The Libretto – 4 stars
The Translation – 3 stars

Reading the accompanying libretto after watching an opera is an excellent method to ascertain the details that are commonly missing from the translated text at the opera house. In Rossini/Ferretti’s version of Cinderella (La Cenerentola), a stepfather, not stepmother, and his two daughters tormented Cinderella. The stepfather also wasted Cinderella’s inheritance on his own family and stole her title for his daughters instead. The fairy godmother is replaced by the prince’s tutor/advisor, who guided the prince to Cinderella’s home. The prince and his footman switched roles giving the prince a chance to see everyone in their true colors. Upon the unveiling, the prince and the footman humorously mocked the stepfather and the stepsisters for all their pompousness. Lastly, the glass slippers were replaced by a pair of matching bracelets. These changes make the staging of this opera more manageable and the story more believable, having removed some of the magical elements. Overall, I liked this approach.

My dislikes:
- As unbelievable as it may seem, this Cinderella is even more helpless than the Disney version. As least Disney’s Cinderella was busy making her own dress (the pink one). This Cinderella was an endless woe-is-me (well, and kind-hearted too).
- The translators took it upon themselves to change the pair of bracelets (which were what I saw on stage) to glass slippers, which they believed to be better simply because it is more widely known. I thought it was completely irresponsible and arrogant of them to make such a significant change from the original. Who do they expect the reader of a libretto to be? It certainly would not be children. Adults want authenticity! ( )