OPERA / Cinderella - Royalty, London WC1
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.When Spike Jones and his City Slickers took an axe to Bizet in Carmen Murdered, it took a mere 15 minutes to puncture opera's airs and graces. Music Theatre London's assault on Rossini's Cinderella raises fewer laughs in three hours. The intentions are honourable: to take opera out of the museum by using a tiny orchestra, singers from the musicals and a staging built around contemporary obsessions. But the physical vitality of Nick Broadhurst's production is undercut by an embarrassing crudity which finds it amusing to call Tisbe and Clorinda, Titty and Clitty. Despite the democratic declarations, there is snobbery in the continual sneer at Magnifico's plebby accent and taste. Tony Britten's re-scoring for an octet sounds pale and uninteresting, and much of the singing is atrocious. There is a witty mad scene en travesti, and Jan Hartley Morris as Cinders shows what could be done if Music Theatre London wasn't continually patting itself on the back for its iconoclasm.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments