La Cenerentola (Opera)

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Work data
Original title: La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo
Title page of the libretto, Milan 1817

Title page of the libretto, Milan 1817

Shape: Dramma giocoso in two acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Gioachino Rossini
Libretto : Jacopo Ferretti
Literary source: Charles Perrault : Cendrillon ,
Charles-Guillaume Etienne: Cendrillon,
Francesco Fiorini: Agatina
Premiere: January 25, 1817
Place of premiere: Rome, Teatro Valle
Playing time: approx. 2 ½ hours
Place and time of the action: Partly in the old Don Magnificos castle and partly in the prince's pleasure house half a mile away
people
  • Don Ramiro, Prince of Salerno ( tenor )
  • Dandini, his servant ( bass )
  • Don Magnifico, Baron de Montefiascone, father of Clorindas and Tisbes (bass)
  • Clorinda, daughter of Don Magnificos ( soprano )
  • Tisbe, daughter of Don Magnificos ( mezzo-soprano )
  • Angelina, called Cenerentola, stepdaughter of Don Magnificos (mezzo-soprano)
  • Alidoro, philosopher and teacher Don Ramiros (bass)
  • Courtiers ( male choir )
  • Court ladies (mute)

La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (German: Cinderella, or The Triumph of the Good ) is an opera (original name: " Dramma giocoso ") in two acts by Gioachino Rossini . The libretto by Jacopo Ferretti based on Charles Perrault's version of the tale Cendrillon and some older librettos. The premiere took place on January 25, 1817 in the Teatro Valle in Rome.

action

The content of the opera is based on the fairy tale Cendrillon (Cinderella) from the Charles Perrault collection , from which, however, all elements of fantasy and magic have been removed. The wicked stepmother, who has already been replaced by a stepfather in other versions of the fairy tale, is an impoverished nobleman here. The prince's tutor, Alidoro, takes on the role of the fairy. The slipper the prince was looking for was replaced by a bracelet.

The following table of contents is based on the libretto of the original version from 1817.

first act

Old one-level hall in the baron's castle with five doors; on the left a fireplace, a mirror table, a flower basket and chairs

Scene 1. In Don Magnifico's run-down castle, his daughters Clorinda and Tisbe dress up (introduction: “No no no: non v'è, non v'è”), while their rag-clad stepsister Cenerentola hears the song of while doing housework the love of a king for a simple girl sings ("Una volta c'era un Re"). The philosopher Alidoro comes disguised as a beggar to look for a suitable wife for his prince. Cenerentola offers him coffee and bread, and the stingy stepsisters then attack her and beat her up. At this moment the prince's envoys bring the invitation to a ball at which the prince wants to choose the most beautiful in the country to be his bride.

Scene 2. Arguing with each other, Clorinda and Tisbe rush to their father and disturb him from a dream that - in the shape of a donkey - seems to promise him a bright future ( Cavatine : “Miei rampolli femminini”). His daughters tell him about the invitation.

Scene 3. Meanwhile, Don Ramiro comes into the house disguised as a servant and finds it seemingly deserted (beginning of the duet Ramiro / Cenerentola: “Tutto è deserto”).

Scene 4. Don Ramiro is enchanted by Cenerentola's simple grace at the first encounter, although she gets confused when she is asked to tell him her name and her origin (continuation of the duet: “Un soave non so che”).

Scene 5. Don Magnifico appears and asks Don Ramiro about the prince. He urges his daughters to hurry.

Scene 6. Accompanied by courtiers, Don Ramiro's servant Dandini, disguised as his master, appears with great pomp to lead Don Magnifico's daughters to the castle (choir and cavatine: “Scegli la sposa, affrettati” - “Come un'ape ne 'giorni d'aprile ”). When Cenerentola asks to be allowed to come with us only for an hour and Alidoro proves through an entry in a long book that Don Magnifico must have three daughters, he heartlessly declares that the third daughter is dead (quintet: "Signore, una parola" - "Nel volto estatico"). All but Alidoro and Cenerentola leave quickly

Scene 7 (original version). Alidoro consoles Cenerentola with the promise to bring her to the festival (aria: "Il mondo è un gran teatro").

Scene 7b (later version). Alidoro assures Cenerentola that the Lord of Creation will not allow innocence to be destroyed (scene and aria: “Là del ciel nell'arcano profondo”).

