Video-on-Demand: La Cenerentola (Cinderella)

A kind-hearted young woman, Angelina aka Cinderella, is forced to be a maid in her own home. Her luck seems to turn when a royal bachelor comes looking for a wife, but her stepsisters are determined to keep her in her place.

A familiar fairy tale but La Cenerentola is far more than a simple comic opera. Through one of the most beautiful pieces he ever composed, Rossini takes us on musical and emotional journey with Cinderella - from the naïve girl singing a little ditty ‘Once upon a time there was a king...’ to first her appearance at the ball and the beginning of her rondo where she emerges a queen with the florid vocal lines of a fully-fledged dramatic heroine. With a remarkable palate of musical styles, Rossini shapes Cinderella’s transformation which is not just fantastical but musical too. For his production at the prestigious Rossini in Wildbad festival, Jochen Schönleber has gathered an excellent cast led by Polina Anikina (Angelina) and Patrick Kabongo (Prince Ramiro). For Schönleber, La Cenerentola is above all: ‘the story of a disadvantaged woman who refuses to hate and a Prince, who refuses to play the game of the aristocracy. He wants love, not just wealth. Rehearsals took place in June 2025, when there were repeated reports of the ostentatious wedding in Venice of a super-rich man who was stingy when it came to donating to social causes. I couldn't help thinking about that.’

Recorded on 27.07.2025