Cendrillon (Cinderella)
Is there still room for a fairy tale…?
Can a 2025 opera audience accept ‘once upon a time’ beginning and ‘happily ever after’ conclusion?
I believe they can, so long as the version of the story offers us something recognisable, and juxtaposes self-absorption and social satire, against grounded authenticity, integrity and hope.
In examining this work, it was important to me that we offered something audiences could immediately recognise. This is an established fairy tale however Madame and her daughters, offer us an even more identifiable trope. They stop at nothing for power and beauty, and their desire for ascension and social standing remain the motive behind every action.
You only need to open your phone to be met by a sea of selfies and self-filming to know this notion is alive and well. Power comes in follower numbers. Social ascension can be gained with fake news and financial majority. We live in a world where integrity, compassion and hope feel maligned by greater forces. Yet in our Cendrillon, those qualities win at the end of the day. Lucette in our story, is not a victim to her circumstances. She is practical, pragmatic and determined to remain true to herself, despite her lack of power. She believes in love, despite the disappointment’s life has offered thus far. And love does win in the end.
Additionally, there is a ‘midsummer night’s dream’ overtone to our Fairy Godmother. As you will see, this is a story orchestrated by her. Puck-like in her narrative, she supervises the world and she is present as our lovers meet. She advocates for Lucette, not because every heroine should marry a prince, but rather, because integrity wins and the prince at last finds his equal.
When I first met with my fellow creatives, my summary line for this interpretation was ‘exaggerated fairy tale with a side of the Kardashians’. Excess fairytale meets anchored love. I believe that’s what we’ve made, all whilst celebrating and relishing in the gloriously rhapsodic score Massenet has given us. A fairytale should give us hope. Hope that any wrong can be righted, and good can win. Massenet’s Cendrillon has all the important ingredients of a fairy tale, but with an underpinning of social satire, heightened reality and the ultimate offering that love can conquer all. And conquer it does, but so too does the notion of kindness, the trait of compassion and the choice to do good.
Johanna Allen
Director and Choreographer
CAST
5 & 7 November Cast
Cendrillon
Chloe Taylor
Prince Charming
Tessa McKenna
Fairy Godmother
Ashley Chua
Pandolfe
Isaac Burgess
Madame de la Haltière
Birttney Northcott
Noémie
Zoe Lancaster
Dorothée
Sophie McGetrick
The King
Zhuoyang (Sunny) Li
Master of Ceremonies
Kate Pengelly
Prime Minister
Harriet Johnston
Dean of the Faculty & Royal Herald
Martyn Arends
Chorus
Madison Adams, Martyn Arends, Isaac Burgess, Nicholas Corocan, Alice Dagwell, Elleni Habibis, Harriet Johnston, Leyland Jones, Zhuoyang (Sunny) Li, Annabel Nelson, Matthew O'Leary, Kate Pengelly, Ethan Rowe, Leah Stange
Offstage Chorus
Leyland Jones and Isaac Burgess
Fairy Godmother (Cover)
Lily Flynn
6 & 8 November Cast
Cendrillon
Millicent Brake
Prince Charming
Samanth Anderson-Mayes
Fairy Godmother
Ashley Chua
Pandolfe
Leyland Jones
Madame de la Haltière
Mia Koutsoumidis
Noémie
6 November - Sarah Amos
8 November - Phoebe Tait
Dorothée
Erin Absalom
The King
Zhuoyang (Sunny) Li
Master of Ceremonies
Kate Pengelly
Prime Minister
Harriet Johnston
Dean of the Faculty & Royal Herald
Martyn Arends
Chorus
Madison Adams, Martyn Arends, Isaac Burgess, Nicholas Corocan, Alice Dagwell, Elleni Habibis, Harriet Johnston, Leyland Jones, Zhuoyang (Sunny) Li, Annabel Nelson, Matthew O'Leary, Kate Pengelly, Ethan Rowe, Leah Stange
Offstage Chorus
Leyland Jones and Isaac Burgess
Fairy Godmother (Cover)
Lily Flynn
CREATIVE TEAM
Director/Choreographer
Johanna Allen
Conductor
Paul Fitzsimon
Set Designer
Ivy Miller*
Associate Set Designer
Helen Zhang*
Costume Designer
Maya Anderson+
Lighting Designer
Richard Vabre
Vision Designer
Amy Todd*
Repetiteurs
Andrea Katz
Julian Wade
Shauna Beesley
Jacob Abela
French Coaching and English Surtitle Preparation
Linda Barcan
PRODUCTION TEAM
Production Manager
Andy Turner
Stage Manager
Felicity Ethell*
Assistant Stage Managers
Estella Koce
Cara McKie
Workshop Head of Department (Scenic)
Georgia Formosa*
Workshop Assistants
Courtney Dole, Grace Hicksm Chiara Nathan, Zac Waddington
Senior Costumier
Madison Lu*
Costume Manager
Lindsay Gerhardt*
Costume Assistant
Freya Taylor
Head Electrician & Lighting Programmer
Suzy Brooks
AV System Technician & Operator
Rick Reeves
Head Mechanist & Fly Operator
Lachlan Careedy
Surtitle Operator
Caitlin Hopwood
Orchestra Manager & Fly Operator
Iris Donaldson
Orchestral Assistant
Amy Smith
+Second year Master of Production Design (Stage) student
*Third year Bachelor of Fine Arts (Production) student
ORCHESTRA
Violin #1
Star Yi
Violin #2
Harry Nguyen
Viola
Charlotte Parker
Cello
Josephine Vains^
Bass
Rowan Swarbrick
Flute
Lindsay Hicks
Clarinet
Lily Tamir-Regev
Oboe
Kailen Cresp^
Bassoon
Sam Battock
French Horn
Nicole Qian Xie
Keyboard
Julian Wade
^Guest Musician
PROFESSIONAL STAFF
Artistic Operations & Planning Manager
Abe Watson
Producer
Ang Cuy
Stagecraft Project Coordinator
Alan (Alby) Logan
Costume Supervisor
Rose McCormick
Costumier
Lara Barwick, Ingrid Beilharz, Kate Camilleri, Chloe Simcox
Set Construction
Imported Theatre Fabrics Company
ACADEMIC STAFF
Head of Opera
Jane Davidson
Head of Design & Production
Anna Cordingley
Design and Production Course Coordinator
Lisa Osborn
Master of Design Course Coordinator
Jo Briscoe
Design and Production Subject Coordinator
Matt Scott
Master of Design and Production Subject Coordinator
Leon Salom
Design and Production Academic Consultants
Erin Shepherd, Sophie Woodward
Vocal Teachers
Carrie Barr, Anna Connolly, Heather Fletcher, Stephen Grant, Jocelyn Hickey, Antoinette Halloran, Roxane Hislop, Victoria Lambourn, Dermot Tutty
Design and Production Academic Staff
Anna Cordingley, Kris Bird, Jo Briscoe, Dr Peter Burke, Dr Danny Butt, Marco Cher-Gibard, Dr Emily Collett, Martyn Coutts, Narelle Desmond, Ela Egidy, Jo Evans, Dale Ferguson, John Ford, Nell Hanson, Amanda Hitten, Anna Hoyle, Lisa Mibus, Amanda Morgan, Lisa Osborn, Richard Roberts, Leon Salom, Marion Schaberl, Matt Scott, David Shea, Christina Smith, Darren Wardle, John Warwicker-Le Breton and Jethro Woodward