Room in the Don Ramiros pleasure palace

Scene 8. Dandini with Clorinda and Tisbe as well as Don Magnifico and Don Ramiro enter the castle. After Dandini Don Magnifico raved about the wines available here, he disappears into the wine cellar. Don Ramiro instructs Dandini to watch the guests closely and withdraws.

Scene 9. The supposed Prince Dandini can only fight off the two sisters with great difficulty, each trying to emphasize their own merits.

Alessandro Sanquirico: stage design, first act, third image, Teatro alla Scala 1817

Afternoon reception at Prince Don Ramiro's house

Scene 10. The courtiers appoint Don Magnifico, who has been drinking his way through the prince's wine cellar, as cellar master (Finale I: “Conciossiacosacché trenta botti già gustò”). He dictates to them a decree in which he forbids the adulteration of wine. They should make 6,000 copies of this.

Scene 11. Don Ramiro lets Dandini describe his impression of the sisters (duet: “Zitto zitto, piano piano”). It turns out badly: You are cheeky, capricious and vain. Don Ramiro is astonished when Alidoro has assured him that he will find his bride among the baron's daughters.

Scene 12. The two sisters court Dandini again. In order to evade them, he suggests that the scorned by both should marry his servant. Outraged, they refuse.

Scene 13. Alidoro announces the appearance of an unknown lady, Angelina, who is now festively dressed. After a moment of general uncertainty, Dandini lets them in.

Scene 14. The nobles present are impressed by Angelina's beauty, which is even recognizable through her veil. Alidoro is also speechless.

Scene 15. Don Magnifico puts an end to the shock of the others by calling them to the table. He noticed the similarity of the unknown with Cenerentola. His daughters reject this idea. Dandini also invites you to the table and to dance afterwards. Everyone goes to dinner as if enchanted (Tutti: “Mi par d'essere sognando”).

Second act

Cabinet in the Don Ramiros palace

Scene 1. Still under the impression of the beauty of the stranger, the nobles say goodbye (chorus: "Ah! Della bella incognita"). Don Magnifico and his two daughters puzzle over the identity of the beautiful. The two don't think they need to worry. Her father asks her not to forget him after her ascent and dreams of a life of wealth (aria: “Sia qualunque delle figlie”).

Scene 2. Dandini is now courting Angelina, too, but she frankly confesses that she loves his (supposed) servant Ramiro and is not interested in outward wealth. When Don Ramiro, who overheard the scene, comes out and proposes to her, Angelina gives him a bangle with the request to look for her. If he has found her wearing the same bracelet and then still loves her, she will be his (recitative: "E allor ... se non ti spiaccio ..."). She disappears. Don Ramiro swears to find her again (aria: “Sì, ritrovarla io giuro”).

Scene 3. Dandini and Don Ramiro switch roles again. Don Magnifico urges Dandini to inform him of his decision. Then Dandini reveals himself to the stunned baron as a servant (duet: “Un segreto d'importanza”).

Scene 4. Alidoro waits impatiently for Dandini to return.

Ground floor fireplace room in the Don Magnificos house

Scene 5. Cenerentola, dressed in rags again, reflects her love for the prince's squire (Canzone: “Una volta c'era un re”).

Scene 6. The step-sisters and father have also returned home. Because of Cenerentola's resemblance to the stranger, they give her angry looks.

Scene 7. A storm is approaching (temporal / storm music). As a result, the prince's carriage has an accident. He and his squire seek protection in the house of Don Magnificos, who is surprised at the unexpected role reversal.

Scene 8. When Cenerentola brings an armchair, Don Ramiro immediately recognizes her and her bracelet. Again there is general confusion (sextet: "Siete voi? / Voi prence siete?" - "Questo è un nodo avviluppato"). When the sisters and their father try to save the situation and demean Cenerentola in front of the prince, he gets angry. Angelina, however, asks him to forgive her relatives: the good should triumph (“Ah, signor, s'è ver che in petto”). Don Ramiro asks Angelina to become his wife and to rule with him. He takes her away with him, followed by Dandini and Don Magnifico.

Scene 9. Alidoro confronts the retarded sisters Tisbe and Clorinda and explains to them their hard-hearted behavior towards Angelina. You now have to come to terms with the changed situation and ask for forgiveness in front of the throne. This is unbearable for Clorinda. She rather hopes for a turn of fate (aria: "Sventurata! Mi credea") and runs away. Tisbe, on the other hand, has lost her pride. She agrees with Alidoro's proposal.

