Cinderella (Deutscher)

Last updated
Cinderella
Opera by Alma Deutscher
LibrettistAlma Deutscher
LanguageEnglish, German, Hebrew
Based on"Cendrillon"
by Charles Perrault
Premiere
29 December 2016 (2016-12-29)
Vienna

Cinderella is an opera by Alma Deutscher. The libretto is based on the fairy tale "Cinderella", but with significant modifications of the plot. The work was first performed in Israel in 2015 in Chamber version, when Deutscher was 10. The orchestral version premiered in the following year in Vienna, on 29 December 2016.

Contents

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere casts
Role Voice type Vienna premiere cast,
29 December 2016 Conductor: Vinicius Kattah		U.S. premiere cast,
December 16, 2017
Conductor: Jane Glover 		U.S. premiere cast (revised version),
November 12, 2022
Conductor: Alma Deutscher
Cinderella, a young and talented composer soprano Theresa KrüglVanessa BecerraNatalia Santaliz
Prince Theodore, a young and talented poet tenor Lorin WeyJonas HackerJoey Hammond-Leppek
King Fridolph, his father and king of Transylvanian. bass Gregor EinspielerNathan StarkBen Brady
The Stepmother, an aging prima donna sopranoCatarina Coresi Mary Dunleavy Rena Harms
Griselda, her daughtersopranoAnna Voshege Stacey Tappan Stacey Tappan
Zibaldona, her daughter mezzo-soprano Katrin KochKarin MushegainJulia Dawson
Emeline, a fairy godmother contralto Veronika DünserClaudia ChapaMegan E. Grey
The Minister, a minister to the kingspokenFlorian StanekBrian James MyerJoshua Hughes
Chorus: ball guests, elves, church chorus at the royal wedding

Plot

Deutscher's second opera is a full-length work based on the fairy tale of Cinderella, but with significant modifications of the plot, which in her version revolves around music. It is set in Deutscher's imaginary land, Transylvanian, in an opera house run by Cinderella's stepmother. The two step-sisters are talentless would-be divas. Cinderella is a talented composer, with "beautiful melodies springing into her head", but she is not allowed to perform and is slaved-worked as a copyist. [1] Prince Theodore is a poet, who is mocked at court for his artistic leanings. In the first act, Cinderella chances upon a captivating love poem, which unbeknownst to her, was written by the Prince. She is inspired by the poem and sets it to music. Her beautiful melody is stolen by her step-sisters and performed at the singing competition during the royal ball, but with the wrong words. Finally, Cinderella herself sings her song to the prince with the right words, but unaware that he is the poet who wrote them. After Cinderella flees from the ball at midnight, the prince searches for her on the basis of a melody (rather than a glass slipper) – the haunting melody she sang as she fled. Eventually, the pair are united: "they find each other like lyrics find melody". Deutscher explained that it was important for her that Cinderella "is not just a pretty girl who cleans the floor and keeps quiet, she's clever and talented", and she wins the prince because of her talent as a composer.

Releases and updates

A chamber version of the opera was premiered in Israel in 2015, when Deutscher was 10. She finished writing the overture "just a few days before the performance". [2] In the following year, Deutscher expanded the opera and orchestrated it for an ensemble of 20 musicians, and this expanded version premiered in Vienna in 2016 (in German), with conductor Zubin Mehta as patron of the production. Deutscher performed the solo violin part in the opera as well as the solo piano. The opera was received with jubilation by the public, [3] and reports about it appeared in newspapers all over the world, even on the front page of the China Daily newspaper. [4] Numerous Viennese critics expressed their astonishment at the accomplishment of Deutscher's orchestral writing, and above all at the beauty of her melodies.

Adaptations

A further elaborated version of the opera received its U.S. premiered in December 2017, in a production of Opera San José and the Packard Humanities Institute, conducted by Dame Jane Glover. [5] As in Vienna, Deutscher performed the violin and piano solo parts herself, and she also performed an organ voluntary at the beginning of the royal wedding scene. The five original performances sold out and further performances were added. [6] The New Criterion called it an "opera of astounding wit, craft, and musical beauty... The sheer amount of orchestral and vocal invention is stunning", and predicted that Cinderella would find its way to Broadway. [7] The magazine Opera Today described it as "a young talent's sensational burst to prominence... a once-in-a-lifetime opera-going event that had audiences standing and cheering." [8] The San Jose production was released on DVD by Sony Classical Records in 2018. [9]

In 2018, the Vienna State Opera staged an adaptation for children, which ran for two sold-out seasons, and was released on DVD on the State Opera's own label.

In 2019 Deutscher further revised the opera for a new production at the Salzburg State Theatre which premiered in the season 2019/20 and was revived in 2020/21. [10] [11] [12]

In 2022 an adaptation for children was performed in at the Wexford Festival Opera. [13]

A revival of the 2017 Opera San Jose production, but with thoroughly revised music, was staged in November 2022, with Deutscher on the podium as musical director, making her opera conducting debut. A recording of this production was released for free streaming in July 2023. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salzburg Festival</span> Annual music and drama festival held in Salzburg, Austria

The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of the festival; one highlight is the annual performance of Hofmannsthal's play Jedermann (Everyman).

<i>Ariadne auf Naxos</i> 1912 opera by Richard Strauss

Ariadne auf Naxos, Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's principal themes: the competition between high and low art for the public's attention.

Gundula Janowitz is an Austrian lyric soprano singer of operas, oratorios, lieder, and concerts. She is one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century and was pre-eminent in the 1960s and 1970s.

