GENEVA

Rossini: LA CENERENTOLA

Musically, the new La Cenerentola in Geneva was unalloyed joy. Apart from one or two details -- the treatment of the men-only chorus, made to prance around, distracting attention from the principals (one stout courtier was particularly obtrusive), and of the ugly sisters, who appeared to suffer from St. Vitus' dance (even when lying prone, they waved their arms and legs like maniacs) -- Jérúme Savary's clever, often hilarious staging combined with Ezio Toffolutti's fairytale designs to make Rossini's opera seem truly magical.

Jesús López-Cobos, conducting the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, set the tone with a wonderfully stylish account of the overture. Jennifer Larmore made an enchantingly pathetic, plucky Angelina; her explosion of happiness in the final rondo was like a shower of golden rain. Rockwell Blake proved a princely Don Ramiro, sporting a huge feather duster in his buttonhole to indicate his status as valet. Alessandro Corbelli's Dandini refused to overplay a part already teetering on the edge of farce, while Carlos Chausson almost, if not quite, managed to do the same with Don Magnifico; both baritones articulated splendidly. Icelandic bass Kristinn Sigmundsson made a genial Alidoro, winning well-deserved applause for his aria. Swiss soprano Jeannette Fischer and French mezzo Claire Larcher also sang nicely as Clorinda and Tisbe.

-ELIZABETH FORBES