You’ll have a ball with this Cinders

Cinderella (Glyndebourne Tour) Verdict: Cinders with bite HHHH✩

There’s magic in the air as the Glyndebourne Tour (the festival’s egalitarian, talent-spotting offspring) celebrates its 50th birthday with a provocative production of this rarely performed fairy tale opera.

Massenet’s mellifluous score is a sugar-coated, chocolate-box confection of the lilting and the lyrical. But director Fiona shaw ensures a harder bite with an absorbing, gender-bending, psychodrama where fantasies and realities collide.

Nicky Gillibrand’s costumes add a contemporary resonance (the wicked stepmother and ugly sisters are cigarette-puffing, selfie-taking chavs) while designer Jon Bausor’s revolving glass towers cleverly mirror and reflect shaw’s deceptive and elusive stagecraft.

Massenet was in love with the female voice, and the opera is dominated by women. even Prince Charming is a mezzo-soprano in a trouser role (though he ends up in a skirt).

And there are superbly sung portrayals here, notably from Alix Le saux as Cinderella, eleonore Pancrazi as her puzzled Prince, Caroline Wettergreen fearlessly flying her coloratura hurdles as the Fairy Godmother and, hilariously strutting her stuff in a basque, Agnes Zwierko as the bonkers, shopaholic stepmum. William Dazeley is best of the men as Cinderella’s much put-upon Dad. The dancers are terrific, too.

The Tour (and a three-opera repertoire) will be at its sussex base until November 3 before hitting the road. For details, see