The residents and guests of Kyiv will see Gioacchino Rossini’s musical masterpiece on June 24 and 27. The opera buffa is directed by Italo Nunziata.
Opera buffs will remember his previous productions on the Kyiv stage: Manon Lescaut by Giacomo Puccini, Macbeth and Un ballo in maschera by Giuseppe Verdi, and the last year’s novelty – the comic opera L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti. This list will soon include La Cenerentola (Cinderella). All these productions are the result of cooperation between the Italian Institute of Culture and the National Opera of Ukraine.
Rehearsals are being held every day. The chief conductor is Volodymyr Kozhukhar, the choir master is Bohdan Plish, Maria Levytska is in charge of the set design and Natalia Kucheria of costumes. The theater’s leading vocalists are learning the main parts. Several rotating casts of singers are prepared to come out on the stage. Audiences will hear the tenors Serhii Pashchuk, Pavlo Pryimak and Mykola Shuliak as Don Ramiro, the Prince of Salerno; the baritones Oleksandr Boiko, Petro Pryimak and Ihor Mokrenko as the valet Dandini; the mezzo-sopranos Tetiana Piminova and Anzhelina Shvachka as Angelina (Cinderella); the basses Taras Shtonda, Andrii Honiukov and Bohdan Taras as Cinderella’s stepfather Don Magnifico; the sopranos Lilia Hrevtsova, Oksana Terreshchenko and Olha Fomichova as the wicked sister Clorinda; and Tetiana Hanina, Olha Nahorna and Svitlana Hodlevska as Tisbe; and the basses Serhii Mahera, Oleksandr Milev and Serhii Kovnir as the philosopher Alidoro. This artistic team is going to carry audiences back to the 18th-century Italy and the ironic fairy-tale-style world of Salerno.
La Cenerentola (the full title: La Cenerentola, ossia La bonta in trionfo (Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant) is rightly considered one of Rossini’s best operas. The premiere took place in 1817 in Rome, while tsarist Russia first saw this opera in 1820 at the Mariinsky Theater. In the USSR the opera was broadcast on radio, with Zara Dolukhanova singing the part of Cinderella. The legendary production at La Scala, where the coloratura mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli sang the main part, is widely regarded as the best Cenerentola. This ironic opera has never been staged in Kyiv before.
Rossini excluded fantastic motifs, and the role of the wicked stepmother went to the heroine’s stepfather Don Magnifico. The opera buffa La Cenerentola is totally different from the story which the fairy-tale author Charles Perrault told and which we have known since childhood. You will not find the famous glass slippers, the bumpkin-turned-carriage, the fairy-godmother, or the wicked stepmother in it. Instead, you will see a good prince, two stupid sisters, and a beautiful Cinderella. The clear and bright coloring of the music, which combines lyrical and comic motifs, and true-to-life characters make this opera stand out against the rest of the composer’s legacy. Yet far from all theaters are willing to put on this opera because it is extremely difficult in the vocal aspect. Anzhelina Shvachka, a National Opera soloist, told The Day about how the production is being prepared:
“I am very glad that our theater has opted for this oeuvre. The aria of Cinderella was in my repertoire. I used to sing at vocal competitions, concerts, and festivals, but I have never dreamed that this comic opera would be staged at our theater. In spite of the superb music, this opera is not on the repertoire of all companies due to the difficulties that performers have to overcome. We are all holding out, but in reality all the vocalists find it very complicated. When I sing my part, I lose one and a half kilograms a day. It took about a year of preparatory work, and now I literally fly to rehearsals. I derive tremendous pleasure from my work. The chief conductor Volodymyr Kozhukhar helps us, singers, put the correct musical stresses. The stage director is Italo Nunziata who was inspired by the popularity of L’elisir d’amore. He is sure to amuse viewers with this opera, and do some tomfoolery on the stage.
“Nunziata has managed to stir up not only us, soloists, but also the choir – and he excels in this. I like working with him, for he is a creative, agile, and mobile personality. Italo is from the generation of new stage directors who know how to express a host of nuances on stage by means of their plastique. All of his productions are dynamic (being static is the scourge of traditional productions, when singers line up and are just looking at the conductor’s baton, and even though there no complaints about the vocal side, the production’s dramaturgy remains lackluster).
“I have performed in many countries of Europe, and I can see that opera is changing. Now is the era of stage directors. They dictate conditions and even impose their vision of a future production on conductors. For example, you can display excellent vocal mastery during the casting, but you will not be approved for the role if you do not have artistic talent and good looks. Yet you cannot sing in La Cenerentola if you don’t have the voice. Ideally, today’s opera singer should have an actor’s charisma and the voice of a virtuoso, as well as always look good. Today’s spectators will not close their eyes, just relishing the singing: they also want to see the ‘picture’ and will never believe that a prince will fall in love with a burly Cinderella. Our production is cheerful and kindhearted, and you can bring your entire family to see it.”