Customer Reviews

Viardot: Cendrillon- Il Salotto, Vol. 3

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I was so pleased to discover this charming little salon opera last year. I immediately went on a mad hunt to find the score for it. After several months I did manage to get my hands on it and my opera company (Lyric Opera of Los Angeles) just completed 6 performances here in Los Angeles.

This opera is absolutely wonderful and sweet and truly the perfect sort of work for small, struggling opera companies. It was only written for piano accompaniment so there's no worries about having to pay for an orchestra. There's no chorus, so no need to find a bunch of singers for that. And the roles are all so much fun and easy to cast - I truly hope that more companies discover this opera and have fun with it. We sure did!!!

Btw, this recording is superb. The singers are all first rate, and Elizabeth Vidal comes off with some stunning notes as the fairy godmother. However, for those of you singers out there who listen to the recording and cross "Fairy Godmother" off your list of roles because of the high G (I believe that's what it was) that Ms. Vidal has in the final cadenza, be rest assured that this note is not written in ;-) As written, it only goes to a B-flat.

Lots of fun! I highly recommend it!

Cinderella is a classic, instantly recognizable fairy tale. The rags-to-riches formula has been used in everything from novels to such Hollywood films as "Pretty Woman". Although Cinderella has been utilized as subject for opera a recorded twice- other than this French version by composer Viardot, there is the bel canto opera of Giacomo Rossini "La Cenerentola." Viardot may have already known this but he took on a different version, a more lyric French opera style when he composed "Cendrillon" which is French for Cinderella.

This charming work, which almost resembles an operetta or chamber opera, is a delight and pleasure to hear on recording. The reason for it's strength is the fact that the principal singers and all the cast, orchestra and conductor are all natively French. The French forces uncover the magic and beauty that you would not expect from such a "kid's opera" like Cinderella. But again, we must never underestimate opera that seems tailor-made for children. The English composer Humperdinck's opera "Hansel and Gretel" has some of the most difficult music and vocal passages in most operas and even Mozart's "The Magic Flute" has spiritual sensibility and rather difficult music in some portions.

Viardot's music is breathtaking and the tenor and soprano roles of the prince and Cinderellaare very gratifying. The villain roles are also very convicing- mezzo and bass. Elizabeth Vidal, herself a French soprano who sang mostly in the 80's, has excellent lyric breath control and lyric elegance as well as high-flying coloratura. Elizabeth Vidal has recorded French albums - other than opera arias of the French repertoire she has sung "Chanson Des Ouisseaux" or "Bird Songs" in which her light but flexible coloratura voice imitates bird songs. It's incredible. So for a chance to hear Elizabeth Vidal in a starring role and to get a rare opera, this is a must have.

Uma gravação magnífica de uma pequena ópera de Pauline Viardot, com um elenco de primeira, encabeçado por Sandrine Piau. Essa soprano francesa já havia chamado minha atenção em King Arthur e The Fairy Queen, ambas de Purcell, e me conquistou de forma definitiva no Messias de Handel. Agora como Ismene em Mitridate e como Cendrillon, pelo menos para mim, se firma como uma das sopranos coloraturas mais sensíveis e delicadas da nova geração. Susannah Waters e Jean Rigby estão perfeitas como as irmãs más e André Cognet é um pai insensível e cruel, todos com uma técnica vocal refinadíssima. Vale ainda a interpretação realmente diáfana que Elizabeth Vidal faz da fada madrinha. Mil aplausos para a Opera Rara.

This is a small jewel of a French opera - one CD. The performance is excellent. If you know Sandrine Piau, you will know what to expect. It was interesting to learn about the composer I'd never heard of before. Pauline Viardot was the sister of famous opera diva Maria Malibran and a lifelong friend of Russian writer Turgenev. The sound is good and the package de luxe with a 98-page booklet. Highly recommended.