Interview with "Cenerentola" Director Jolly Stewart

Operatic Saint Louis interviewed Union Avenue Opera's Principal Stage Director Jolly Stewart about the company's upcoming production of Rossini's La Cenerentola. Stewart most recently worked with young artists at the Johanna Meier Opera Theatre Institute at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, South Dakota. La Cenerentola marks her fourteenth production with the company.

Operatic Saint Louis: You have sung the role of Clorinda in La Cenerentola numerous times and used the opera as a scene study with voice students at Washington University. How do your past experiences with the opera inform your vision of this full production?

Jolly Stewart: An intimate knowledge of the music is of course very important, but when one has sung it and felt it in one's own body, the experience is much more visceral on some level than just hearing a piece.

As far as my vision is concerned, it is a fairy tale, but there is a reason that most of the world could tell you this tale. We can all relate at some point to feeling unappreciated or downtrodden about something in our lives. The wishes generated from this state are not always realized, but we recognize the unspoken hopes that things will get better. Although there are many comic moments in this opera, most of them are born of real human behavior we see in ourselves or others.

OSL: Rossini's librettist Jacopo Ferretti includes the character of Dandini, the prince's valet, an archetype rarely found in the Cinderella story (though there is a Dandin in Nicolas Isouard's Cendrillon of 1810). How does Dandini add spice to the Cenerentola plotline?

JS: It is always amusing to see a valet or butler who is more rules- and etiquette-oriented than the person he is serving. I imagine that it was barrels of fun for Dandini to be given full permission to imitate his master. In our production, Dandini and Ramiro have more or less grown up together as buddies, except Ramiro just happens to be a prince and Dandini becomes his valet. Having the sisters think that they are falling for Dandini, only to discover that he is not the prince at all and hearing the extreme snub they have given Ramiro, which later comes back at them, makes for lots of laughs. Keeping Dandini busy with the sisters also allows more time between Ramiro and Cenerentola.

OSL: How does Alidoro, the philosopher, influence the course of events?

JS: We refer to him as the "fairy-godfather." He serves three purposes in this opera. First of all in his appearance as the beggar, we discover Cenerentola's charity towards someone in need. Later we observe the prince asking for advice from his tutor and mentor. The third role of the philosopher with powers to help people change things in their lives is probably the most important role.

OSL: In terms of character, what traits of Rossini's Angelina/Cenerentola do you believe set her apart from other Cinderellas of Massenet, Rodgers & Hammerstein, and so on?

JS: Although I love the music Massenet wrote for Cendrillon, I find the character of Cenerentola vastly more interesting and fleshed out. We see her "goodness" acted out in many ways. Two of the most obvious ones being her interaction with Alidoro, where she gives "the beggar" bread and coffee; the other happens at the end of Rossini's piece, when despite all the despicable abuse taken from her step-father and step-sisters, she wants to reach out to them and share her wealth and happiness.

OSL: For a comedy, there are a few moments of the Ferretti libretto which are decidedly dark. For example, the step-sisters hurl insults such as alma di fango (literally, "soul of mud") and step-father Don Magnifico at one point claims Cenerentola is dead when Alidoro attempts to establish the existence of a third child in the house. How do you deal with presenting these darker moments in an otherwise sophisticated comedy?

JS: Sometimes insults are hurled out of habit. Even though there is no love at all from the other members of Cenerentola's household, I feel that she has learned to live with it, because it is part of what happens daily. She turns it off. Therefore she is able to recover quickly from Magnifico's declaration of "morì" (dead) and only a few measures later contradict her step-father. A page or so later he insists again that the "third" sister is dead. This time she ignores him and is amused and amazed at her family's confused state.

OSL: Rossini's scores never hurt for exciting coloratura and ensembles. What arias, duets and ensembles do you most enjoy bringing to life onstage?

JS: It is all so witty and full of bubbles and spritz. One of my favorite duets, however, is between Magnifico and Dandini, where the valet informs Magnifico of his humble state. Some of the large ensembles are astounding. The composer is able to repeat long coloratura passages in different characters all the while keeping the characteristic momentum of the Rossini "train" going at an amazing clip.

OSL: Can you recommend musical moments audiences should definitely look out for?

JS: There is one seven measure passage where Cenerentola is begging her step-father to allow her to go to the ball. The music is an ascending phrase which to my mind foreshadows some of Verdi's beautiful melodies. One of the ensembles I was describing earlier is what I call "gruppo." It comes pretty close to the end. Also the tenor aria rivals the "high C" aria from Donizetti's La fille du Régiment. At the very end of course Ceneretola sings one of the great lyric mezzo coloratura arias "Non più mesta."

OSL: The Cinderella story has taken place in a variety of times and settings, giving the director a number of possibilities. In working with your design team, what concept did you arrive at for sets and costumes?

JS: We debated between the Empire and Biedermeier periods and decided that especially for the sisters, the Biedermeier costumes would lead to more comedy. Without a curtain it is difficult to go back and forth between Magnifico's house and the palace/castle. So we are asking the audience to buy into the idea of having the set changed in front of their eyes during musical numbers. It becomes more and more part of the story. I won't give away more than that.

Operatic Saint Louis: Some folks might be flummoxed by a Cinderella without the familiar glass slipper, wicked step-mother, fairy-godmother and magical spectacle...how would you convince them into attending La Cenerentola?

Jolly Stewart: First and foremost, the music is absolutely delicious. It sweeps you off your feet. The glass slipper is not nearly as important as the actual thing which draws the two lovers together. They both find each other so appealing and full of goodness and joy, that even without a slipper or a bracelet, I feel they would have found each other again.

La Cenerentola opens Friday, July 29 and will run for three more performances on July 30, Aug 6 & 7(M). Performances begin 8pm, except for 3pm Matinee on August 7. Production sung in Italian with projected English supertitles. Venue: Union Avenue Christian Church; 733 N. Union Blvd, St. Louis, 63108.

Tickets range $30-52. Children's General Admission Tickets (ages 12 and under) are available for $15. Student Rush Tickets are $15 with valid Student ID (cash only) for any remaining seats available 15 minutes before curtain. To purchase Tickets or find more information about Union Avenue Opera, please call 314.361.2881 or visit http://www.unionavenueopera.org/