Royal Opera House: Cendrillon (Cinderella)

Massenet’s Cendrillon is a touching, romantic interpretation of the much-loved story of Cinderella. The opera is full of wonderful music, from the impassioned love duet for Cendrillon and her Prince, to the coloratura effervescence of the Fairy Godmother and the brilliantly-scored ‘March of the Princesses’. Director Laurent Pelly pays tribute to the opera’s fairytale origins, setting his production literally within a storybook.

When Cendrillon was staged by The Royal Opera in July 2011 it was the first time the opera had been performed at Covent Garden. It was released to cinemas six months later in January 2012. In this recording Bertrand de Billy conducts Massenet’s sparkling score with a wonderfully light touch. The superb cast includes Royal Opera favourite Joyce DiDonato as Cendrillon, Alice Coote as her ardent Prince Charming, Ewa Podlés in gloriously comic form as Cendrillon’s snobbish Stepmother Madame de la Haltière and Eglise Gutierrez as a sassy Fairy Godmother (La Fée).

Language:
Sung in French with English surtitles