Leopold Hager is an Austrian conductor known for his interpretations of works by the Viennese Classics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Schenk</span>

Otto Schenk is an Austrian actor, and theater and opera director.

The Salzburg Easter Festival is a classical music and opera festival held every year over the extended week before Easter in Salzburg, Austria since 1967.

"Do-Re-Mi" is a show tune from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The Sound of Music. Each syllable of the musical solfège system appears in the song's lyrics, sung on the pitch it names. Rodgers was helped in its creation by long-time arranger Trude Rittmann who devised the extended vocal sequence in the song.

Éva Marton is a Hungarian dramatic soprano, particularly known for her operatic portrayals of Puccini's Turandot and Tosca, and Wagnerian roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona Lyn Reese</span> American composer (born 1951)

Mona Lyn Reese is an American composer, best known for her operas and choral music. Her work is melodic and accessible with an emphasis on driving or complex rhythms, movement, and contrasting textures. Her music communicates and expresses emotions traditionally or experimentally without allowing a prevailing fashion to dictate style, form, or harmony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salzburger Landestheater</span>

The Salzburg State Theatre is a theatre situated in Salzburg, Austria, a venue for opera, theatre, and dance, contemporary and older works, with resident companies of actors, singers and dancers. The theatre presents approximately 400 performances each season, from September to June. The main theatre building is located next to the Mirabell Gardens and seats an audience of 707. The staff consists of 340 people originating from 35 different countries.

Eva Mei is an Italian coloratura soprano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alma Deutscher</span> British composer, pianist and violinist (born 2005)

Alma Elizabeth Deutscher is a British composer, pianist, violinist and conductor. A former child prodigy, Deutscher composed her first piano sonata at the age of five; at seven, she completed the short opera, The Sweeper of Dreams, and later wrote a violin concerto at age nine. At the age of ten, she wrote her first full-length opera, Cinderella, which had its European premiere in Vienna in 2016 under the patronage of conductor Zubin Mehta, and its U.S. premiere a year later. Deutscher's piano concerto was premiered when she was 12. She has lived in Vienna, Austria, since 2018. She made her debut at Carnegie Hall in 2019 in a concert dedicated to her own composition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Ward (conductor)</span> British conductor (born 1980)

Christopher Ward is a British conductor. In August 2018 he became the music director of Theater Aachen.

Leo Hussain is a British conductor, who has mainly concentrated on opera. After tenures as music director of the Rouen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Salzburger Landestheater, he has worked freelance directing operas at major houses in Europe, such as Bizet's Carmen at the Royal Danish Theatre, Korngold's Die tote Stadt at the Théâtre du Capitole, and Weinberg's Die Passagierin at the Oper Frankfurt. He has also conducted outside Europe, for example Capriccio by Richard Strauss at the Santa Fe Opera, as well as concerts in Japan, Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asmik Grigorian</span> Armenian-Lithuanian operatic soprano (born 1981)

Asmik Grigorian is a Lithuanian operatic soprano of Armenian ancestry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Günther Schneider-Siemssen</span>

Günther Schneider-Siemssen was a German-born Austrian scenic designer, working as the chief designer for all Austrian State Theatres and the Salzburg Festival, where he created 28 productions for Herbert von Karajan and 60 for Otto Schenk. He was a pioneer in using lighting and projections on stage. He designed sets for major international opera houses.

Rosl Schwaiger was an Austrian operatic coloratura soprano. She was a member of the Vienna State Opera and the Bayerische Staatsoper, known for singing Mozart roles such as Blonde, Susanna and Zerlina. She appeared at European opera houses and festivals and was especially popular at the Salzburg Festival, where she appeared for decades in opera and sacred concerts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christiane Lutz</span> German opera director (born 1980)

Christiane Lutz is a German opera director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacopo Spirei</span> Italian opera stage director (born 1974)

Jacopo Spirei is an Italian opera stage director. He is the winner of the audience prize in Salzburg for best production of the season 2012/2013 at the Salzburger Landestheater.

Frances Pappas is a Canadian-Greek operatic mezzo-soprano.

References

  1. ↑ Lawrence, Ben (30 December 2016). "What does an opera by an 11-year-old sound like?". The Daily Telegraph . Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  2. ↑ Interview Archived 15 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine in Die Zeit , 7 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Jubel um Cinderella in Wien". Salzburger Nachrichten (in German). 2016-12-30. Archived from the original on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. ↑ "Opera written by girl, 11, staged in Vienna" (PDF). China Daily . 2016-10-17. p. 1 – via almadeutscher.com.
  5. ↑ "Music world buzzing over 12-year-old composer coming to San Jose". The Mercury News . 2017-11-27. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  6. ↑ KPIX CBS, December 2, 2017: 12-Year-Old Music Prodigy Sells Out Shows in San Jose in Minutes on YouTube
  7. ↑ Operatic Precocity Archived 15 July 2018 at the Wayback Machine , The New Criterion .
  8. ↑ "Opera Today review 22 Dec 2017". Operatoday.com.
  9. ↑ "Sony Classical – Cinderella by Alma Deutscher". Archived from the original on 2 December 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  10. ↑ "Salzburger Landestheater Calendar". Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "Wunderkind schreibt Oper für Salzburg" [Wunderkind writes opera for Salzburg]. Salzburger Nachrichten (in German). 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  12. ↑ "Alma Deutschers Cinderella als Augen- und Ohrenschmaus (Salzburger Landestheater)". Orpheus Magazin (in German). 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  13. ↑ "Cinderella". Wexford Festival Opera. 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  14. ↑ CINDERELLA by ALMA DEUTSCHER. Part ONE , retrieved 2023-07-22
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.