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Historical Background

Source

There are several sources for La Cenerentola, including:

• The famous fairy tale Cendrillon, ou La petite pentoufle de verre from Charles Perrault's Les histoires ou Contes du temps passé (1697).
• Nicholas Isouard's opera Cendrillon staged in Paris (1810) libretto by Charles-Guillaume Étienne.
• Stefano Pavesi's opera Agatina, o La virtù premiata (Milan, 1814), libretto by Francesco Fiorini.

First Night

Teatro Valle, Rome, on Jan. 25, 1817.

Reception

According to the librettist, Ferretti, the opera’s premiere was anything but auspicious: with a few exceptions, most of the musical numbers were whistled and the evening was characterized more by turmoil than by laughter.

The artists were nervous, knowing too well the new work had been insufficiently prepared, but that was the operatic practice of the time.

Rossini was used to bad first nights and reminded his colleagues that even The Barber of Seville was not well-received at first and subsequently went on to glory. He predicted that his new opera would soon be appreciated by critics and fought over by prima donnas and indeed, within 12 days of its initial bad reception, the local paper noted the opera was now receiving well-earned applause.

The next run of Roman performances within the year was warmly received and the opera became a local favourite.

La Cenerentola quickly reached other major Italian cities, and then the rest of Europe (Lisbon, 1819; London, Haymarket 1820) and America (New York, 1826). Throughout most of 19th-century its popularity rivaled that of Il Barbiere, even at times surpassing it, but as the coloratura contralto voice became a rarer breed, the opera faded from the repertoire, and was revived only when some exceptional interpreter such as Conchita Supervia, Giulietta Simionato or Teresa Berganza could make it work.

Recent times have heralded a Rossini Renaissance with the arrival of a new generation of Rossini mezzo-sopranos well-equipped to sing the demanding title role, and La Cenerentola is now performed regularly.

Legends, News and Gossip

La Cenerentola marked a turning point for Rossini, musically. He had married the dramatic soprano Isabella Colbran and wanted to write for her voice type, which was most suited to opera seria. As a result, these were the only kind of operas he wrote after La Cenerentola; Rossini’s great comic opera period was over!

According to the librettist Jacopo Ferretti, the great Act II duet for Magnifico and Dandini was composed the night before opening, and then only rehearsed once on the morning of the premiere and again between the two acts!