It’s almost as if someone waved a magic wand…and just like that, the story of Cinderella was everywhere. Well, perhaps not everywhere, but at least at Knoxville’s Bijou Theatre this spring. Two weeks ago, the University of Tennessee Opera Theatre did four performances of Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon. This weekend, Knoxville Opera is taking on a lesser-known, but charmingly attractive Cendrillon, a shorter chamber opera version by Pauline Viardot.
Although not a big household name today, Viardot was a well-known singer, teacher, and composer whose life meandered through a Who’s Who of musical names and places of the 19th Century until her death in Paris in 1910 at the age of 88. Born Pauline Garcia to a family of acclaimed musicians, her father was a famous tenor, her mother a noted soprano, and her older sister was the famous diva Maria Malibran. Viardot trained as a pianist, but became a professional singer upon the insistence of her mother.
Most of Viardot’s composing came after her retirement from the stage in 1863. Cendrillon was probably written partly as an educational piece, not specifically intended for theatrical performance. With a score for piano and seven roles, the work was first performed in 1904 in her Paris salon, most assuredly for an audience of well-known musicians of the day. Viardot was also the librettist for her work, adapting Charles Perrault’s story, but taking humorous, light-hearted license with the tale. For example, the fairy godmother is something of the narrator, providing a running commentary on the characters and the action. Overall, its wit and charm give it an abundance of operatic delights.
This Knoxville Opera production features an orchestration by composer David Hanlon commissioned by Wolf Trap Opera and performed there at the Filene Center, Vienna, VA, in July of 2021. That production was conducted by Kelly Kuo, who will be conducting the KO performances. Hanlon’s instrumentation features a double string quartet, double bass, oboe/English horn, two flutes, and keyboard. The KO stage director is Dean Anthony.
Cendrillon — Flora Hawk
Fairy Godmother — Jacquie Brecheen
Le Baron de Pictordu — Spencer Reichman
Le Prince Charmant — Patrick Starke
Armelinde — Elizabeth Sarian
Maguelonne — Sarah Clementine Mire
Barigoule — Brian Jeffers
Knoxville Opera: Cendrillon by Pauline Viardot
Bijou Theatre, 803 S. Gay Street
Friday, May 3, 7:30 PM
Saturday, May 4, 7:30 PM
Sunday, May 5, 2:30 PM
