Retro 1970s hairdos and disco moves as the Cinderella story catches fire
Cinderella is replete with brilliance and humour in Neil Armfield’s affectionate recreation of Rossini’s masterpiece, Graham Strahle reviews the latest State Opera offering.
Neil Armfield’s Cinderella is a ticklishly amusing and quite brilliant production. Entertainment-wise, it does not put a foot wrong. Working with a highly skilled creative team, Armfield has come up with some of the cleverest ideas to make this opera catch fire.
His production abounds in theatrical masterstrokes, and musically it also hits all the high points thanks to excellent singing from a strong cast, and admirable direction from conductor Stuart Stratford.
Just one question may lurk in the mind before seeing this show, though. State Opera SA has chosen a particularly lightweight work to mark its fiftieth year. Rossini’s Cinderella abounds in frivolity. Basically, the way Rossini and his librettist Jacopo Ferretti adapted the original fairy tale, Cendrillon, by French writer Charles Perrault, was purely about creating amusement. Seriousness is all but stripped away, and in its place is a lot of silly humour.
The two ugly stepsisters are kept for slapstick purposes, but the wicked stepmother is gone, and in her place is a buffoonish stepdad who becomes the target of a barrage of jokes.
So long as one is happy with that, all is fine. Cinderella is an exceptionally vivacious piece that belongs to the opera buffa tradition. Armfield clearly knows all that and injects it with humour. Rossini’s genius with melody does the rest.
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What we have in this Adelaide production is a virtual full row of ticks. Anna Dowsley is the archetypal Cinderella (or to call her by her proper name in this opera, Angelina). She is graceful and innocent, but kind at heart. At the beginning, we see the young girl wearing a torn black dress and sweeping the floor, just as one of many stagehands who are preparing this show to ‘begin’. Even before the overture has finished, this is the first of Armfield’s masterstrokes: transforming Rossini’s opera into a piece of deconstructed theatre.
All the charm then starts when Dowsley opens her vocal cords to reveal a most velvety mezzo coloratura. Playing the role of Cinderella, she is perfectly blameless and endearingly affectionate. But by now, the two vain stepsisters have shown up on stage to spoil everything. But laughter erupts at their gaudy glory. Soprano Helena Dix and mezzo soprano Indyana Schneider play this comedy duo par excellence.
Two other principals besides Dowsley absolutely win it in the singing stakes. Cinderella’s bumbling stepfather, Don Magnifico, who eagerly plans to sell off his real daughters for maximum profit, is magnificently performed by Teddy Tahu Rhodes.
His powerful bass goes miles deep and fairly rips the air. What’s more, this opera has uncovered another of Rhodes’s talents: a wry sense of humour enables him to execute comic roles really well.
Meanwhile, Jihoon Son completely aces the role of Don Ramiro. This is the prince that all the girls hanker after. He keeps his cool well, and his bright, high tenor singing maintains a faultless precision and clarity across its range. Ramiro is an important role to get right, as he is the only character calling for straight acting. Son is ideal at it.
Adding to this high-quality cast is Nicholas Lester as Ramiro’s valet, Dandini. He is pushed down low at times, but his baritone takes on a lovely ripe colour when he opens out.
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Pelham Andrews fulfils an interesting role as the other main character, Alidoro. Replacing the jettisoned fairy godmother in the original tale, this wise man becomes a philosopher and mentor to Ramiro, but simultaneously Armfield turns him into the stage manager during the show’s deconstructed moments. So, you also see him casually wandering around in functional blacks, queuing in performers, and even propping the actors into place. It’s a great touch, and Andrews carries it off well.
Retro ’70s costumes and hairdos add heaps of visual fun to this wonderful take on Rossini’s opera. Wide lapels, flares and sideburns are apparently a deliberate nod to Adelaide’s theatrical heyday during the Dunstan era, when Armfield and designer Stephen Curtis teamed up here early in their careers.
Also on board for the choreographic segments is Gary Stewart of ADT fame. He has State Chorus’s blokes doing the coolest disco moves, again harking back to the ’70s. During these tight little entertainments, lighting by Nigel Levings cleverly creates the look of a stage within a stage.
Musically, this production is superbly directed by British conductor Stuart Stratford. Under his baton, the ASO is supremely light-footed and well-drilled. Clearly, Stratford, on loan from Scottish Opera, is an expert in Italian repertoire. Rock solid with tempo, he keeps the steadiest flow even when things get torturous. Some of Cinderella’s ensembles and choruses are extremely testing, and Stratford keeps the singers together like glue.
Also loaned from Scottish Opera is its head of music, Fiona MacSherry. She supplies miraculously fast and creative piano accompaniments in Cinderella’s numerous recitatives.
The only snag on opening night was a recalcitrant curtain that got stuck on a slant during the final bows. Happily, everybody could laugh it off.
Beethoven was surely just plain jealous when he said insultingly that “Rossini would have been a great composer if his teacher had spanked him enough on the backside”.
There is sufficient humour in this Cinderella to sink a ship, and that’s something Beethoven never quite managed. Maybe he actually needed that smack on the bottom.
Whatever one thinks about such matters, there are big strengths in this production. And most of it is homegrown. Find any excuse you can to see this marvellous one-off showcase of talent.
Cinderella by Rossini, directed by Neil Armfield.
This is a review of State Opera SA’s Cinderella at Her Majesty’s Theatre on 7 May. Further performances are on 9, 14 and May 16.
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