U of L Opera Workshop offering three interpretations of ‘Cinderella’
Witches, fairies, kings and queens — they’re all ready for Lethbridge audiences this week. No fewer than three Cinderella characters will be on stage as well, and three Prince Charmings.
Impossible? Not for two “Fairy Tales and Magic” concerts Friday and Saturday at the University of Lethbridge.
Audiences at the Opera Workshop presentations in Recital Hall will also be offered a memory from a recent full orchestra production, and a preview scene from this winter’s major production, “Candide.” All selections will be in English. Cinderella will be wearing a splendid gown, of course, and those magic slippers. But Blaine Hendsbee, director of the music faculty’s Opera Workshop since 2000, explains there will really be three interpretations, with three vocalists.
The first, from nearly 200 years ago, is the musical creation of composer Gioachino Rossini. The second was penned 50 years later by Jules Massenet. The opening scenes from both serve to introduce the main characters.
But the third, written by Pauline Viardot and debuted in 1904, is the story in one act — right from the opening music to the happy ending.
From more recent times, the concert includes a scene from “Into the Woods,” by Stephen Sondheim. Hendsbee also includes a Gilbert and Sullivan selection in most of the opera program’s fall concerts, and this year it’s music from “Iolanthe,” the story of a fairy who sinned by marrying a mortal.
Audiences will also see the Hansel and Gretel story, set to music by the original Engelbert Humperdinck when it was presented here several years ago. This time it’s reinterpreted, set inside a health institution. The words and music are by 20th century American creators.
And they’ll be offered a scene from Leonard Bernstein’s celebrated “Candide,” to be performed in full this winter in collaboration with the Lethbridge Symphony Orchestra.
The concert program offers plenty of variety, Hendsbee says — and that’s what the students need.
“They get a real review of the whole operatic literature” over four or five years, as well as musical theatre and more contemporary works.
Fortunately, he adds, a program with highlights from all those genres is what local audiences love to hear.
Lethbridge vocalist Joseph Adams, who plays Prince Charming in one of the scenes, says Opera Workshop productions have built a strong audience base over the years. About one-third of it is community members who are opera fans, one-third is music students, and another third a cross-section of postsecondary students from all programs.
“We have a pretty loyal core of people who attend.”
Tickets for this weekend’s performances, both at 7:30 p.m., are available from the U of L box office in person, online at ulethbridge.ca/tickets or by phone at 403-329-2616.
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