“These fantastic stories like Cinderella or Snow White originally had a certain moral in the context of the time, although later adaptations have been made, from those of the Brothers Grimm to those Disney that have appeared like candy. And they are stories that were not how we tell them now. It is worth looking at where they come from to better reflect on it and adapt them to our reality. Because, obviously, that part of the triumph of love above all that is Rossini's La cenerentola responds to the utopian side that we have as a society, but we must remember the part of sacrifice that it implies. And here the scenic proposal is very interesting, with those touches that make it not only magical but reflective. Opera must be a reflection of our own reality and invite us to be participants in some change.”
With those words this Thursday, tenor Javier Camarena recommended the production of La cenerentola, which comes to the Liceu - from June 18 to 1 - with a production by the celebrated Italian stage director Emma Dante, who places the emphasis on that of disturbing and disturbing of this story.
It is a revival of a montage that premiered in Rome, but that maintains its strength and expressiveness, as Dante herself explains. “The cenerentola is already a force of nature, an opera that will always live, not only because of the rhythm and passion, but also because of the spirituality that it contains. Yes, it is an opera buffa, a farce, but inside it hides a truth about the characters that leads us to reflect on arrogance, on abuse, that violence and the feminine condition within the domestic walls that in many cultures, such as the southern Italy where I come from, are still the order of the day.”
Dispossessed of everything and relegated to the position of her own family's servant, Cenerentola appears in this opera with a set inspired by American pop surrealism, which draws beautiful and baroque fables that can be disturbing. Thus, there will be the float, there will be a prince and love will finally reign, “but also disturbing elements that make you think that everything could turn into a nightmare.”
The main characters played by Camarena and the Russian mezzo Maria Kataeva, in their Spanish debut, in turn have five replicas as dolls with a key to wind them up. A way to address with a coup de effect the manipulation of which they are victims, supposedly reduced to mechanical dolls.
The production is musically directed by maestro Giacomo Sagripanti, with Carol Garcia in the alternate cast as Angelina and Sunnyboy Diadla as Don Ramiro. The rest of the cast includes Carles Pachón as Dandini or Marko Mimica as Alidoro.
