A sweet I don’t know That capable of seducing with its simplicity: one could thus summarize, paraphrasing the magnificent libretto by Jacopo Ferretti, the beautiful edition of Cinderella Of Gioachino Rossini that the Verdi Theatre offers as the third to last title of a season which seems to us to have kept the quality level of its productions consistently high up until today.
The stage design is that of the Carlo Felice Theater Foundation in Genoa, with sets and costumes taken from Nicoletta Ceccolini with the video contribution of Giuseppe Ragazziniinspired by the staging of the large one Emanuele Luzzati, which brings the story of Angiolina and the two evil stepsisters back to its fairytale dimension. In a historical world in which theatrical productions are based more and more frequently on new dramatizations and actualizations, or rather on a strong structure explaining the meanings underlying the events narrated, it is almost surprising to discover how a classic, now, of the stage tradition can be seductive, precisely, and equally unsettling in his simple accession the text. Excellent work by the two directors Paolo Gavazzeni And Piero Maranghi is, therefore, doubly worthy for having been able to both reread Luzzati’s idea and support the crazy rhythms and enchanting lyricism of Rossini’s score: if Luzzati supported the need to do theater together to the director and performers to choose which message to give to the public and to adapt the creation of the scenes and costumes to that, here Gavezzeni and Maranghi necessarily had to work in the opposite way, moving within the two limits which for the Genoese set designer and illustrator constitute the two elements essentials of theatre: play and magic. What could adapt to this philosophy better than the comedian Rossini, who makes the game of theater within the theater his foundation, going to the very origins of the genre? The story unfolds in a setting in which nature is the dominant element and limits all the underlying metatheatrical content, of which the libretto is full, to the two wings that frame the proscenium, with the stylized representation of the boxes from which they watch, reduced to the role of masks, the typical profiles of the famous set designer: what happens on the “constructed scene” is something we can fully define only by resorting to a Latin term, ludus that is, game, deception, representation, joy, spectacle. All the performers contribute to making this delicate machine work, supporting not only the two directors, but the philosophy of “let’s make theater together” mentioned above.
One of the strong points of this Cinderella it is, in fact, without a doubt the homogeneity of the singing company which also had two prominent figures such as Carlo Lepore and Giorgio Caoduro: they all proved to be excellent and measured actors.
Carlo Lepore is an excellent Don Magnifico, who embodies the great tradition of the basso buffo and due to his excellent pronunciation, the clarity of the fast hyphenated singing, the refinement of the phrasing capable of combining the expressive needs of the singing with the meaning of the word, he is the heir of great Enzo Dara: he draws a Don Magnifico of great sympathy, lively, never vulgar or obvious, with elegant comedy. Characters that we find in Dandini by Giorgio Caodurowhich enchants with its virtuosity reminiscent of the glorious season of Rossini Renaissanceby Ramey and Raimondi, and for the almost infinite range of nuances that it manages to give to musical phrases, exploiting all the potential of an instrument that combines the brown, almost bass-like color with the extension of the baritone register: it is a Dandini subtle and sly both in his singing and in his gestures and facial expressions, in the wave of a hand and in his gait, perfectly complementary to Don Ramiro in Dave Monaco. Clear timbre and thin but ductile voice, which is more in the vein of Luigi Alva than that of Blake, Monaco draws an amorous prince, at ease in the more lyrical sections of the score, but able to resolve even the most virtuosic parts and to offer a convincing performance of the aria “Sì, trovarla io giuro” with confident and well-supported high notes, revealing himself as a musical and technically prepared singer in his Trieste debut. To complete the male side of the cast Matteo d’Apolito in the part of the wise Alidoro, Ramiro’s teacher who pushes him to seek goodness in his future bride. A bass player with a rather clear timbre, he expresses himself best in plainchant where he manages to infuse the right nobility to the philosopher’s phrases, while his more virtuosic passages, although resolved without obvious technical problems, are at times perhaps not very fluent and brilliant.
In the part of Angelina, Laura Verrecchiareconfirms the good impression made a few months ago as Giovanna Seymour in Anne Boleyn. Voice of important range and volume, endowed with a beautiful mezzo-sopranile timbre, which in some moments sounds a little harsh (a trait which, however, seemed to me to be more controlled compared to the previous test), and with a velvety color which adapts well to the more lyrical pages such as the splendid Cinderella song “Once upon a time there was a king”, Verrecchia possesses a confident technique that allows her to tackle the agility song without problems and to resolve with confidence and composed bravado the famous final rondo “Nonpiù mesta”, achieving personal success with the public. Finally, the tests were excellent Carlotta Vichi as Thisbe and Federica Sardella in those of Clorinda, two petulant sisters, spoiled, yes, of “the most vile extraction” as Don Magnifico would like to present, Angelina instead, but a noble completion of a cast that works excellently.
Credit also goes to the direction and coordination of Enrico Calassowho, at the head of a Teatro Verdi Orchestra which, during the course of the present season, is giving its best, manages to control and tame the a thousand traps devised by Rossini in the composition of the concertati and ensemble pieces. The separation of tempos always seems appropriate, attentive to the needs – and here there are quite a few – of the singers (and of the acting), in the constant search for sounds capable of combining the lightness of Rossini’s rhythms with the most meditative Pesarese instills in the score , in the portrait of the most hidden aspects of Cinderella’s character or of Alidoro’s wisdom, so as to truly restore to the listener the seduction of that “sweet I don’t know what” that enchants Ramiro of Cinderella and, still today, the public. Finally, the indispensable contribution of the Verdi Theater Choir, directed by Paolo Longowhich performs, according to score, with its male sections only. 
Verdi Theater – Season 2023/24
CINDERELLA
Playful drama in two acts
Booklet by Jacopo Ferretti
Music by Gioachino Rossini
Angelina Laura Verrecchia
Don Ramiro Dave Monaco
Don Magnifico Carlo Lepore
Dandini Giorgio Caoduro
Gold wings Matteo D’Apolito
Thisbe Carlotta Vichi
Clorinda Federica Sardella
Orchestra, Choir and Technicians of the Foundation
Giuseppe Verdi Lyric Theater of Trieste
Director Enrico Calesso
Choir master Paolo Longo
Direction Paolo Gavazzeni And Piero Maranghi
Costumes taken from Nicoletta Ceccolini
Video contributions edited by Giuseppe Ragazzini
Scenes and costumes inspired by the staging of Emanuele Luzzati
Installation by the Carlo Felice Theater Foundation of Genoa
Trieste, 26 April 2024
Photo: Fabio Parenzan
Photo: Fabio Parenzan
Photo: Fabio Parenzan
Photo: Fabio Parenzan
Photo: Fabio Parenzan