Throne room in Don Ramiros palace

Scene 10. Don Ramiro and Cenerentola sit richly dressed on sumptuous chairs. On the right are Dandini and the Nobles. Don Magnifico stands in a corner, confused. Alidoro, Clorinda and the ashamed Tisbe also appear. A choir about the triumph of the good opens the finale (choir: “Della fortuna istabile”). Angelina asks Don Ramiro again for forgiveness for her father and her sisters ("Nacqui all'affanno" - "Non più mesta"). The opera ends with a joy choir.

layout

Instrumentation

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Music numbers

The opera contains the following musical numbers:

first act

  • Introduction: "No no no: non v'è, non v'è" (scene 1)
  • Cavatine (Magnifico): "Miei rampolli femminini" (scene 2)
  • Duet (Ramiro, Cenerentola): "Tutto è deserto" (scene 3) - "Un soave non so che" (scene 4)
  • Choir and Cavatine (Dandini): "Scegli la sposa, affrettati" - "Come un'ape ne 'giorni d'aprile" (scene 6)
  • Quintet (Cenerentola, Magnifico, Dandini, Ramiro, Alidoro): "Signore, una parola" - "Nel volto estatico" (scene 6)
  • Aria (Alidoro): "Il mondo è un gran teatro" (Scene 7, music: Luca Agolini)
  • Final I.
    • Choir: "Conciossiacosacché trenta botti già gustò" (scene 10)
    • Duet (Ramiro, Dandini): "Zitto zitto, piano piano" (scene 11)
    • Tutti: "Mi par d'essere sognando" (scene 15)

Second act

  • Introduction. Choir of Nobles (chorus): “Ah! della bella incognita "(Scene 1, music: Luca Agolini)
  • Aria (Magnifico): "Sia qualunque delle figlie" (scene 1)
  • Recitative and aria (Ramiro): "E allor ... se non ti spiaccio ..." - "Sì, ritrovarla io giuro" (scene 2)
  • Duet (Dandini, Magnifico): "Un segreto d'importanza" (scene 3)
  • Canzone (Cenerentola): "Una volta c'era un re" (scene 5)
  • Temporal / storm music: "Svergognata mia prole" (scene 7)
  • Sextet: “Siete voi? / Voi prence siete? "-" Questo è un nodo avviluppato "(scene 8)
  • Aria (Clorinda): “Sventurata! mi credea "(Scene 9, music: Luca Agolini)
  • Finale II (scene 10)
    • Choir: "Della fortuna istabile"
    • Rondo (Cenerentola, choir): "Nacqui all'affanno" - "Non più mesta"

music

Although the original name as “dramma giocoso” indicates an opera buffa , La Cenerentola is not a purely comic opera. Don Magnifico and Dandini are in the Italian Buffo tradition, but the main characters Cenerentola and Don Ramiro are drawn with soul. So it is more of an opera semiseria . With the upscale coloratura style of the title role there is also an element of the opera seria . The Rossini biographer Richard Osborne described La Celerentola as "the most human of all of Rossini's great comedies".

Music numbers worth mentioning are:

  • In the Cavatine des Magnifico “Miei rampolli femminini” (first act, scene 2), a dream provides the “framework for a lot of chatter, skilful wind passages, sudden exuberant tutti, strutting pizzicati and this particular mania of verbal and musical onomatopoeia that he still appreciates so much. "
  • The duet Don Ramiro / Cenerentola “Un soave non so che” (first act, scene 4) is “an excellent example of Rossini's mastery of developing a skillfully characterized, dramatic ensemble.” Cenerentola's confusion is exacerbated by “senseless chattering and falling tone sequences” shown.
  • Dandini's Cavatine "Come un'ape ne 'giorni d'aprile" (first act, scene 6) is a "parody of the opera seria's gossip".
  • In the quintet “Signore, una parola” (first act, scene 6), the orchestra comments on the lies of Cenerentola's relatives. After a general break, the ensemble movement “Nel volto estatico” follows with a brilliant stretta.
  • The duet “Zitto, zitto, piano, piano” in the finale of the first act (scene 11) is considered by Richard Osborne to be the “most brilliant of all Rossinian conspiracy duets”.
  • Don Ramiro's three-part aria “Sì, ritrovarla io giuro” (second act, scene 2) is remarkable for its many high tenor tones.
  • The duet (Dandini, Magnifico) “Un segreto d'importanza” (second act, scene 3) must, according to Richard Osborne, “be considered the climax of this or any other comic opera”. He particularly highlights the transition from Dandini's “un segreto d'importanza” to Magnifico's Stretta “Di quest 'ingiuria, di quest' affronto”.
  • In the sextet “Questo è un nodo avviluppato” (second act, scene 8), the characters express their amazement in a comical game with the rolled Italian “R”.
  • The finale with the final rondo “Nacqui all'affanno” - “Non più mesta” (second act, scene 10) is a great scene for Cenerentola and the entire ensemble.

