Cinderella by Opera North is musical magic
Privately Owned, Independent and Husband & Wife Run Providing High Quality Affordable Funerals Private Chapels of Rest Perfect Choice Pre Paid Funeral Plans Sky Ingram as Clorinda, Wallis Giunta as Angelina, Henry Waddington as Don Magnifico, Sunnyboy Dladla as Prince Ramiro and Quirijn de Lang as Dandini with the Chorus of Opera North in its production of Cinderella Event: By: Venue: By: Rating: OSSINI’S La Cenerentola (Cinderella) is the last in Opera North’s series of three fairy-tale operas.
The simple shared setting (by Giles Cable) makes for flexible programming, but it has worked against the supernatural elements. Cinderella is a wonderful production for many reasons, one of them that Rossini took out the supernatural himself, leaving a very human, very funny comedy full of infectious music.
The changes to the familiar Cinderella story are too numerous to list, but, apart from the wicked stepmother being replaced by a buffoonish stepfather, the most important change removes the Fairy Godmother and her magic tricks. Instead a philosopher, Alidoro, sees Angelina (Cinderella)’s great qualities and smoothes her way to becoming the Prince’s bride. The only ‘magic’ in that sense that remains in Aletta Collins’ production is the visualisation of Angelina’s dreams in a mirror. As for magic from the music and the performance there is no shortage of that.
Making her UK debut, the Canadian singer Wallis Giunta is superb as Angelina, her control of the mezzo coloratura lines apparently effortless, her acting totally natural and her sense of enjoyment never far away. In the final “Non piu mesta” some Angelinas use its elaborate ornamentation as an affirmation of power; Giunta just finds it full of joy and fun, dancing a few jaunty steps while negotiating the aria’s complexities.
Rossini tenor roles, with their enormous range and rapid articulation, are so demanding that a generation or so ago the word was that there were no Rossini tenors! Sunnyboy Dladla, a South African singer also making his UK debut as Prince Ramiro, is not always fully at ease in the part, but fields a ringing romantic tenor and triumphs in the challenging aria, “Si, ritrovaria io giuro”.
The remaining cast members are established favourites at Opera North and all excellent: Sky Ingram and Amy J Payne, bringing vocal assurance and perfectly judged humour to the Ugly Sisters; Henry Waddington, a Don Magnifico of weighty grace and sly details; Quirijn de Lang, all witty detachment as Dandini; John Savournin as Alidoro, running the show from the sidelines, vocally rich, dramatically deadpan.
Aletta Collins’ re-setting the Don Magnifico residence as a modern-day dance parlour works perfectly and her use of stylised movement and brief dance routines charms and entertains. Conductor Wyn Davies, savouring the splendid orchestra in front of him, matches the production in exploring detail and building momentum.
Cinderella is at Leeds Grand Theatre on February 21 and 23 and at The Lowry at Salford Quays on March 9 and 11.