moral goodness and generosity.The whole cast, orchestra and singers are driven at an exhilarating pace by Vladimir Jurowski. At times this must border on the vocal limits for enunciation of the words and it is with an element of jaw-dropping amazement that one witnesses feats of successful vocal gymnastics which still manage to just avoid being a touch too fast for effect. This is exhilarating stuff and one of the many wonders of the performance.There are the usual bonuses from Opus Arte in the form of an illustrated synopsis and cast gallery. In addition there is a 25 minute documentary during which Jurowski and the producer,Peter Hall explain the ideas behind this production.The camera work is totally involving and the imaging is crisp and offers good colour depth and definition. The sound is presented in full-range surround 5.0 and stereo formats and clearly reproduces both the vocal and instrumental detail.This is a very fine modern alternative to the well-established older versions still available. It brings a considerable advantage in terms of recording technology and delivers an exhilarating musical and dramatic experience for the viewer. The audience clearly loved it and I would expect future purchasers to respond in the same way. For these reasons it seems that this disc must deserve a full 5 star rating.

One point that the 5 reviewers before me forgot to mention here is the quality of conducting and sound recording. Jurowsky according to me is the star of this production, right from the overture to the finale. Yes, the singers have sometimes given him a few problems here and there, but overall, one of the best recorded Cenerentolas that I have come across. His rendition is crisp, clear and balanced throughout.The Staging is simply superb. Thank god we do not have to content with abstractions, slacks and stuff. The sets and costumes stick to Rossini's period.The singing is uniformly good, but not the greatest. One of the Cenerentolas that I benchmark for comparison is the one from Glyndebourne itself. Remember Kathleen Kuhlmann as Angelina (Cenerentola)? That one. Old, but really gold. Not that this one lacks in its approach, it is just that I liked the Coloraturas and singing of that production a lot better. Among the more recent ones produced, the one sung by Joy DiDonato and Florez and the Garancia and Brownlee are not as good overall as this one, although the role of Cenerentola is carried well by both DiDonato and Garancia.I loved the two bad sisters in this one. They really show themselves as 'bad' which is 'good' for viewers and the production alike.The clarity overall is good when stage is lighted well, but goes grainy where light is inadequate. I was wondering if they had sent me a DVD by mistake when the Overture was going on.,But happily, it redeems itself on stage.Overall, a very good production,and worth buying for its own sake.

A production that highlights the wonderful music of this opera, sung very well by all the cast but especially by Ruxandra Donose. There is very good acting skills shown by the singers which combined with their enthusiasm shown makes this a disc that deserves repeated viewing. I would recommend this to every lover of bel canto opera since this is definitely one for your collection.

wonderful music, great production

Being a Rossini fan and having seen and heard several different performances of this opera, I found this to be an excellent performance in all repects - if I have one critism it is that the orchestra and soloists sometimes lose the tempo but this is of no major problem.In all other respects I found this a good purchase and have no problems in recommending it.