Work history

The libretto for La Cenerentola is by Jacopo Ferretti . It is based on Charles Perrault's fairy tale Cendrillon as well as two libretti a few years older: Cendrillon by Charles-Guillaume Etienne, which was set to music by Nicolas Isouard in Paris in 1810 and Agatina, ovvero La virtù premiata by Francesco Fiorini, which was performed in the 1814 in the Setting by Stefano Pavesi in Milan. The characters Dandini and Alidoro, not included in the fairy tale, appear in Agatina , and the slipper had already been replaced - by a rose.

Rossini signed the contract for the opera, which was to be performed at the opening of the carnival season 1816/1817, on February 29, 1816, shortly after the first performances of Il barbiere di Siviglia . The fee for the composition, rehearsal and accompaniment of the first three performances on the harpsichord was to be 500 scudi . However, he left Rome a little later and did not return until mid-December to start work on the work.

Ferretti wrote a paragraph in his memoirs about the choice of subject and the origin of the libretto, which was published in 1898 by Alberto Cametti. Accordingly, an opera on the subject of Francesca di Foix was originally planned under the title Ninetta alla corte - "one of the most immoral comedies in French theater". Because of the problematic issue, the impresario Cartoni, Rossini, Ferretti and the ecclesiastical censor met two days before Christmas 1816 to discuss the changes that were needed. Since this would have robbed the opera of its content, Ferretti suggested 20 to 30 alternative themes, all of which were either too serious, too expensive or unsuitable for the intended singers.

“I got tired of making suggestions and half asleep mumbled in the middle of a yawn: Cinderella. Rossini, who had climbed into bed to think better, sat up as straight as Aligheris Farinata. 'Would you have the courage to write me a Cinderelle?' For my part, I asked him: 'Would you have the courage to compose it?' He: 'When [can I] [have] a draft?' Me: 'If I don't fall asleep, tomorrow morning.' Rossini: 'Good night!' He wrapped himself in his blanket, stretched out his limbs, and fell asleep peacefully, like the gods with Homer. I drank another glass of tea, agreed to the price, shook Cartoni's hand and ran home.
There, good mocha replaced Jamaica tea. I walked back and forth and back and forth in my bedroom with my arms crossed, and when God wanted it that way and I saw the picture in front of me, I wrote down the design for La Cenerentola. The next day I sent him to Rossini. He was satisfied with it. "

- Jacopo Ferretti : Memoirs, quoted from Herbert Weinstock: Rossini - A Biography

Ferretti also wrote that the opera in its original version should be called Angiolina, ossia La Bontà in trionfo . But because the censors assumed an allusion to a contemporary heartbreaker, the name Angiolina was removed from the title. He finished the libretto in 22 days, while Rossini needed 24 days to compose it. According to Ferretti, the composition of the recitatives and three of the sixteen musical numbers was done by the Roman composer Luca Agolini. This is the aria of Alidoro “Il mondo è un gran teatro” (first act, scene 7), the choir of the nobles “Ah! della bella incognita ”(second act, scene 1) and the aria of Clorinda“ Sventurata! mi credea ”(second act, scene 9). In addition, Rossini again took over parts of older works: the overture comes from La gazzetta . Their crescendo appears again in the finale of the first act. Angelina's final rondo “Non più mesta” is an adaptation of Almaviva's last aria “Ah il più lieto” from Il barbiere di Siviglia .

For a performance in the Roman Teatro Apollo in December 1820, Rossini replaced the aria Alidoros composed by Agolini "Il mondo è un gran teatro" with his own aria ("Là del ciel nell'arcano profondo", first act, scene 7b), the text of which like the original libretto by Ferretti.

