La Cenerentola

La Cenerentola is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acs based on the famous fairy tale Cinderella. Gioachino Rossini allegedly composed the opera in three weeks.

Act I

Cenerentola is forced to work as a maid for her step-father Don Magnifico and his spoiled daughters, Tisbe and Clorinda. An old beggar comes to their house: Clorinda and Tisbe want to send him away, but Cenerentola secretly gives him some bread and coffee. Her sisters, furious, try to beat her, but are interrupted by courtiers announcing Prince Ramiro is looking for a bride and will soon visit their house. Soon the prince arrives disguised as a valet: when he meets Cenerentola, he's istantly drawn to her and she to him. He announces the prince will be there shortly - only the prince is actually Dandini, his own valet. Clorinda and Tisbe immediately fawn over him. Dandini invites the whole family to his palace for a ball, but when Cenerentola asks her stepfather to accompany them, he laughs at her and threatens her. The beggar - Alidoro, the prince's tutor - comes in and asks for Don Magnifico's third daughter. Magnifico claims she's dead, but when Alidoro is left alone with Cenerentola, he tells her that she will accompany him to the ball. At the palace, Dandini offers Don Magnifico a tour of the wine cellar and sneaks away from Clorinda and Tisbe to meet with the real prince and tell him how shallow the two sisters are. Ramiro is confused: Alidoro spoke well of one of Magnifico's daughters. Clorinda and Tisbe join them - Dandini says he doesn't want to disappoint either of them and makes them an offer: he'll marry one of them and the other will marry is faithful servant. Ramiro promises to be a good husband, but they angrily reject him for his social standing. Alidoro announces the arrival of an unknown veiled lady (Cenerentola), whose beauty stuns the whole court.

Act II

Don Magnifico frets over the unknown woman who threatens the chance for one of his daughters to marry Prince Ramiro, especially because he squandered his step-daughter's fortune and now they're out of money. His daughters reassure him the prince is practically theirs and Magnifico starts fantasizing about his future powers and all the bribes he'll be offered.

They leave the stage to Ramiro, smitten with the unknown woman who resembles the girl he had met that morning. He conceals himself as Dandini arrives with Cenerentola and tries to court her but she turns him down politely, telling him that she is in love with his valet. Ramiro steps forth and declares his love for her. Cenerentola tells him he first must see her in her true situation first. She orders him not to follow her and shows him a couple of identical bracelets: she keeps one as proof of her identity and gives him the other. Now he has to look for her and find her and, if he still wants her, he'll have her. Encouraged by Alidoro, Ramiro calls his men together to begin searching for her. Meanwhile, Dandini confesses to Don Magnifico that he is really Prince Ramiro's valet. Magnifico becomes highly indignant and demands a duel, but Dandini orders him out of the palace. Don Magnifico and his daughters return home in a huff and order Cenerentola to prepare dinner. Suddenly it begins to rain. Dandini suddenly appears at the door to say that Prince Ramiro's carriage has overturned outside and brings him into the house. Ceneretola is ordered to bring a chair and discovers the prince's real identity.


 * Abusive Family: Don Magnifico, Tisbe and Clorinda.
 * Actually, I Am Him: Cenerentola tries to speak up when Alidoro brings up Don Magnifico's third daughter, but Don Magnifico interrupts her, covers her mouth and threatens her.
 * Alternate Character Interpretation: Don Magnifico can be played as a fool with an exaggerated sense of his own importance and a temper or as a proud, cold man.
 * Arranged Marriage: fake prince Ramiro's solution: since he can't marry both Tisbe and Clorinda, he'll pick one of them and the other will marry his faithful valet Dandini. Doubles as Secret Test of Character since the valet is actually the real prince in disguise and both sisters angrily refuse him.
 * Contrived Coincidence: averted thanks to the philosopher Aliodoro
 * Dead Older Sister: Don Magnifico claims Cenerentola is this.
 * Easily Forgiven: Don Magnifico and his daughters, although it doesn't quite reach Karma Houdini territory
 * Either or Title: the full title is Cenerentola o la bontà in trionfo (Cinderella or goodness triumphant)
 * Extremely Short Timespan: the whole opera takes place in a day.
 * Fairy Godmother: Rossini chose a non-magical resolution to the story due to the limitations of special effects available at the time - thus Alidoro, philosopher and the prince's tutor, was born. Recent productions play with it by implying that Alidoro is actually Rossini himself sent as an agent of Heaven.
 * Financial Abuse: Don Magnifico admits he spent all his step-daughter's fortune on his own daughters
 * Foreshadowing: the first song Cenerentola sings is a fairy tale about a king looking to marry and picking goodness over beauty and riches.
 * Happily Ever After
 * "I Am" Song: played with. Come un'ape nei giorni d'aprile does sound like a perfectly straight example, except it's sung by Dandini pretending to be the prince: he's esentially presenting his persona.
 * Idiot Ball: Prince Ramiro. In Act I, Cenerentola tries to explain her difficult family situation, with "a father who isn't a father" and her two half-sisters. Aliodoro later appears and asks about Don Magnifico's third daughter. In Act II, Ramiro is surprised by Tisbe and Clorinda's terrible attitudes because Aliodoro told him to look for his bride in Don Magnifico's house. He witnessed all that and still utterly fails to put two and two together.
 * Ironic Echo: when Tisbe and Clorinda try to flirt with the real prince Ramiro, he throws back at them all the names they called him when they thought him a mere valet
 * I Will Find You: Sì, ritrovarla io giuro
 * Large Ham: Dandini the valet, especially when he pretends to be prince Ramiro. He's barely on stage when the real prince has to ask him to tone it down.
 * Let's Duet: Un soave non so che
 * Love At First Sight
 * Marry for Love: Prince Ramiro wants this.
 * Meaningful Name: Cenerentola's real name is Angelina. Overlaps with All There in the Manual since it's never mentioned.
 * Paper-Thin Disguise: averted with Alidoro, Ramiro and Dandini. Played straight with Cenerentola
 * Secret Test of Character: several throughout the opera. Cenerentola passes one when she sneaks food to the disguised Alidoro, while Clorinda and Tisbe fail theirs.
 * She Cleans Up Nicely: so nicely her own family doesn't recognize her
 * That Makes Me Feel Angry: Ramiro hates the way Don Magnifico mistreats Cenerentola, but he can't act on it as he's disguised as a servant.
 * Well Done Daughter Girl: all Cenerentola wants is to be acknowledged by her step-father and half-sisters.