It’s Difficult to Imagine a More Inviting Point of Entry into the World of Opera Than “La Cenerentola”

It's the operatic equivalent of a Disney musical.

(Courtesy of Portland Opera)
By R Mitchell Miller

In one of La Cenerentola's opening numbers, Don Magnifico (Eduardo Chama) is awakened from a nap by his daughters, and he scolds them by describing an absurd dream in which a donkey sprouts wings and flies onto a church steeple. "Miei rampoli femminini" is fast in tempo, strange in content and shows off Chama's impressive vocal dexterity.

The number is one of many earworms in Portland Opera's new production of Rossini's La Cenerentola. An Italian version of the classic Cinderella story, La Cenerentola is the operatic equivalent of a Disney musical. It is colorful, crowd-pleasing and accessible even to opera first-timers. In fact, it's difficult to imagine a more inviting point of entry into the world of opera.

La Cenerentola stays mostly true to the widely known Cinderella narrative. A goodhearted young woman living in the shadow of her stepsisters is magically transformed in order to attend the prince's ball and win his heart. Though there are some key differences in this Italian version: no mice and no fairy godmother. It's also more of a comic take on the traditional Cinderella story. Don Magnifico plays the role of evil stepfather, but he's the "buffo," or clown. There's also an amusing storyline about Don Ramiro (the Prince Charming character, played by Alasdair Kent) and his valet Dandini (Ryan Thorn) trading identities to trick Don Magnifico's daughters, Clorinda (Helen Huang), Tisbe (Laura Beckel Thoreson) and, of course, Angelina, aka Cenerentola (Kate Farrar).

The first act is particularly humorous. In both Don Magnifico's "Miei rampoli femminini" and Dandini's "Come un'ape," the performers, Chama and Thorn, come across as more cartoon than human. The two strut, dance and ham it up with the audience while simultaneously nailing challenging arias. Rossini's delightful music is performed live throughout by the Portland Opera Orchestra, which is helmed by conductor Carolyn Kuan.

In a comic opera, it's very easy for the leads to be overshadowed in their conventional roles. But Don Magnifico and Dandini step aside in the second act, allowing Farrar and Kent as Cenerentola and Don Ramiro to move to the forefront of the action. One of the greatest treats of La Cenerentola is the climactic wedding scene in which Farrar fully opens the range of her mezzo-soprano in the aria "Non piu mesta."

If you've never been to the opera before, consider La Cenerentola your primer. And if you think it's not possible for an opera to entertain you in the same way a movie or concert might, allow La Cenerentola to prove you wrong. This witty and energetic production, which is now going on 200 years old, packs a pleasant surprise.

SEE IT: La Cenerentola is at the Newark Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway, portlandopera.org. 7:30 pm, through July 28. $35-$200.

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