Audiences will recognize elements of the Cinderella fairy tale in Opera in Williamsburg’s “La Cenerentola” – a kind-hearted girl mistreated by her stepfamily, a prince in search of true love and a ball at the royal palace.
This version, though, is “a version that’s really down to earth,” said producer Naama Zahavi-Ely.
On April 8 and 10, Opera in Williamsburg will present Rossini’s comedy in the original Italian with English supertitles. Following packed performances of “Don Giovanni” in October, “La Cenerentola” is the second and final production of the season.
Rossini’s work, though a madcap comedy, is a very human story. Angelina, the Cinderella, is bullied by her stepsisters and stepfather. Meanwhile, Prince Ramiro searches for a bride. To find true love, not just love for his status, Ramiro switches places with his servant Dandini, and Angelina falls in love with who she thinks is the prince’s servant. Their love is encouraged by Ramiro’s wise tutor Alidoro, rather than a fairy godmother.
“It’s all about the dynamic with the other people onstage,” said Jonathan Blalock, who plays Ramiro. ‘We try to really paint those characters vividly.”
Vividness, it seems, was Rossini’s intent.
“He paints with these wild brushes,” Isabel Milenski said. As stage director, she said her job “is to really let all of those colors come through.”
“Rossini’s music really takes things to sort of mad heights,” she said.
The music of “La Cenerentola” is also technically difficult. Milenski said the music moves very fast, with several embellishments, but the cast is well-suited for the feat.
“All of these people can move these voices, and not all voices move,” Milenski said.
“La Cenerentola” includes Maya Yahav Gour from Israel as Angelina, Fiorella Velez and Michelle Trovato as the stepsisters, Igor Vieira as the stepfather and Suchan Kim as Ramiro’s valet. Scott Russell, Carlton Moe and Davin Morin round out the cast.
Opera in Williamsburg, though a young company, strives to assemble world-class casts. Blalock, for example, is a critically acclaimed tenor and winner of the 2014 Agnes Varis Prize for Bel Canto from the Opera Orchestra of New York. Recently he starred in Mark Adamo’s “Becoming Santa Claus” at the Dallas Opera.
“The quality of the singers is truly extraordinary,” said Vieira, a baritone from San Francisco, Cal., and originally from Brazil.
“La Cenerentola” is his first Opera in Williamsburg production, and Vieira said it’s an example of a small company doing great things.
“You don’t have to have a 60-million dollar budget to honor opera as an art form,” he said.
In this production, the story takes center stage.
Costumes and sets are contemporary, Vieira said, but “the core of the story itself is universal and transcends time.”
“Ultimately, it’s a story that talks about love, and redemption through love,” he said.
Trovato said the story is important, especially in light of the issue of bullying. In the end, Angelina forgives her stepfamily, and “that’s just such a beautiful message to be sent,” Trovato said.
“It’s really about meeting a character who has such an amazing heart,” Milenski said. “Her selflessness is a reminder of really what…the most generous essence of who we can be as humans is.”
“People always enjoy this story,” Blalock said. “There’s a reason it’s a classic.”
Opera in Williamsburg also presents a panel discussion at the Muscarelle Museum, featuring Zahavi-Ely, Milenski and Maestro Jorge Parodi. Free and open to the public, the discussion starts 6 p.m., Thursday.
Bridges can be reached by phone at 757-345-2342.
For more information, visit operainwilliamsburg.org or email info@operainwilliamsburg.org.
When: 8 p.m., Friday and 2 p.m., Sunday
Where: Kimball Theatre, 424 W. Duke of Gloucester St.
Tickets: $45, $40/discount, $15/students
Tickets available online at operainwilliamsburg.org and from Kimball Theatre box office.
