In Rossini's operatic version of the Cinderella story, "La Cenerentola", what is the heroine's forename?
In this opera by Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868), first performed in 1814, and based on Perrault's, rather than the Brothers Grimms' version of the story, the heroine is called Angelina.
It is an early work, composed when Rossini was only 25, although he had already witnessed the premiere of, arguably, his most famous work, "The Barber of Seville". It was written rapidly, and he incorporated music and arias from previous works, a practice by no means uncommon at the time.
There are aspects of the opera that may seem decidedly strange to those who have encountered other versions of the story. For instance, the stepmother is replaced by a stepfather, and the glass (or fur) slippers by a bracelet. In general some of the more supernatural elements have been removed, but this may simply be to do with the possible problems of staging them at the time.
Those who know the pantomime version will recognise the character of Dandini, but may be surprised that rather than being a principal boy (or its operatic equivalent, a britches role) it is sung by an adult baritone. Angelina herself is not a soprano, but a mezzo or contralto.
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