Conducted by Omer Arieli, the Jerusalem Opera performs Jules Massenet's "Cendrillon" (Cinderella). Libretto: Henri Caïn. Stage director: Daniel Lasry

 

Nadezhda Gaidukova, Mima Millo (Elad Zagman

Cinderella is one of the most beloved fairy tales of all time: A young woman of unmatched grace and goodness overcomes the abuse of her stepfamily, receives the help of a fairy godmother and wins the heart of a royal suitor, to live happily ever after. For almost 2,000 years, versions of the Cinderella story have been told across the globe, inspiring settings by authors, playwrights, musicians and filmmakers. The Henry Crown Hall of the Jerusalem Theatre seemed to be bursting at the seams on June 18th 2026 to accommodate the large number of people arriving to attend the Jerusalem Opera's latest production - Cinderella (in the original version, Cendrillon) composed by Jules-Émile Frédéric Massenet. An opera in four acts, Massenet uses the French libretto of Henri Caïn, one based on Perrault's 1698 version of the Cinderella fairy tale. Daniel Lasry was the stage director, with Omer Arieli (Jerusalem Opera musical director) conducting the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and singers. The cast included soloists, a small choir, actors (the Spirits) and dancers (choreography: Yasmin Gariv).

 

Jules Massenet was the most prolific and successful composer of French opera in the late 19th- and early 20th centuries. Cendrillon premiered at the Opéra-Comique on May 24, 1899, at the height of Massenet’s career. It was an immediate success, soon to be performed across the world, becoming popular again in the latter half of the 20th century. The opera offers a mature and insightful recounting of the Cinderella story, without sacrificing humour or glamour in doing so. Massenet's score is constantly inventive, with much French post-Wagnerian writing, especially when the dramatic action is amorous. And while the major tunes are not catchy, the wide range of brilliant, even exotic music makes for excellent listening. The Jerusalem audience was presented with an impressive and well-cast line-up of soloists. Cendrillon’s father, a weak, inconsistent and conflicted man, objects to the indignities the step-mother inflicts on the young girl. With his warmth of timbre and fine dramatic presence, bass baritone Ivo Yordanov (Bulgaria) made for a compelling and kindly Pandolfe. In her uninhibited  portrayal of the outlandish stepmother, mezzo-soprano Noa Hope Sion (no new face to Jerusalem Opera productions) and the two grabby step-sisters (Shlomit Kovalsky, Yahav Dagan Gersht), formed a well-matched trio, united in their perception of the world, in their polished obnoxiousness, their vocal outbursts and droll buffoonery. Another exemplar of the distinct voice Massenet assigns to female characters is the role of the fairy godmother, here performed by soprano Nofar Yacobi. She delivers Massenet’s quirky coloratura part with glittering ease and brilliance, conveying all the charming authority demanded for the part. With no pumpkin carriage or mice-turned-valets, this is Cinderella for the adult audience, the sombre quality of the emotions of Cendrillon and the Prince (as dictated by the libretto’s heavy drift and Massenet’s lugubriousness) adding a more psychological dimension to the story. Both characters perform extended arias in which they bemoan their fates: Cendrillon is lonely and downcast; the prince is lonely and depressed. Mezzo-soprano Nadezhda Gaidukova, in the opera's trouser role, engaged her bold, richly-timbred vocal palette, her theatrical know-how and emotional depth to create the brooding character of the Prince, her voice adding distinctive colour to the love duets. Articulate, expressive and versatile, using the stage (and the Henry Crown Hall) to advantage, soprano Mima Millo reads into the persona of Massenet's Cinderella, taking the audience into the world of her emotion and passion with natural, vibrant vocal ease. So here, despite the fairy-tale aspect of the Cinderella story, the title character and her prince are recognizably human, "two lost people searching for love and meaning", in the words of stage director Daniel Lasry. As a last touch, the Jerusalem Opera production makes a point of reminding us that Cinderella is indeed a rags-to-riches princess, finally decking Millo out in an evening gown made of large, brightly-coloured raglike squares of fabric rather than a dreamy, white ball dress! 

 

With no orchestra pit in the Henry Crown Auditorium, Maestro Omer Arieli and the JSO instrumentalists occupied the back of the stage, with singers and the few props at the front. And there were some appealing staging effects, as in the dream scenes. In Act III, the chorus of fairies appears wearing their own tall, forest-type head-dresses, arranging themselves in a line down the centre of the stage for Cendrillon and the Prince's dream-like meeting in the woods. The dancers did a fine job throughout, reminding the audience that dance has always been an integral part of French opera. Keeping the music light on its feet, Maestro Arieli led the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra through the pizzazz and colour of one of Massenet’s most irresistible scores in a seamless ride of silvery, vivacious music, highlighting and incorporating the composer's humour and wit. 

 

 Another glittering and memorable Jerusalem Opera production!

 

Maestro Omer Arieli (Elad Zagman)