CWU Opera Ensemble to present Cinderella April 9-12

The CWU Opera Ensemble will be presenting a fully staged production of Cinderella by Jules Massenet this month in the Hertz Concert Hall in the McIntyre Music Building.

Cinderella, directed by Professor of Voice and Opera Gayla Blaisdell, opens Thursday, April 9, and runs through Sunday, April 12. The production will be performed in collaboration with the CWU Chamber Orchestra and feature dancers from the CWU Dance Program.

Cinderella (aka “Cendrillon”) was written in 1899 by Jules Massenet to a libretto by Henri Cain that is based on the 17^th century fairy tale by Charles Perrault. The opera tells the familiar love story of Cinderella and Prince Charming through the beautiful lyrical melodies of the late Romantic period and Massenet’s lush orchestration.

The two characters’ highly romanticized love story is interspersed with the antics of the stepmother, Madame de la Haltière, and her two daughters, adding lightness and comedy to the performance. Cinderella’s father Pandolfe and the family’s servants add another dimension to the plot, along with a playful group of spirits that help the Fairy Godmother transform Cinderella for the ball and arrange for a secret tryst between the two lovers.

The April 9-12 opera at CWU spotlights spectacular student vocalists in the leading and supporting roles, along with a stellar chorus. The CWU Dance Program will perform the choreography by Assistant Professor Gabby McNeillie and the CWU Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Professor Nikolas Caoile.

This production is appropriate for younger audiences and will be performed in English, however, Massenet’s music will be appropriately operatic, featuring virtuosic vocalism and dense musical textures (not what you would hear in the Disney or Rodgers and Hammerstein versions!). The show lasts approximately two and a half hours.

The April 9-11 performances will be at 7 p.m. and the Sunday, April 12, show will begin at 2 p.m.

Tickets for each of the performances are available on Wildcat Tickets. Prices are $20 general admission; $17 seniors and alumni; $15 children under 18; and $12 for CWU students with ID.

Group discounts for 10 or more tickets are available. If you are interested, please email blaisdeg@cwu.edu.