Cinderella 1966
Cast aside from her family…
… Cinderella dreams of a new life. After a twist of fate, she meets Prince Ramiro. Charmed by her goodness, the Prince asks her to marry. She challenges him, and if he can win, she will be his bride.
Synopsis
Act I
The opera is loosely based on the famous fairy tale. Cinderella is working as a servant in her step-father’s house, which she occupies with her two ugly step-sisters, Clorinda and Thisbe. Alidoro, a philosopher and counsellor to Prince Ramiro, enters, disguised as a beggar, and is immediately ordered out by the sisters. Cinderella, however, takes pity on him and gives him something to eat and drink. The servants of Prince Ramiro arrive to invite the sisters to a grand ball, and when Don Magnifico comes in, the sisters tell him of the invitation. He becomes excited at the opportunity of marrying one of them to the Prince. They all go off to their rooms to get dressed, and Prince Ramiro, disguised as his valet Dandini enters. He sees Cinderella and is immediately attracted to her beauty and innocence (as she is to him), but the sisters quickly call her away to help them with their finery. Dandini arrives disguised as the Prince and, although his social gaffes amuse Ramiro, Don Magnifico and his two ugly daughters are completely captivated. Cinderella begs her step-father to be allowed to go to the ball-for only an hour-but he refuses, saying she is a servant. Alidoro asks if there are not supposed to be three daughters in the house, but Magnifico says the other daughter is dead. All of them go off to the ball, and Alidoro tells Cinderella he will see to it that she goes also.
In a room in the palace Dandini and Ramiro wonder why Alidoro suggested they go to Magnifico’s house, since both the daughters are so ugly. The sisters descend on the “Prince,” each hoping to snare him, but suddenly Alidoro announces the arrival of an unknown lady of great beauty. Ramiro thinks he recognizes her voice, and the sisters exclaim on how much she looks like their servant, Cinderella, and are highly annoyed at her unwelcome intrusion.
Act II
The two sisters quarrel as to which one should get the Prince and which one he loves. Dandini meanwhile has been smitten with the beautiful unknown lady and (as the Prince) proposes to her. Cinderella, however, declines his offer, saying she is in love with his valet. Ramiro, who has been listening, is overjoyed and himself proposes, but Cinderella says he must find out who she is, and she gives him a bracelet which matches one she wears, then leaves. Magnifico comes in and asks the “Prince” if he has chosen his bride. Dandini determines exactly how much dowry Magnifico will pay and then tells him that he is not the Prince, but only a valet in disguise. Magnifico is furious.
Cinderella has returned to her duties as a servant, and Magnifico and his daughters are convinced that she could not have been the unknown lady who came to the ball. A storm arises, and Dandini (now a valet) and the Prince take refuge in Magnifico’s house. Magnifico orders Cinderella to bring the Prince a chair, and she brings it to Dandini. Magnifico corrects her, and she realizes with whom she is in love. In her embarrassment, she allows Ramiro to see the matching bracelet on her arm. Ramiro claims her as his bride, much to the discomfiture of the sisters and of Don Magnifico.
At the gala wedding ceremony Cinderella, good-hearted as always, asks that her step-father and step-sisters be forgiven, and the opera ends happily.
