At the intermission talk with Cendrillon‘s director Fiona Dunn, my beloved John Wilson, mezzo Kate Lindsey, and soprano Danielle de Niese, the topic of debate was, What should Prince Charming look like in the 21st century?
AVAILABLE NOW: The Glyndebourne production of CENDRILLON streamcast at Marquee.tv
Above John making namaste at the premiere of Cendrillon at Glyndebourne, 2019: “Vous êtes mon prince charmant” from Act III of Massenet’s comic opera.
Says John to the lovelies (here pictured): “I think having Prince Charming as Massenet stipulated, it fits beautifully within the whole kind of sonic picture of the whole thing. It’s not a piece that you could say fits on one musical plane, it’s got lots of colors. It’s one of the most colorful pieces he ever wrote… When I said I was doing this piece to people, they would say, Oh yeah, that’s a nice light sort of sweet little piece. It’s not a sweet little piece, it’s a big piece, there’s always another layer to get to and there’s always more detail to explore, always more depth every time. It’s not lightweight…”
Plus My Review of Cendrillon at Glyndebourne; Or, I’m Only Here for the Shoes
Tell me of two operas more different in sexual tone than The Turn of the Screw (1954) and Massenet’s Cendrillon (1898) that my beloved John Wilson did within six months of each other, and I’ll faint. Not that story tone would mean anything to him, as you can read above…
Which is just as it should be. My beloved John wasn’t meant for [doing laundry now; more later]
EXTRA! The most John Wilsonish piece in Cendrillon.
“Marche des princesses”
from Cendrillon, Act IV
Jules Massenet, composer
Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Neville Marriner, conductor
Capriccio, 1997
- “The Story So Far, with Conductor John Wilson”
- “The Story So Far; Or, Conductor John Wilson—His Limits”
3 thoughts on “Conductor John Wilson Among the Women of Glyndebourne’s Cendrillon by Jules Massenet, 2019”