Once again, the ugly duckling became the swan, not only in the great
archetypal ascension of Cinderella from ashes to the throne, but in the
performance itself Saturday evening in the War Memorial Opera House.

Opening the Opera's summer season, Rossini's "Cenerentola," in the ancient
(1969) but still charming Jean-Pierre Ponnelle production, creaked and
almost croaked at first.

The estimable Patrick Summers, who has conducted many memorable performances
in this house, came close to a personal-worst in directing a slow, sloppy,
plodding first hour. The music - low-key, low-octane, enervated - consisted
of separate notes, individual phrases. Woodwinds and brass stank. It was
not a pretty picture, and highly unusual.

Matters were not helped much by whoever was reworking Ponnelle's staging
(Grischa Asagaroff is credited in the program) by having the cast walk
in various "funny" ways and bounce to the music.

At first, even Juan Diego Florez, one of the finest lyrical tenors alive,
sounded tentative, the voice thinner than usual - and it's not a
particularly robust one even at his best.

In the title role, Mika Shigematsu (stepping in after the cancellation
by Sonia Ganassi, alternating with Theodora Hanslowe) sang adequately,
respectably, the performance falling way short of the Big Statement a
first-class Cinderella can make.

Slowly - very slowly - life seeped into the performance, going well by
the end of Act 1, hitting some real high notes in Act 2. Florez's second
aria had a joyously pure sound, Shigematsu hit big time in the finale.

Eike Wilm Schulte as Alidoro and, especially, Kevin Glavin as Don
Magnifico, made impressive local premieres. Glavin, not a particularly
remarkable singer, is an excellent actor, and he was able to make the
very (too) broad characterization of Rossini's prequel to Baron Ochs
work.

Acting well and singing merely mezzo-mezzo, Daniel Belcher was the
Dandini. Two Merola/Adler veterans, Saundra DeAthos and Catherine Cook
took the roles of Clorinda and Tisbe, respectively. They made the best
of the manic direction, and Cook's vocal performance contrasted with the
rest of the cast, being topnotch from beginning to end.

Ian Robertson's chorus, a small men's group, followed the general order
of the day, starting tentatively and not quite being there, but eventually
working up to a fine finish.

Shigematsu will perform again on June 13; Hanslowe will take the title
role for the rest of the "Cenerentola" performances, on June 19, 22, 25,
28, and July 6.

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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