Artists
Helen Vanni
Mezzo-soprano
Cinderella
Helen Vanni
Hometown: Davenport, IA
SFO Debut:
Tessa, The Gondoliers, 1960
Past Seasons:
Countess Olga Sukarev, Fedora, 1977
Countess Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, 1976 (August 24)
Hero, L’Egisto, 1976
Constance Fletcher, The Mother of Us All, 1976
Mistress Alice Ford, Falstaff, 1975
Countess Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, 1973
Mrs. Coyle, Owen Wingrave, 1973
Countess Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, 1970
Smeton, Anna Bolena, 1970
Dorabella, Così fan tutte, 1969
Marschallin, Der Rosenkavalier, 1968
Suzuki, Madame Butterfly, 1968 (July 2 – 12)
Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro, 1967
Rosina, The Barber of Seville, 1967
Cinderella, Cinderella, 1966
Clairon, Capriccio, 1966
Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
Suzuki, Madame Butterfly, 1965
Rosina, The Barber of Seville, 1965
Suzuki, Madame Butterfly, 1963 (July 6 – 10)
Octavian, Der Rosenkavalier, 1963
Jocasta, Oedipus Rex, 1962
St. Catherine, Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962
Dorabella, Così fan tutte, 1962
Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro, 1961
Octavian, Der Rosenkavalier, 1961
Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro, 1960
Cinderella, Cinderella, 1960
Charles Bressler
Tenor
Don Ramiro
Charles Bressler
Hometown: Kingston, PA
SFO Debut:
Don Ramiro, Cinderella, 1966
Past Seasons:
Rebellious Soul, Die Jakobsleiter, 1968
Tiresias, The Bassarids, 1968
Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville, 1967
Lilaque pere, Boulevard Solitude, 1967
Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni, 1966
The Captain, Wozzeck, 1966
Julian Patrick
Baritone
Dandini (July 6 - 9)
Julian Patrick
Hometown: Meridian, MS
SFO Debut:
Dandini, Cinderella, 1966 (July 6 – 9)
Past Seasons:
Faninal, Der Rosenkavalier, 1992
Jailer, Dialogues of the Carmelites, 1966
Olivier, Capriccio, 1966
John Reardon
Baritone
Dandini (August 18 - 26)
John Reardon
Hometown: New York, NY
SFO Debut:
Nick Shadow, The Rake’s Progress, 1960
Past Seasons:
Count Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, 1970
Dr. Stone, Help! Help! The Globolinks, 1970
Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, 1969
Dr. Stone, Help! Help! The Globolinks, 1969
Urbain Grandier, The Devils of Loudun, 1969
Belcore, The Elixir of Love, 1968
Sharpless, Madame Butterfly, 1968
Pentheus, The Bassarids, 1968
Figaro, The Barber of Seville, 1967
Cardillac, Cardillac, 1967
Jochanaan, Salome, 1967
Dandini, Cinderella, 1966 (August 18 – 26)
Mandryka, Arabella, 1965
Count Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
Platon Kusmich Kovalioff, The Nose, 1965
Escamillo, Carmen, 1964 (July 10 – August 5)
Count Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, 1964
Herr von Faninal, Der Rosenkavalier, 1963
Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni, 1963
Sharpless, Madame Butterfly, 1963 (July 6 – August 2)
Scarpia, Tosca, 1962
Nick Shadow, The Rake’s Progress, 1962
Scarpia, Tosca, 1960
Peter Harrower
bass
Alidoro
Peter Harrower
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
SFO Debut:
Frank, Die Fledermaus, 1963
Past Seasons:
Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, 1969
Emperor of China, Le Rossignol, 1969
Sarastro, The Magic Flute, 1969
First Nazarene, Salome, 1969
Sarastro, The Magic Flute, 1968
Police Commissioner, Der Rosenkavalier, 1968
Cadmus, The Bassarids, 1968
