The Fargo-Moorhead Opera production of "Cinderella" won't include a wand-waving grandmother, but the popular opera features many familiar elements from the famous fairytale.
The opera by Gioacchino Rossini, which will be sung in English, is set for Friday and Oct. 13 at Festival Concert Hall in the Reineke Fine Arts Center on the North Dakota State University campus.
Singing the role of Cinderella is mezzo soprano Tammy Hensrud, who appeared last spring as Cherubino, the lusty adolescent boy in FMO's production of "The Marriage of Figaro." Hensrud, who actually began her musical career as a cellist, received a Fulbright scholarship and studied at the Hoschschule für Musik Opernschule in Stuttgart, Germany.
Hensrud completed undergraduate and graduate work at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, and is now based in New York. She sings with opera houses throughout Europe, including the Vienna State Opera, Stuttgart Opera and Theatre de Châtelet in Paris, among others. She has performed at the Salzburg Summer and Easter festivals under Herbert von Karajan. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut under the baton of James Levine, as Rossweise in "Die Walküre." She has appeared with the Cleveland Opera, the New York City Opera National Company, the Opera Orchestra of New York and numerous other companies.
In the role of Prince Ramiro is tenor Patrick Miller, who first appeared with the FMO in its production of "The Merry Widow" in 2000. Donald Sherrill sings the role of Don Magnifico, the mean and bumbling stepfather (a mean stepmother in the fairytale). Sherrill has sung the role throughout North America and Europe.
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Fargo-Moorhead's own Peter Halverson sings the role of Dandini, the prince's valet, who helps the Prince find Cinderella.
Julian Reed, music director for several recent FMO productions, returns, as does Gary Briggle as stage director. Briggle staged the FMO's production of Don Pasquale in 1998.
In the opera, Cinderella is ill-treated by her selfish father Don Magnifico and by her stepsisters, who hope to attract the attentions of Prince Ramiro. The Prince, they have heard, is searching for a wife. But Prince Ramiro changes places with his valet and tutor, Dandini, so that he may see the true nature of the women within the homes he visits.
When he enters the home of Don Magnifico, he falls in love with Cinderella at first sight. Dandini is the equivalent of the godmother in the fairytale, and helps Cinderella to attend the ball at the palace. The rest of the story falls in line with the fairytale.
If you go
What: Fargo-Moorhead Opera's production of "Cinderella"
When: 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Oct. 13
Where: Festival Concert Hall in Reineke Fine Arts Center on The North Dakota State University campus
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Tickets: Regular ticket prices for the opera are $23 and $30. Senior and student tickets are available for $20 and $26. Call for group rates. Student rush tickets are available 15 minutes before the performance. Call (701) 231-9442 for tickets.
