Brisbane Bel Canto Festival sings with Cinderella tale La Cenerentola at its centre
The Brisbane Bel Canto Festival returns for its second year, with a program of concerts covering music from the beginnings of operatic song in Italy to a song cycle composed in Australia over the past few years. At the festival’s centre, Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella), celebrates the generous, compassionate and kind heart that beats so strongly within the title character.
Opera Queensland welcomes two rising stars to Queensland for the first time, Mara Gaudenzi as Angelina (Cinderella) and Petr Nekoranec as Don Ramiro, the man whose heart she captures. As befits artists involved in a bel canto festival, they have been widely praised for the beauty of their voices. With Conductor Richard Mills AM leading the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, this promises to be a great night in the theatre.
“La Cenerentola is at its core tale of heart and humour. I am excited to flip the classic Cinderella story on its glass slipper and welcome everyone to a Once Upon a Time that is brimming with clever disguises, midnight balls, unlikely heroes and the triumph of kindness.”
La Cenerentola (Cinderella) Director, Laura Hansford.
Set to the sparkling and exquisite music of Rossini, La Cenerentola swaps pumpkin carriages and fairy godparents for an evening of magical music and theatrical mischief.
An invitation to the Prince’s Ball arrives, but the gentle and warm-hearted Angelina (Cinderella) is overlooked by her selfish stepsisters and father Don Magnifico. Kindness, however, can conjure an unpredictable magic; when Cinderella captures the heart of Prince Ramiro, it’s not the slipper that fits, but her heart that shines.
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There are plenty of laughs, thanks to the antics of Magnifico and Dandini, a pair of scheming stepsisters, and a mix-up at the ball. Add some dazzling singing and you’ve got a night at the opera offering the rare and joyous conclusion that fairy tales really can come true.
Sung in Italian with English surtitles
Running time – approximately 3 hours including interval
CREATIVE TEAM
Conductor Richard Mills AM
Director Laura Hansford
Costume Karen Cochet & Bianca Bulley
Lighting Christine Felmingham
Assistant Director Eugene Lynch
Chorus Master Narelle French
CAST
Angelina (Cinderella) Mara Gaudenzi
Don Ramiro Petr Nekoranec
Dandini Samuel Dundas
Don Magnifico James Roser
Alidoro Shaun Brown
Clorinda Sarah Crane
Tisbe Hayley Sugars
Opera Queensland Chorus
Queensland Symphony Orchestra
