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Berzhanskaya in trionfo! Torino
Teatro Regio
01/20/2026 - & January 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 2026
Gioachino Rossini: La Cenerentola
Vasilisa Berzhanskaya*/Antoinette Dennefeld (Cenerentola), Nico Darmanin*/Pablo Martínez (Don Ramiro), Roberto De Candia*/Vincenzo Nizzardo (Dandini), Carlo Lepore*/Giulio Mastrototaro (Don Magnifico), Albina Tonkikh*/Claudia Urru (Clorinda), Martina Myskohlid (Tisbe), Maharram Huseynov*/Davide Giangregorio (Alidoro)
Coro del Teatro Regio, Plisse Trabacchin (Chorus Master), Orchestra del Teatro Regio, Antonio Fogliani (Conductor)
Manu Lalli (Stage Director), Roberto Lazzari (Sets), Gianna Poli (Costumes), Vladi Spigarolo (Lighting)
(© Daniele Ratti)
Rossini’s opera is appropriately named La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo: Cinderella, or the Triumph of Goodness. Rossini and Jacopo Ferretti, La Cenerentola’s librettist, opt for an Italian realistic view of the fairy tale. Gone are the fairy godmother, the magical transformation, the chimes at midnight and the glass shoe. Instead, it is an avuncular philosopher, Alidoro, who is Cinderella’s benefactor, and a bracelet she gives Prince Charming before leaving his ball that leads to her recognition. Cinderella’s goodness and Alidoro’s astuteness triumph in making the mistreated girl become the Prince’s betrothed. Stage director Manu Lalli chose to reintroduce the supernatural “magical” elements back into the story. Lalli works a lot with children and her delicate enchanting way shows it. Without being obtrusive, six fairies and a seventh very young fairy appear throughout the production. The young fairy is Angelina’s inner child that encourages her to stay hopeful and to believe in her dreams. Given Rossini’s highly ballabile (danceable) music, the six fairies dance in parallel to the action, especially in the most joyous crescendos.
In lieu of the fairy godmother, Rossini’s opera has Alidoro, the Prince’s tutor, who poses as a beggar to be chased away by Cenerentola’s stepsisters, but he’s given food and coffee by the kind maiden. This is how Alidoro discovers the girl’s goodness, deems her a good potential bride for Prince Ramiro and decides to help her win his heart. There’s no wicked stepmother either. Instead, there’s a stepfather who treats Cenerentola as a servant. As for the glass slippers, they’re replaced by a pair of diamond bracelets (gem‑studded gloves in this production). Cenerentola gives one to the Prince to identify her. To test the mettle of her stepsisters, stepfather and Cenerentola herself, the Prince resorts to a subterfuge where he poses as his own valet, and vice versa.
I recently saw in Düsseldorf the production by the late French director Jean‑Pierre Ponnelle (1932‑1988) that he made in several other venues. Ponnelle’s conception is faithful to Rossini’s intention of creating a fairytale for children as well as adults, eschewing the comedic excesses resorted to by some directors. Ponnelle, who also designed the sets and costumes, created a living fairytale, despite the absence of magic in this Italian telling. The delightful film version (1983) featuring Frederica von Stade, Francisco Araiza and Paolo Montarsolo, based on the 1973 La Scala production, is for many aficionados engraved in memory.
What was truly enchanting about Lalli’s production, despite its magical elements, is that it captures the spirit of Ponnelle; its charm and lightness and his avoidance of comedic excess. This makes the opera a charming romantic story and enhances the humour. Nothing kills comedy faster than this all‑too‑ubiquitous buffoonery, which happily does not plague this production.
Vasilisa Berzhanskaya has impressed me ever since I first saw her Rosina in a 2022 production of Il barbiere di Siviglia in Florence. Initially, I questioned whether I was hearing the usual version for mezzo or the now infrequent coloratura soprano version. The low notes were there but her dazzling coloratura was more typical of a soprano. She managed to further impress me by making me enjoy a role I typically dislike, Preziosilla in La forza del destino, starring Anna Netrebko, at La Scala in 2022. Finally, she surprised me – or did she? – by giving a recital at Pesaro’s 2025 Rossini Opera Festival (ROF) as a soprano singing typically bel canto repertoire.
I made a point of attending this performance of the thirty-two-year-old Russian as a mezzo. In a month, I hope to hear this dazzling singer’s Norma in Parma, when she will embark on a soprano career. Needless to say, Berzhanskaya dazzled in the opera’s most popular musical excerpt, the glorious aria and rondo “Nacqui all’affanno...Non più mesta,” thanks to her brilliant vocal prowess, as well as her ability to portray a modest but strong‑willed Angelina.
Maltese tenor Nico Darmanin impressed with his light lyric tenor, perfect for the role, and his natural elegance and charm. Endowed with an agile voice and ease in the upper register, he is a brilliant Ramiro. His deportment was aristocratic even when impersonating his own valet, and he was charm personified for Act I’s duet with Cenerentola, “Un soave non so che.” His Act II aria, “Si ritrovarla io giuro” was brilliantly rendered, with impressive high notes in the cabaletta.
Baritone Roberto De Candia, portraying the valet Dandini, relished his impersonation of Prince Ramiro. Though he avoided excess and vulgarity, Dandini, of all the characters, was the one to elicit the most laughs. Whether when he made fun of Don Magnifico and his daughters (“son tutte papà...talis patris, talem filias” and “vere figure etrusche”) or when he revealed his true identity to old fool Don Magnifico in the duet, “Un segreto d’importanza”, De Candia was truly funny.
Bass Carlo Lepore was true to his role’s name: simply magnificent. His Don Magnifico was both funny and touching. Despite this step‑father’s cruelty to Angelina, Lepore was able to convey the character’s pathos and one had sympathy for the decrepit fallen nobleman. It was smart of Lalli not to overdo Don Magnifico’s poverty. Cupidity and selfishness suffice to explain his cruelty and his grotesque behaviour. Thanks to his natural comedic verve, he was truly funny, despite playing his role with poise. Endowed with a powerful voice, he impressed in his Act II aria, “Sia qualunche delle figlie,” thanks to his comedic touch and the dizzying speed in the aria’s finale.
Belarusian soprano Albina Tonkikh and Canadian mezzo Martina Myskohlid were well cast as stepsisters Clorinda and Thisbe respectively. Like Ponnelle, Lalli avoided making the stepsisters into monstrous creatures or buffoonish clowns. Instead, they’re outwardly pretty, betraying an interior ugliness. They are at turns pompous, vain and short‑tempered. Moreover, both had appealing voices, employed effectively in the ensemble passages at the end of Act I, “Parlar, pensar, vorrei.” Azerbaijani bass-baritone Maharram Huseynov made the most of his small role of the prince’s tutor Alidoro.
Despite his association with the two Rossini festivals, Pesaro and Wildbad, conductor Antonio Fogliani is conducting this opera for the first time. He impressed with his poise and avoidance of unneccesarily high speeds from the very start, a common feature of lesser conductors in Rossini. His expert support for the singers confirmed Fogliani’s affinity for opera and for Rossini. The prolonged applause for Fogliani confirmed the public’s appreciation for his command of the orchestra.
Rossini’s opera is appropriately named La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (“Cinderella, or the Triumph of Goodness”). In this delightful production, it can be given another sobriquet: Berzhanskaya in trionfo!
Ossama el Naggar
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