Prince Charming (Emily D’Angelo) declares his love for Cinderella (Isabel Leonard) in the Metropolitan Opera’s “family friendly” Cinderella opera (from the event page for this production)
Last night I finally caught up with all of the recent Metropolitan Opera videos I had saved through my xfinity service. My journey concluded with the performance of Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon that was performed on New Year’s Day of 2018. This could be called a “family friendly” performance, since it was only 90 minutes in duration (therefore needing no intermission); and it was sung in an English translation by Kelley Rourke.
I have to say that, in spite of my “original language” preferences, the narrative of the opera was well served by Rourke’s translation. Indeed, it often provided an extended platform for the comic scenes, particularly effective in contralto Stephanie Blythe’s richly cringe-inducing account of Madame de la Haltière (better known as the Wicked Stepmother). That left soprano Jacqueline Echols and mezzo Maya Lahyani (in the roles of her daughters Noémie and Dorothée) to complement their mother with a rich vocabulary of sight gags. Soprano Isabel Leonard could then win over the hearts of her audience in the title role.
I remember seeing an earlier Met video of this opera performed in its entirety and sung in French. Massenet’s operas tended to be on the long side, but that was what Parisians expected in the nineteenth century. The 90-minute duration for the English translation brought to mind the scale of duration that is suitable for television. This was a case in which the Met was willing to acknowledge audience habits, and the result could not have been more engaging.
No comments:
Post a Comment