The soprano Caterina Rossi (Clorinda), the mezzo-soprano Teresa Mariani (Tisbe), the contralto Geltrude Righetti-Giorgi (Cenerentola), the tenor Giacomo Guglielmi (Ramiro) and the basses sang at the premiere on January 25, 1817 in the Teatro Valle in Rome Giuseppe de Begnis (Dandini), Andrea Verni (Magnifico) and Zenobio Vittarelli (Alidoro). The performance was a fiasco. Ferretti reported on the fears of the performers, who had to perform an extremely difficult work and feared a conspiracy by Rossini's opponents: “Except for the maestro, who heeded the words of Horace adversis rerum immersibilis undis at all his stormy premieres, everyone's heart beat on him melodramma participants quickly on this fateful evening, and the sweat of death dripped from their pale foreheads. ”According to Ferretti, only the largo and stretta of the quintet, the final rondo and the largo of the sextet were successful. All other pieces were ignored or whistled. Rossini, on the other hand, remained confident and then said to him: “Fools! Before the carnival is over, you will love her ... It will not be a year before you sing her from Lilibeo to Dora, and in two years she will be loved in France and wonderful in England. The impresarios will fight for them, and even more so the prime donne . ”Just twelve days after the premiere, the opera was praised in the newspapers and performed at least twenty times by the end of the season.

The opera quickly spread throughout Italy and soon enjoyed worldwide success. It was performed in Barcelona on April 15, 1818, on January 8, 1820 at the King's Theater am Haymarket in London, on August 29, 1820 in German in Vienna, in Paris in 1822, in Berlin and Moscow in 1825, in Buenos Aires and in 1826 by the Manuel Garcías theater company in New York. In February 1844 it was the first opera to be performed in Australia. During Rossini's lifetime there were performances in Italian, English, German, Russian, Polish, French and Czech. After Rossini's death in 1868, enthusiasm slackened significantly for half a century, but La Cenerentola made its way back into the repertoire of opera houses as early as the 1920s .

From 1830, a pasticcio version entitled Cinderella, or The Fairy and the Little Glass Slipper was played for 15 years at Covent Garden in London and in some cities in the United States . The libretto was an adaptation of Ferretti's text by Michael Rophino Lacy. The music consisted of pieces by La Cenerentola , Armida , Maometto II and Guillaume Tell .

Recordings

La Cenerentola has appeared many times on phonograms. Operadis lists 53 recordings in the period from 1948 to 2009. Therefore, only those recordings that have been particularly distinguished in specialist magazines, opera guides or the like or that are worth mentioning for other reasons are listed below.

literature

  • Gioachino Rossini: La Cenerentola. Version for chamber opera in German . Ricordi, Munich 2009, ISMN 979-0-2042-8206-7.

Web links

Commons : La Cenerentola  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ Herbert Weinstock and others ascribe the libretto of Pavesi's opera to Agatina Felice Romani . Recent research refutes this. See Annalisa Lo Piccolo: Backstage: "Agatina" di Pavesi, progenitrice della Cenerentola on Opera Disc (Italian)
  2. ↑ With Ferretti called "Vasto teatro è il mondo".
  3. ↑ Actually "adversis rerum immersabilis undis", in German about "unsinkable by the adverse waves of things".

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Richard Osborne: Rossini - life and work. Translated from the English by Grete Wehmeyer. List Verlag, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-471-78305-9 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Charles Osborne : The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini. Amadeus Press, Portland, Oregon, 1994, ISBN 978-0-931340-71-0 .
  3. ↑ a b La Cenerentola. In: Harenberg opera guide. 4th edition. Meyers Lexikonverlag, 2003, ISBN 3-411-76107-5 .
  4. ↑ a b c d e f Richard Osborne:  Cenerentola, La. In: Grove Music Online (English; subscription required).
  5. ↑ a b La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo. Notes on the critical edition by Alberto Zedda , accessed February 5, 2016.
  6. ↑ La Cenerentola. Music numbers on librettidopera.it (compared with the libretto and supplemented by the pieces mentioned in the literature), accessed on February 5, 2016.
  7. ^ Cendrillon (Nicolas Isouard) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
  8. ↑ Agatina, ovvero La virtù premiata (Stefano Pavesi) in Corago information system of the University of Bologna
  9. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Herbert Weinstock: Rossini - A biography. Translated by Kurt Michaelis. Kunzelmann, Adliswil 1981 (1968), ISBN 3-85662-009-0 .
  10. ^ Alberto Cametti: Un poeta melodrammatico romano. Appunti e note in gran parte inedite sopra Jacopo Ferretti ei musicisti del suo tempo. Ricordi, Milan 1898
  11. ^ Record of the performance on January 25, 1817 in the Teatro Valle in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna .
  12. ^ La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (Gioachino Rossini) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna . Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  13. ^ Discography on La Cenerentola at Operadis, accessed on November 7, 2016.
  14. ↑ a b c d Gioacchino Rossini. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , volume 20.