Remember how in the fairy tale 鈥淐inderella,鈥 her father dies and she鈥檚 left to serve the whims of her spoiled stepsisters and endure the cruelty of her wicked stepmother?
In French composer Jules Massenet鈥檚 version, dad鈥檚 alive and kowtowing to his wife and snotty stepdaughters, while his own daughter becomes a stranger in her own home.
If you鈥檙e thinking this sounds straight out of today鈥檚 headlines of cruel parents and neglected children, you鈥檙e only half right, because Massenet had a pretty sharp wit, which is on full display in 鈥淐endrillon,鈥 being performed by the UA Opera Theatre this weekend.
While mostly adhering to the fairytale, Massenet takes a few detours in the retelling:
Cinderella does get help from her fairy godmother and her attendants to turn her drab housedress into a stunning ball gown complete with glass slippers. And she is whisked away to the ball, where Prince Charming spots her in a crowded ballroom and falls instantly and madly in love. And, yes, she loses a glass slipper as she beats feet to make the midnight changing-back-into-a-plain-Jane-servant-girl deadline.
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But then the story gets a bit twisty: Cinderella 鈥 or Cendrillon in Massenet鈥檚 version 鈥 has a dream that she runs away from her wacky family and ends up falling asleep in the forest. And somewhere in that dream, the prince arrives to save the day.
Then she wakes up to realize it was all a dream, until her stepmother excitedly announces that the prince is looking for glass slipper girl. Here鈥檚 where the story gets a little loopy: Instead of going around from house to house in the kingdom looking for the girl of his dreams who can fit into the slipper, the prince holes up in his grand ballroom and let鈥檚 the girls come to him. And when he spots Cendrillon, well, you know how that ends.
Or do you?
In the fairytale version, the prince and the girl of his destiny kiss, and the curtain comes down.
In Massenet鈥檚 version, the cast breaks character, turns to the audience and sings that the play is over and they really hope that they have done their best to send you through 鈥渓es beaux pays bleus鈥 (the beautiful blue countries).
See?
Wacky.