La Cenerentola Student Performance Guide for La Cenerentola by Gioacchino Rossini
SYNOPSIS Act I While her sisters Clorinda and Tisbe live like princesses, Angelina (whose nick name is Cenerentola or Cinderella) is confined to household drudgery. A hungry beggar appears at their door and Cenerentola alone treats him with kindness. When word arrives that the prince, Don Ramiro, intends to choose his bride at a ball that very evening, the girls’ father, Don Magnifico, envisions a glorious future and urges Clorinda and Tisbe to make a good impression. Don Ramiro is in search of a bride who will love him for himself and not for his wealth and position, so he trades clothes with his valet, Dandini. The disguised Don Ramiro goes to the home of Cenerentola because his tutor Alidoro—who had been the disguised beggar—has informed him that his perfect bride resides there. Ramiro and Cenerentola fall in love at first sight. Ramiro’s valet, Dandini, arrives in rich garments, claiming to be the prince. Ramiro marvels at the shy beauty dressed in rags, but Don Magnifico orders Cenerentola to stay home while the others head off to the ball. Cenerentola is left behind with Alidoro, who consoles her and then escorts her to the ball. Clorinda and Tisbe fail miserably in their attempt to make a good impression on the disguised Dandini, succeeding only in convincing Ramiro that they are conceited fools. Alidoro arrives at the ball with Cenerentola, whom no one recognizes dressed in an elegant gown.
Act II At the ball, Dandini (still disguised as the prince) pursues Cenerentola, who finally tells him that she is in love with someone else—his own servant. Overhearing this, Ramiro rushes forward and declares his love. Cenerentola admits that she loves him, but before consenting to be his bride, Ramiro must find out who she really is. She tells him he must find her again and, if he still loves her, she will be his. She gives him a bracelet and says he will know her by the matching bracelet she will be wearing on her right arm. After she leaves, Ramiro, with Alidoro’s encouragement, calls his men together, so that the search can begin.
CHARACTERS Angelina/Cenerentola [ahn-djeh-LEE-nah/cheh-neh-REHN-toh-lah] Mezzo-soprano – The kind-hearted, but unhappy stepdaughter of Don Magnifico. Don Magnifico [dohn man-YEE-fee-koh] Basso buffo – Stepfather of Cenerentola, father of Clorinda and Thisbe. Clorinda [cloh-REEN-dah] Soprano – Mean-hearted stepsister of Cenerentola. Tisbe [TIHS-bee] Mezzo-soprano The other mean-hearted stepsister of Cenerentola. Don Ramiro [dohn rah-MEE-roh] – Tenor – The Prince. Dandini [dahn-DEE-nee] – Baritone – The prince’s valet (who spends most of the opera disguised as his boss, Ramiro). Alidoro [ah-lee-DOH-roh] – Bass – Philosopher and friend of the Prince.
Dandini finally reveals to Don Magnifico that he has merely been masquerading as the prince. Don Magnifico knows that he will be a laughingstock. Back at her house, Cenerentola cannot forget the kind young servant at the palace, but when her family returns, they take out their frustration on her. When Don Ramiro, Dandini, and Alidoro come to the house looking for the owner of the bracelet, Cenerentola realizes that Ramiro is the true prince. Ramiro recognizes her bracelet as the mate to the one given to him at the ball and leads her to his palace. At her wedding celebration, Cenerentola can scarcely believe her good fortune. She asks her new husband to pardon her family, for no matter how poorly they treated her, she could never be truly happy without the love of her father and stepsisters. Appreciated at last by her family, Cenerentola ascends the throne with Ramiro. Written by Mark A. Lyons