Don Basilio, The Barber of Seville, 1967
Zuniga, Carmen, 1967
First Nazarene, Salome, 1967
La Roche, Capriccio, 1966
Alidoro, Cinderella, 1966
Commendatore, Don Giovanni, 1966
Sparafucile, Rigoletto, 1966 (August 20 – 27)
Count Waldner, Arabella, 1965
Don Basilio, The Barber of Seville, 1965
Raimondo, Lucia di Lammermoor, 1965
Advertising Editor/Doctor, The Nose, 1965
Zuniga, Carmen, 1964
Master Amantio, Gianni Schicchi, 1964
Animal Trainer, Lulu, 1964
Sparafucile, Rigoletto, 1964
Police Commissioner, Der Rosenkavalier, 1963
Commendatore, Don Giovanni, 1963
Chamberlain, Le Rossignol, 1963
Animal Trainer, Lulu, 1963
Patricia Wise
Soprano
Clorinda
Patricia Wise
Hometown: Wichita, KS
SFO Debut:
Musetta, La bohème, 1967
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 1965, 1966
Past Seasons:
Papagena, The Magic Flute, 1968
Dying One/Soul, Die Jakobsleiter, 1968
Clorinda, Cinderella, 1966
Jean Kraft
Mezzo-soprano
Thisbe
Jean Kraft
Hometown: Menasha, WI
SFO Debut:
Adelaide von Waldner, Arabella, 1965
Past Seasons:
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1987
Housekeeper, Die schweigsame Frau, 1987
Third Lady, The Magic Flute, 1986
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1985
Juno, The Tempest, 1985
Third Lady, The Magic Flute, 1984
Notary’s Wife, Intermezzo, 1984
May/Madwoman 4, We Come to the River, 1984
Berta, The Barber of Seville, 1981
Miss Pick, News of the Day, 1981
Madame Larina, Eugene Onegin, 1980
Herodias, Salome, 1979
Mistress Meg Page, Falstaff, 1977
Geneviève, Pelléas et Mélisande, 1977
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1976 (July 10 – 23; August 21 -24)
Mistress Meg Page, Falstaff, 1975
Third Lady, The Magic Flute, 1974
Countess Geschwitz, Lulu, 1974
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1973
Kate Julian, Owen Wingrave, 1973
Suzuki, Madame Butterfly, 1972
Herodias, Salome, 1972
Miss Newkirk, Help! Help! The Globolinks, 1970
Flora, La traviata, 1970
Death, Le Rossignol, 1970
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1970
Mother Goose, The Rake’s Progress, 1970
Miss Newkirk, Help! Help! The Globolinks, 1969
Death, Le Rossignol, 1969
Third Lady, The Magic Flute, 1969
Herodias, Salome, 1969
Ninon, The Devils of Loudun, 1969
Annina, Der Rosenkavalier, 1968
Gianetta, The Elixir of Love, 1968
Flora, La traviata, 1968
Third Lady, The Magic Flute, 1968
Maddalena, Rigoletto, 1966
Thisbe, Cinderella, 1966
Prioress, Dialogues of the Carmelites, 1966
Mother Goose, The Rake’s Progress, 1966
Margret, Wozzeck, 1966
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
Gimi Beni
Bass-baritone
Don Magnifico
Gimi Beni
Hometown: Philadelphia, PA
SFO Debut:
Grand Inquisitor, The Gondoliers, 1960
Past Seasons:
Billy Jackrabbit, La fanciulla del West, 1991
Morbio, Die schweigsame Frau, 1991
Notary, Der Rosenkavalier, 1989
Le Baron, Chérubin, 1989
Frank, Die Fledermaus, 1988
Prince Yamadori, Madame Butterfly, 1987
Morbio, Die schweigsame Frau, 1987
Ivan Yakovlevich, The Nose, 1987
Frank, Die Fledermaus, 1986
Un Licteur, Orpheus in the Underworld, 1985
Stephano, The Tempest, 1985
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1970
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1970
Emperor of China, Le Rossignol, 1970
Dr. Turtlespit, Help! Help! The Globolinks, 1970
Prince Yamadori, Madame Butterfly, 1968
Speaker, The Magic Flute, 1968
Dr. Dulcamara, The Elixir of Love, 1968
Benoit/Alcindoro, La bohème, 1967
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1967
