For its highlight opera project, the North End Music & Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC) is presenting four performances of Gioachino Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Faneuil Hall. Thursday’s opening night brought out an enthusiastic local crowd before the larger weekend nights (tickets here) and the unstaged performance at Christopher Columbus Park at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
La Cenerentola is a two-act opera dating back to 1817 and first performed in Rome. The storyline is about a king, trusty valet and philosopher, all conspiring to find the prince a bride. It is a variation on the Cinderella story where the wicked stepmother is replaced by a wicked stepfather, Don Magnifico. The Fairy Godmother is replaced by Alidoro, a philosopher and the Prince’s tutor. La Cenerentola is identified not by her glass slipper but by her bracelet.
A full orchestra is directed by Dr. Tiffany Chang with stage direction by Rebecca Miller and artistic direction by Rebecca Rapoport-Cole. Directors incorporated a special children’s dance ensemble with a dozen local students. The opera is in Italian with subtitles projected on a screen.
Photos by Matt Conti. More images here.
Thank you NEMPAC for this wonderful opera. Saw the opening night performance last night. It was fantastic! Do not miss this! It was comical and beautiful, the children loved it too. The acoustics were lovely. We loved how they used all parts of Faneuil Hall during the performance.