What better way to celebrate the State Opera of South Australia’s 50th anniversary (Golden Jubilee), than with a special presentation of Rossini’s classic and joyful story of Cinderella (La Cenerentola). Artistic Director Dane Lam and Executive Director Mark Taylor have hit the nail on the head by choosing this beautifully simple story of an innocent yet sparkling romance.
Director Neil Armfield AO has blended this timeless tale into our modern lifestyle with charm and grace. Unlike a traditional Opera with the curtain rising onto a complete set, the first song is literally the stage being constructed before the audience’s eyes. With a true nod to Rossini’s “commedia dell’arte,” the head of stage construction is played by Pelham Andrews, who also plays Alidoro, the Prince’s long-term mentor. The all-male chorus are dressed as construction workers string up drapes, lights and sets as Anna Dowsley‘s Angelina prepares supper for the household. It’s a clever and imaginative way to set the scene and introduce the orchestra, conducted by Stuart Stratford, with his debut performance at the State Opera South Australia.
Set and Costume Designer Stephen Curtis and Lighting Designer Nigel Levings have crafted a whimsical and comical feel that fits perfectly with the story’s theme. Angelina dressed in dark, cinder-like clothes. The step-sisters in lurid and ostentatious dresses. Helena Dix in flaming orange as Clorinda and Indyana Schneider in gaudy green as Tisbe are hilarious in their own self-absorption and disdain of anyone of an “inferior” class. The ill-fitting velvet suit worn by Teddy Tahu Rhodes as Don Magnifico only serves to further his appearance as asinine.
Creative shadow puppetry added a touch of whimsy – Angelina singing to a dishcloth is projected as a tender moment between lovers. The carriage is a giant shadow story. It’s magical in the way something beautiful can grow from almost nothing, which is the story’s underlying theme. When Alidoro arrives at the castle disguised as a beggar, the sisters scorn him while preening themselves, whilst Angelina shows him kindness and charity. Similarly, the Prince (played by Jihoon Son) arrives disguised as his valet and is also treated poorly by the sisters. However, there is a spark between Angelina and Dom Ramiro.
Nicholas Lester is outstanding as Dandini, the valet pretending to be the Prince. The situation of a valet trying to pretend to be the Prince leads to many visual gags. Whilst the opera is sung entirely in Italian, the surtitles helped to follow the storyline. What’s more important is the orchestra’s playfulness bouncing off the tremendous range of voices on stage. Anna Dowsley’s sweetness contrasting Taddy Tahu Rhodes’ resonance and Nicholas Lester’s waggishness all had a place. At times, the voices combined into a captivating polyphonic texture of intertwining sounds.
In fact, Cinderella is a story of intertwined events, where kindness grows into perfect love and bad intentions reap poor outcomes. It’s a timeless story that Rossini and his librettist Jacopo Ferretti subtitled simply “la bontà in trionfo” – “Goodness triumph”. Which, in this case, it was certainly a triumph of goodness from all. Pure magic. Bravo!
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The reviewer attended the performance on 7th May
All images by Andrew Beveridge
CINDERELLA, La Cenerentola
Venue: Her Majesty’s Theatre
58 Grote Street, Adelaide 5000
Dates:
Saturday 9th May, 2.00 pm
Thursday 14th May, 7.30 pm
Saturday 16th May, 7.30 pm
Tickets: https://stateopera.com.au/productions/la-cenarentola-2026/
Duration: 2.5 hours including interval
Language: Italian
Surtitles: English (Translated by Brian Fitzgerald)
