Massenet: Cendrillon (DVD) – Danielle de Niese

Composer: Jules Massenet
Artists: Danielle de Niese, Kate Lindsey, Lionel Lhote, Nina Minasyan, Agnes Zwierko, Eduarda Melo, Julie Pasturaud, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Glyndebourne Chorus
Conductor: John Wilson
Director: Fiona Shaw, Fiona Dunn
Format: NTSC
Language: French
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Region: All Regions
Number of Discs: 1
Studio: BBC / Opus Arte
DVD Release Date: June 26, 2020
Run Time: 148 minutes

With its combination of enchanting love story and broad, burlesque comedy, Cendrillon is one of the great operatic fairy tales – a Cinderella that looks back to Charles Perrault’s original story in all its richness and ambiguity. Massenet’s sensuous Belle Epoque fairy tale is gilded with lavish orchestral textures and glittering vocal writing, drawing on everything from baroque dances to Wagner-inspired chromaticism to bring its story to colorful life, conjuring a world of infinite musical and emotional variety. Fiona Shaw’s original tour production makes its Festival debut here, re-directed by Fiona Dunn and conducted by John Wilson, with a cast led by Glyndebourne favorites Danielle de Niese as Cendrillon and Kate Lindsey as her Prince. The Times called this production “a savvy modern-day makeover,” while Classical Source called it “enchanting and thought-provoking.”

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