Musical | Episode aired 28 April 2018
Stars:
Bertrand de Billy ... Himself - Conductor
Laurent Naouri ... Pandolfe
Stephanie Blythe ... Madame de la Haltière (stepmother)
Joyce DiDonato ... Lucette, known as Cendrillon
Kathleen Kim ... The Fairy Godmother
Alice Coote ... Prince Charming
Bertrand de Billy ... Himself - Conductor
Laurent Naouri ... Pandolfe
Stephanie Blythe ... Madame de la Haltière (stepmother)
Joyce DiDonato ... Lucette, known as Cendrillon
Kathleen Kim ... The Fairy Godmother
Alice Coote ... Prince Charming
Watched at The District, Tustin
First performed 1899
French fairy tale
First performed 1899
French fairy tale
Arrived about 15 min before showtime; had to sit in first row, Much, Much too close. The house, fewer than 200 seats, was nearly packed.
The production was again visually dull, but not so bad as Luisa Miller. The production/costume designer was interviewed during intermission, and he chose a 3-color design, after the vintage/antique book of Cinderella he had: red, black, ecru. The lighting designer sabotaged some of that, casting a blue light on Fairy Godmother, whose costume was black/ecru. The modularized walls, and Cinderella's coach/horses were covered in French words from the fairy tale. The words spanned the sections of wall; I didn't look to see if the words were repeated so that the sections could be mixed & matched.
Most of the time we had an empty stage with just the printed walls. Other modular units were rolled in for a balcony, a staircase, a sooty roof. Chairs spelling CENDRILLON were carried in & out by cast. The backstage views of the crew assembling the next stage were both more and less interesting than for Luisa Miller, since here we saw only a section of the set being moved into place (by humans, not machinery). It was interesting that during intermission they were hammering something onto the floor; they must need to replace the floor regularly.
The woman in the trouser role of Prince Charming was in full drag, and before opening her mouth to sing, could have passed for male. Both she and Cinderella were mezzo-sopranos. I didn't care for that choice (by the composer, I believe), but during intermission interviews, Cinderella embraced it as some sort of sensual/sexual thing. She's been playing this role for a couple of decades. To me, Cinderella is a waif; I'd pick a higher soprano for the role. I think the blend for duets would be better too.
For me, the star of the show was Kathleen Kim, The Fairy Godmother, a coloratura soprano. Her voice was terrific, and her costume was cute (wisps of fairy dust built up around her shoulders).
Also an impressive voice: Stephanie Blythe (stepmother). Her makeup assisted her ugliness, as did her own heft. But her voice has terrific range (mezzo or higher, down to some near-bass notes).
The show was played for laughs, and the costumes screamed that for stepmother, stepsisters and wannabe princesses. One gown was shaped like a chicken; no idea how she would have been transported to the ball (sitting sideways in the coach on a footrest?) Each of 10-12 (what's the female for) suitors had an outrageous costume; that was just the easiest to describe. However, all the female costumes at the ball were the same shade of red (except Cinderella's gradient gown in the photo above; the designer said the darkest gray at the bottom was for ashes; we never saw her near a fireplace, but I do remember that as one of her dreaded duties from the fairy tale.)
My lousy seat, and my sleepiness for this morning event both detract from my rating, I'm sure. Although the double mezzo thing just didn't appeal to me. "Plus" for the Fairy Godmother, the costumes, the other comedy, and the Stepmother's voice.
For me, the star of the show was Kathleen Kim, The Fairy Godmother, a coloratura soprano. Her voice was terrific, and her costume was cute (wisps of fairy dust built up around her shoulders).
Also an impressive voice: Stephanie Blythe (stepmother). Her makeup assisted her ugliness, as did her own heft. But her voice has terrific range (mezzo or higher, down to some near-bass notes).
The show was played for laughs, and the costumes screamed that for stepmother, stepsisters and wannabe princesses. One gown was shaped like a chicken; no idea how she would have been transported to the ball (sitting sideways in the coach on a footrest?) Each of 10-12 (what's the female for) suitors had an outrageous costume; that was just the easiest to describe. However, all the female costumes at the ball were the same shade of red (except Cinderella's gradient gown in the photo above; the designer said the darkest gray at the bottom was for ashes; we never saw her near a fireplace, but I do remember that as one of her dreaded duties from the fairy tale.)
My lousy seat, and my sleepiness for this morning event both detract from my rating, I'm sure. Although the double mezzo thing just didn't appeal to me. "Plus" for the Fairy Godmother, the costumes, the other comedy, and the Stepmother's voice.
Metropolitan Opera, The (presents), cond. de Billy; 7+
