The Story
An introduction to the opera’s main characters and their roles in the plot, a complete opera synopsis for young readers, and information about the literary sources that inspired the opera
Who’s Who
The Synopsis
ACT I Don Magnifico’s mansion
Don Magnifico lives in a tumbledown castle with his daughters, Clorinda and Tisbe, and his stepdaughter Angelina, known as “Cenerentola” (Cinderella) because she is forced to work as their maid. The stepsisters squabble constantly over who is more beautiful, even as Cenerentola is dressed in rags. Nevertheless, Cenerentola dreams of a better life. To cheer herself up (and, perhaps, to needle Clorinda and Tisbe), she sings a sad folk song about a king who chose a bride not for her wealth but for her goodness of heart. When a beggar knocks at the door asking for charity, the difference between the generous Cenerentola and her hard-hearted stepsisters becomes very clear: The stepsisters tell him to leave, while Cenerentola offers him breakfast. Suddenly, courtiers appear to announce that Prince Ramiro is paying a visit to the household. He is looking for the most beautiful girl in all the land and will hold a ball that evening to choose his bride. The stepsisters cannot wait to tell their father the news, and they wake him from an odd dream featuring a flying donkey landing on a bell tower. Interpreting the dream as a good omen, Magnifico fantasizes about marrying one of his daughters to the prince and restoring his family’s fortune.
Prince Ramiro enters alone, dressed as his own servant so he can freely observe the prospective brides. He runs into Cenerentola, and the two are immediately attracted to each other. He asks her who she is, and Cenerentola, suddenly bashful, tries to explain then runs away. Finally, the “prince” himself arrives—in fact Ramiro’s valet, Dandini, also in disguise. Magnifico, Clorinda, and Tisbe fall over themselves flattering him, and he invites them to the ball, hamming up his princely role outrageously. Cenerentola begs her stepfather to let her attend the ball, even if only for an hour, but he refuses harshly; Ramiro is shocked by the way she is treated. The arrival of the prince’s tutor, Alidoro, interrupts the argument: He announces that there should be a third daughter in the Magnifico household. Magnifico lies through his teeth and claims she is dead, to Cenerentola’s dismay. Everyone departs for the Prince’s palace except Cenerentola, who is left alone and upset. But she is comforted by the mysterious beggar, who reveals himself to be none other than Alidoro in disguise. Alidoro tells her that he will take her to the ball and explains that one day soon she will rewarded her for her good heart.
Prince Ramiro's palace
Dandini, still disguised as the prince, is fending off Clorinda and Tisbe. But he gets rid of their father by making him master of the wine cellar, where Magnifico amazes the palace servants by showing how much he can imbibe without falling over drunk. In the meantime, Dandini manages to sneak off to covertly share his negative opinion of the two sisters with Ramiro. Both men are confused, however, since Alidoro is certain that the prince’s bride will come from Don Magnifico’s household. Clorinda and Tisbe appear again, each desperate to be the chosen one. In an attempt to placate them, Dandini offers Ramiro as a husband to whichever sister the prince does not marry, but the stepsisters are outraged at the idea of marrying a servant. Suddenly, Alidoro enters with a mysterious stranger, a beautiful veiled lady. Dandini and Ramiro are both smitten. When the company prevails upon her to remove her veil, everyone is astonished: Surely, they say, she looks rather familiar? Unable to make sense of the situation, they all sit down to supper, feeling as if in a dream.
ACT II Prince Ramiro’s palace
Magnifico fears that the arrival of the stranger could ruin his daughters’ chances of marrying the prince, but he soon begins daydreaming again about the riches he will possess once he becomes a member of the royal family. Cenerentola, tired of being pursued by Dandini, tells him that she is in love with his servant. Overhearing this, Ramiro is overjoyed and steps forward. Cenerentola, however, says that she is returning home and does not want him to follow her. She gives him one of two matching bracelets, keeping the other herself. If he truly cares for her, she declares, he will find her. She also adds that she will only consent to marry him if he loves her for who she really is. Cenerentola leaves, and the besotted prince resolves to find the mysterious girl and win her hand. Meanwhile Magnifico, who still thinks that Dandini is the prince, confronts him, insisting that he decide which of his daughters he will marry. When Dandini reveals that he is in fact the prince’s servant, Magnifico is furious.
Don Magnifico’s mansion
Magnifico and the sisters return home in a terrible mood and order Cenerentola, again in rags, to prepare supper. A thunderstorm breaks out, and Alidoro cleverly arranges for Ramiro’s carriage to break down in front of Magnifico’s mansion so the prince has an excuse to take refuge inside. Cenerentola and Ramiro, no longer disguised, recognize each other immediately by their matching bracelets: They are overjoyed, but everyone else is utterly confused by this apparent romance between a prince and a maid. When Ramiro asks to marry Cenerentola, Magnifico and his daughters respond with cruelty and scorn. Ramiro threatens to have them punished, but Cenerentola asks the indignant prince to forgive them. The prince and Cenerentola reappear in wedding finery, and Cenerentola joyfully reflects on how suddenly her fortunes have changed: She was born into hardship and misery, but her days of sitting by the fire are finally over.
The Source
The fairy tale “Cendrillon”
by Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault (1628–1703), was a civil servant and writer during the long reign Louis XIV of France. Yet he is best known today for one of his retirement projects. In 1697, just a few years before his death, Perrault published the Histoires ou Contes du Temps Passé (Stories or Tales from Past Times)—and sealed his reputation for posterity.
The Histoires, which soon became known by their unofficial title of Contes de Ma Mère l’Oye (Tales of Mother Goose) were a collection of literary fairy tales, including such modern favorites as “Puss and Boots,” “Sleeping Beauty,” and, of course, “Cinderella.” Perrault’s stories had little to do with the folk tales on which they were distantly based: Written in a polished, sophisticated style, they were intended to appeal to aristocratic audiences, who enjoyed hearing them read at gatherings of intellectuals and fashionable society events. Because the readers were primarily adults, Perrault attached a cynical rhyming moral to each story, which typically offered a religious interpretation of its plot and reinforced the strict class divisions of French society.
Despite his intended readership, Perrault’s “Cendrillon” is essentially the classic version of the Cinderella story children know and love today—wicked stepmother, enchanted pumpkin, glass slippers, and all. (Walt Disney’s animated film from 1950, for instance, follows Perrault quite faithfully.) Yet the story underwent some major modifications on its way to becoming the libretto for Rossini’s La Cenerentola—most notably losing many of its supernatural elements and substituting a foolish stepfather for a wicked stepmother. In fact, Jacopo Ferretti, the librettist for La Cenerentola, wasn’t working directly from Perrault’s text: Under extreme time pressure, Ferretti borrowed liberally from the libretti to two then-recent operas based on “Cendrillon,” one French and one Italian. By doing so, he was able to write the text in just 22 days—and craft a libretto perfectly in tune with the opera buffa style for which Rossini was already famous.