Questo è un nodo avviluppato: an awesome Cenerentola at the TCE

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, 30 January 2010

Hilarious! There's no better word to describe the premiere of La Cenerentola, on Saturday night at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.

This production by Irina Brook that first opened at the TCE a few years ago, has already seen revivals outside Paris and major stars singing the role of Angelina (Elina Garanca, Malena Ernman, Vivica Genaux). And although I had already watched parts of it (mainly from the telecast of the Stockholm staging), I was not prepared for such a mind-blowing night.

Bar Magnifico ;)

Genaux and Spagnoli

Vivica Genaux (Angelina) matched pretty fine with Antonino Siragusa (Don Ramiro) and both sang great, so did Stéphane Degout (Dandini) and I have only good words for Nidia Palacios (Tisbe) and Carla di Censo (Clorinda). However it was Pietro Spagnoli and Ildebrando d' Arcangelo who stole the show.

Baritones in uniform

D'Arcangelo is not an exemplary rossinian and his singing sounds undisciplined, unfocused, flat at times but he managed to make us overlook his flaws and focus on his stage personality and on his charisma as a comedian. On the other hand I really enjoyed Spagnoli's singing, a bit over the top "brutto" at times, but what a fine creation of Magnifico that was! And if his Barbiere in London matched just fine but never equalled the awesomeness of JDF and JDD, in this Cenerentola we witnessed an incredible one-man-show!

They 're too sexy for your party...

...And they do their little turn on the catwalk, (yeah on the catwalk)

And from a different perspective (the ovation was so long that I even had time to leave my seat and go to the lateral of the premier balcon):

And a treat! Vivica Genaux, Non piú mesta, TCE 30 January 2010 (and yes, I've been bad again):