Massenet's Cendrillon (Cinderella)

To this day, few children’s stories can boast the international influence enjoyed by Charles Perrault’s Cinderella: with a ballet by Prokofiev, multiple plays, and beloved cinematic adaptations from such directors as Georges Méliès and Walt Disney, the young princess has inspired countless creators through the years. Before appearing on the silver screen, Cinderella graced the stage of the Paris Opéra-Comique in 1899 at the premiere of Massenet’s Cendrillon, on a libretto by Henri Cain.

Relive this enchanting musical setting of the fairy tale par excellence at the 2019 Glyndebourne Festival, with the spellbinding Danielle de Niese in the title role. Lionel Lhote manages the feat of being simultaneously funny and moving as Cinderella’s father Pandolfe, a widower too timid to stand up to his new spouse—the fearsome Madame de la Haltière, brought to life by the "gloriously over-the-top" Agnes Zwierko, who "steals each scene in which she appears" (The Guardian). Fiona Dunn’s staging for the Glyndebourne Festival recreates the production by Fiona Shaw (actress of stage, television, and cinema, who starred in Killing Eve, Fleabag, and the Harry Potter films, among many others), mischievously mixing decor and costumes from the composer’s era with today’s!