CINDERELLA – TRANSMISSION OF 2022 MET PRODUCTION IN 2026

 Reviewed by James Karas

On January 1, 2022, New York’s Metropolitan Opera did something unusual. It transmitted Jules Massenet’s opera Cendrillon, to movie theatres around the world as part of its Live in HD from the Met series. The performance was sung in English and the shortened version being transmitted was intended to entertain children as well as adults. The opera was given its English name, Cinderella and was shown only once. Four years later that performance was transmitted again on February 21, 2026

The full opera directed by Laurent Pelly, opened at the Met in April 2018. But this transmission of a shortened version running 1 hour and 47 minutes presumably to account for introductory and closing remarks was done without intermission.  The 2018 production lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes.

The shortened version eliminated some characters and scenes but told the Cinderella story effectively. Do not mix Massenet’s Cinderella or Cendrillon with Rossini’s La Cenerentola. They are very different. 

This performance starred the lovely mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard as the abused Cinderella who dreams of going to the fancy ball in the palace. Leonard is vocally and physically captivating, exuding innocence and gorgeous sounds. In the meantime, her hideous step-sisters with the help of their mother (distinguished mezzo Stephanie Blythe) prepare to go to the ball and snag Prince Charming (mezzo soprano Emily D’Angelo) as a husband. The sisters and their mother dress in puffed up clothes, sport awful hairdos, play for laughs and are splendid at it.  

We meet Cinderella’s father Pandolfe, (bass baritone Laurent Naouri) a henpecked man under the thumb and abuse of his second wife, Madame de la Haltière. He had Cinderella with his first wife. Naouri is vocally fine and presents a pathetic but decent man. 

The catalyst of the story is the Fairy Godmother sung by Jessica Pratt who appears spry in a fancy gown with vocal flourishes and awakens the dreaming Cinderella. She promises her a beautiful gown, glass slippers and a horse-drawn carriage to take Cinderella to the ball.  In the beginning, Prince Charming looks like an emotionally troubled teenager but when he looks at Cinderella and she looks at him and we hear their gorgeous duet, well, we can recognize love when we see it. 

                                Isabel Leonard in the title role of Massenet's "Cinderella." 
                                            Photo: Karen Almond / Met Opera

But Cinderella has a midnight curfew and she dashes out in the nick of time, leaving one   of her glass slippers behind. And you know the rest.

Choreographer Laura Scozzi provides some comic and beautiful ballet sequences performed by the Met Opera Ballet. Emmanuel Villaume conducted the entire production.

The costumes by Laurent Pelly are fairytale suitable. The wicked stepsisters and stepmother, as I said, are dressed and act to evoke laughter. In their costumes puffed at the middle they look like they may fly off. The Fairy Godmother’s gown is beautiful and otherworldly. Cinderella looks stunning in the gown the Fairy Godmother provides and she is gorgeous and on our side. The actors that draw the carriage to the ball wear horses’ heads and are very friendly.

The set by Barbara de Limburg consists of a series of moveable panels on three sides of the stage with French writing on them. The panels have a number of doors that facilitate entry and exit of characters. Is the French writing on the panels to remind us that this Cinderella is really Cendrillon?

The full-length production of the opera was directed by Laurent Pelly and there was no indication in the program as to who shortened it and made it more suitable for children. Credit is given to Kelley Rourke for the English translation. One cannot fault the Met for the initial transmission in 2022 or for the reprise in 2026. Trying to attract children to the opera is a laudable effort.
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Cinderella being a shortened version of Cendrillon by Jules Massenet was initially performed and transmitted from New York’s Metropolitan Opera House on January 1, 2022, and again on February 21, 2026, at select Cineplex theatres across Canada. For more information go to: www.cineplex.com/events

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE – REVIEW OF 2026 COC PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas           

The Barber of Seville, the Canadian Opera Company’s companion to Rigoletto for its winter season, is an irrepressible opera that combines unforgettable music and melodies with a wonderful and funny love story. You can’t go wrong with seeing it for the first or umpteenth time.

The current production is a revival of the 2015 staging by Joan Font which was last seen here in 2020. The production has its moments and some of its disappointments but it rises to thoroughly enjoyable level in the second half.

There were some issues with the singing at the beginning where tenor Dave Monaco as Count Almaviva and baritone Luke Sutliff as Figaro had difficulty reaching the demands of their roles. Their vocal cords settled down during the second half. Bass-baritone Luca Pisaroni did fine work as the singing teacher Basilio especially in his delivery of his famous aria “La Calumnia.”

Baritone Renato Girolami sang an excellent Dr. Bartolo and managed to be sonorous and humorous throughout the performance. Mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny made a fetching and marvelous Rosina both vocally and theatrically. We fall in love with her right from the start when she sings “Una voce poco fa” (a voice echoed in her heart) and then tells us  that she is docile and simply announces that she is gentle, respectful, obedient, sweet and loving if she gets her way. She turns into a viper if she does not and swears that she will get her lover Lindoro. Period. Johnny sings sweetly, convincingly, beautifully and displays the verve and determination that we want to see in Rosina. A superb performance. 

Deepa Johnny and Renato Girolami. Photo: Michael Cooper

Rossini gives a somewhat unrelated aria, “Il vecchiotto cerca miglie” (The old man seeks a wife) to the maid Berta (Ariana Maubach) who sings it gorgeously and deserves kudos.

Director Joan Font and Set and Costume Designer Joan Guillen want to give their conception of the opera. Fair enough. But you must give us something original and convincing that adds something to our appreciation of the work. The Barber can be done on two sets. First the town square with the exterior of Bartolo’s house and a window where see Rosina. The second scene is the interior of Bartolo’s house with the details and variations that the director and designer can provide.