Bartolo, The Barber of Seville, 1967
Fifth Jew, Salome, 1967
Count of Monterone, Rigoletto, 1966
Sacristan, Tosca, 1966
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1966
Don Magnifico, Cinderella, 1966
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
Ivan Yakovlevich, The Nose, 1965
Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 1964
Benoit, La bohème, 1964
Simone, Gianni Schicci, 1964
Dr. Goll, Lulu, 1964
Sacristan, Tosca, 1960
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1960
Creon, Oedipus Rex, 1960
Simone, Gianni Schicci, 1960
Robert Baustian
Conductor
Robert Baustian
Hometown: Storm Lake, IA
SFO Debut:
The Barber of Seville, 1957
Past Seasons:
Die Jakobsleiter, 1980
Pelléas et Mélisande, 1977
The Marriage of Figaro, 1976
The Cunning Little Vixen, 1975
Così fan tutte, 1975 (July 30)
La vida breve, 1975
L’Enfant et les sortilèges, 1975
The Magic Flute, 1974
Le Rossignol, 1973
L’Enfant et les sortilèges, 1973
The Marriage of Figaro, 1973
Pelléas et Mélisande, 1972
The Marriage of Figaro, 1971
The Magic Flute, 1971
The Marriage of Figaro, 1970
Le Rossignol, 1970
Le Rossignol, 1969
The Magic Flute, 1969
Die Jakobsleiter, 1968
Perséphone, 1968
The Elixir of Love, 1968
The Magic Flute, 1968
The Marriage of Figaro, 1967
Boulevard Solitude, 1967
The Barber of Seville, 1967
Dialogues of the Carmelites, 1966
Don Giovanni, 1966
Cinderella, 1966
The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
The Stag King, 1965
Lucia di Lammermoor, 1965
The Marriage of Figaro, 1964
L’Enfant et les sortilèges, 1964
L’Enfant et les sortilèges, 1963
Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1963
Don Giovanni, 1963
Mavra, 1962
Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962
La traviata, 1962
Così fan tutte, 1962
The Marriage of Figaro, 1961
The Ballad of Baby Doe, 1961
The Marriage of Figaro, 1960
Cinderella, 1960
The Barber of Seville, 1959
Abduction from the Seraglio, 1959
Cinderella, 1958
Falstaff, 1958
Così fan tutte, 1958
The Tower, 1957
Lotfi Mansouri
Director
Lotfi Mansouri
Hometown: Tehran, Iran
SFO Debut:
The Barber of Seville, 1965
Past Seasons:
Lucia di Lammermoor, 1979
Don Carlo, 1971
Anna Bolena, 1970
La traviata, 1970
Tosca, 1969
Der Rosenkavalier, 1968
La traviata, 1968
Salome, 1967
Carmen, 1967
Wozzeck, 1966
Rigoletto, 1966
Cinderella, 1966
Tosca, 1966
Lucia di Lammermoor, 1965
Lawrence Reehling
Scenic Designer
Costume Designer
Lawrence Reehling
Hometown: Hanover, PA
SFO Debut:
Lucia di Lammermoor, 1965
Past Seasons:
The Magic Flute, 1974
The Magic Flute, 1971
The Magic Flute, 1969
The Magic Flute, 1968
The Marriage of Figaro, 1967
Boulevard Solitude, 1967
Wozzeck, 1966 (Scenic and Costume Designer)
Dialogues of the Carmelites. 1966
Don Giovanni, 1966
Cinderella, 1966 (Scenic and Costume Designer)
The Nose, 1965 (Scenic and Costume Designer)
The Stag King, 1965
Joan Larkey
Lighting Designer
Joan Larkey
Hometown: Carmel Valley, CA
SFO Debut:
Tosca, 1966
Past Seasons:
La bohème, 1967 (Scenic & Lighting Designer)
The Barber of Seville, 1967 (Scenic & Lighting Designer)
Wozzeck, 1966
Cinderella, 1966
Rigoletto, 1966
Capriccio, 1966
Don Giovanni, 1966
The Rake’s Progress,1966
Dialogues of the Carmélites, 1966
R. Whitman Procter
Chorus Master
R. Whitman Procter
SFO Debut:
Tosca, 1966
Past Seasons:
Cinderella, 1966
Don Giovanni, 1966
Dialogues of the Carmélites, 1966
The Rake’s Progress, 1966
Capriccio, 1966
Rigoletto, 1966
Wozzeck, 1966
Cinderella 1966
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