ACT I
Madame de la Haltiere’s household is preparing the mistress and her two disobliging daughters for the evening’s court ball, while Pandolphe, her husband, wryly reflects on the pleasures of the past when he and his daughter, Cendtillon, lived in peace in the country. Servants, hairdressers and milliners scurry to considerable effort, then all depart, leaving Cendrillon to lament her exclusion from the party. The Fairy Godmother materializes in a great celebration of coloratura fireworks, galvanizes her entourage to improvise a costume, and wakes Cendrillon and packs her off to the palace, giving her a glass slipper and also commanding her to return by midnight.

ACT II
The Palace. Prince Charming is sunk in deep melancholy. Nothing, not even an ensemble of flute, crystal flute and viola d’amore, can rouse him. The King commands him to choose a bride from the company shortly to be assembled. Guests begin to arrive, and a suite of five ballets begins. At the completion of the ballet, Pandolphe and his three ladies make their entrance. Shortly after, Cendrillon also enters to general admiration. The Prince is plainly captivated by the unknown young woman, and there ensues a love duet which is, unfortunately, followed by the clock, striking midnight, requiring that Cendrillon leave at once.

ACT III
Cendrillon runs home in despair, having mislaid the slipper, and manages to disappear before her father and the three termagants return. They enter praising their own prowess at tho ball and disapproving of everything else. Pandolphe can’t stand up to them, but they eventually disappear and he and Cendrillon look forward to a happier life in the country together. He leaves, but Cendrillon cannot forget her stepsisters’ remarks claiming that the Prince’s interest in the unknown girl was no more than a passing fancy. She rushes despairingly into the night.

The Fairy Godmother holds court in the forest, and when an apparently broken-hearted young man appears, contrives to allow Cendrillon to hear him without being seen. Together, she and the Prince implore the Fairy to dissolve the magic barrier that separates them. Then they once again pour out their love. However real it seems, it is still only a dream …

ACT IV
Months have passed and Pandolphe is seen keeping watch over the sleeping· Cendrillon. When she awakes, he offers comfort. He assures her that her ravings – about the Prince she has never met and a glass slipper she never owned – are nothing but a dream. She accepts what he says, and father and daughter make their escape before Madame de la Haltiere and her daughters put in an appearance and put an end to the tranquil mood of the scene. A Herald announces that this very day all the ladies of the court are summoned to try on the glass slipper found in the palace after the ball. Cendrillon realizes that her “dream” was in fact real and begs her Fairy Godmother to make it possible for her to go.

At the palace, ladies of rank and fashion enter to a lively march and try the slipper, all to no avail..2 The Fairy Godmother announces Cendrillon, and she and the Prince greet each other rapturously, as she easily slips into the glass slipper .. The court renders homage as Pandolphe and his wife make their entrance, she brushing past him to embrace Cendrillon with the words: “My own child!” Pandolphe turns to the audience: “You see, all has ended well!”

Synopsis by Nico Castel

Not available for this performance

Not available for this performance

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