- Jules Massenet
Composer - Henri Cain
Librettist
Company – Theatre – Date
- Berlin Opera Academy
- Delphi Theatre
- August 2025
Creatives
- Ella Marchment
Director - Agnė Ambrozaitytė, Jennifer Fernandez, Raphael Jothy, Henrique Laurentino
Assistant Directors - Kevin Class
Conductor - Simone Serlanga
Set Designer - Yarden Deddi
Costume Designer - Rick Dispersal
Lighting Designer - Rosie Turpin
Stage Manager
Cast
- Morgan Babb, Shani Jacobi, Ashley Schumacher
Cendrillon - Juliette Kaoudji, Lea Badillo, Jingfu Zhang
Le Prince Charmant - Sophia Maskine, Ciara Martinez
Noémie - Anna Yeager, Myome Mortimer-Davies
Dorothée - Nola Tan, Qingya Ding
Madame de la Haltière - Zoe Garcia, Noam Katz, Mia Lapingcao
La Fée - Wyatt Pitman, Bryan Ramírez Hernández, Melissanthi Guthold, Eva Woodruff, Juana Grisel Martinez Lara, Pola Neuling
Spirits - Philip Reed Hillis, Garnik Yeghiazaryan
Le Premier Ministre/Le Doyen de la Faculté, Le Surintendant des plaisirs - Corbin Gray, Christopher Jack Andrew, Kevin Mann
Other
Synopsis
Cendrillon (1899) by Jules Massenet is a lyrical, romantic adaptation of Charles Perrault’s Cinderella tale. The opera, in four acts, blends fairy-tale charm with French elegance and emotional depth.
The story begins in the household of Pandolfe, a kindly but weak father dominated by his snobbish second wife, Madame de la Haltière. Her vain daughters torment Pandolfe’s gentle daughter, Lucette—nicknamed Cendrillon—who lives as a servant in her own home. When the King announces a royal ball to find a bride for the Prince, Madame de la Haltière and her daughters eagerly prepare, cruelly leaving Cendrillon behind.
Alone and despondent, Cendrillon is visited by her Fairy Godmother, who magically transforms her rags into a gown and gives her glass slippers, warning that the spell will end at midnight. At the ball, the Prince, weary of court life, is captivated by the mysterious young woman. They dance and fall in love, but Cendrillon flees as the clock strikes twelve, leaving the Prince distraught.
In the following act, both Cendrillon and the Prince languish in sorrow. With the Fairy’s help, they meet again in an enchanted dreamlike scene, where they reaffirm their love. Eventually, the Prince recognizes Cendrillon as his lost beloved, and the two are joyfully reunited.
Massenet’s Cendrillon is a delicate mix of humour, sentiment, and enchantment, set to lush, graceful music that captures the magical innocence and emotional sincerity of the fairy tale.
Photos
All photos (C) Tom Hibbert