In this production Dr. Bartolo lives in a glass house and we see the interior window where Rosina stands and the staircase  for exiting the house. The interior  has a stark look about it with a very large piano and a few chairs. There is a large rectangle at the rear that is black or we see a flowering tree of various colors displayed on it. Only half the stage is lit at times and that adds nothing to the production. At times the stage looks like a storage facility.

Scene from The Barber of Seville: Photo: Michael Cooper

In the opening scene Count Almaviva stands on a huge guitar to serenade Rosina and Figaro sings much of “Largo al Factotum” as if his feet were nailed to the stage boards. Let’s just say that the set adds nothing to the production.

There is a woman sitting stage right throughout the performance and I could not figure out what she was doing there.

The costumes were fine representing we assume Seville attire in the 19^th century or whenever.

Font casts eleven actors in the production and they appear now and then in addition to the chorus. I could not figure out what they were doing except to add crowds whether they are necessary or not.     

Font’s and Guillen’s conception and execution added very little to the opera but they did not repress the music, the singing and the humour of Rossini’s genius. Conductor Daniela Candillari made sure of that with her handling of the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra and Chorus that performed superbly.    
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The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini with libretto by Cesare Sterbini in a revival of a COC coproduction with Houston Grand Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux and Opera Australia opened on February 5 and will be performed eight times until February 21, 2026, on various dates at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. For details see www.coc.ca

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Torontp

RIGOLETTO – REVIEW OF 2026 CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY PRODUCTION

 Reviewed by James Karas

The Canadian Opera Company has scheduled two operatic gems for its winter season, Rigoletto and The Barber of Seville, and no one can argue with these inveterate crowd pleasers. One may argue that the company should be more adventurous but no one can get tired of its two choices, so be it.

This revival of Christopher Alden’s 2011 production is carried by an excellent cast but it may be best described as quirky or unorthodox or, at times, a bit confusing for someone seeing the opera for the first time.

Before I discuss those attributes, I want to praise the singers and state unequivocally, that they make the production enjoyable and worthwhile seeing even if you have seen the opera umpteen times.

Quinn Kelsey as the court jester Rigoletto. whether he is expressing love for his daughter Gilda or mocking and then begging the courtiers, gives a marvellous and emotionally splendid performance. When he sings with Gilda, he displays a deeply felt affection for her. When he mocks the courtiers, he is disgusting and in his last outburst when he realizes that Sparafucile has killed Gilda instead of the Duke, he delivers an emotional knockout.

Soprano Sarah Dufresne has a lush and gorgeous voice and her Gilda is vocally outstanding and emotionally moving. Yes, you do have to forget or ignore the fact that she is naive. She decides to get killed to save the life of the repulsive Duke because she loves him. Sure. Put all that aside and listen to her singing. Dufresne will be replaced by Andriana Chuchman on February 10, 12 and 14.

 Simona Genga (back), Sarah Dufresne and Ben Bliss in Rigoletto. 

Photo: Michael Cooper

Tenor Ben Bliss sings the amoral, selfish and swaggering Duke. He starts with “Questa o quella” and ends up with the unforgettable  “La dona e mobile” which has a gorgeous melody and offensive lyrics but, once again, just listen to it and ignore the details until after you leave the theatre.   

A few comments about Alden’s idiosyncrasies.

In the opening scene we find Rigoletto seated in a leather chair in a corner of the stage. Alden is a fan of seated characters and rarely allows them to face or sing to each other. We are in what looks like in a Gentlemen’s Club. The members are dressed formally a la 19^th century private club members that may represent such a place in London. Rigoletto, the odious court jester has a hump but otherwise is dressed like the other club members. He goads and insults the Courtiers and one of them Monterone (Gregory Dahl) curses him. The Duke and the courtiers make up a social group that have the morals of alley cats.

As we know, the courtiers abduct Rigoletto’s daughter Gilda from her house. While she sings some beautiful arias and duets with her father in a place that does not look like a residence, we see courtiers milling around. The Duke sneaks in (he bribes Gilda’s maid Giovanni sung by Simona Genga) and we are treated to romantic, really romantic, duet by the Duke and Gilda. What starts as a lecherous cad and ends as a rapist and disgusting person (“La dona e mobile”) becomes a romantic hero for a few minutes. But as soon as he leaves and the courtiers who were milling around disperse, they return with faces covered and abduct Gilda. What were they doing there before?

They take Gilda to the palace and a distraught Rigoletto begs the courtiers to tell him where his daughter is. He sings to us and not to the courtiers who have huddled around Gilda who is lying on a couch and presumably being raped. She should be found in a bedroom but Alden has her on a couch. Is the Duke raping her or the courtiers? We know it should be the Duke thinking she is Rigoletto’s mistress (really?) The scene is confusing. Rigoletto should be begging the courtiers directly but they have their backs to him and he addresses us. Well, take it as it comes.

The final scene takes place in Sparafucile's dingy tavern or den of murder and iniquity. Sparafucile is a hit man for hire and his sister Maddalena (Zoie Reams) is a lowlife for hire. In Alden’s production and Set and Costume Designer Michael Levine, it looks like a swanky hall where the members of the Gentlemen’s Club are having a general meeting. We hear the wonderful quartet and the goings on but what are they doing there? It is an awful night of thunder and lightning and murder, what are the well-dressed men doing there. 

Johannes Debus conducts the Canadian Opera Orchestra and Chorus in a splendid performance.

I find Alden’s quirks mystifying but they are not enough to spoil Verdi’s work and especially the superb cast that gives you a terrific night at the opera
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Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi cis being performed seven times until February 14, 2026 at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts, 145 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario. Tel:  416-363-6671. www.coc.ca

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto