Book details

Rossini's La Cenerentola (or Cinderella) is one of the most popular comic operas in the classical repertoire Â- the timeless fairy tale about the triumph of virtue over snobbery. Its first performance at Rome's Teatro Valle in January 1817 Â- when the composer was not yet 25 Â- was the customary fiasco. More recently, audiences have laughed at Rossini's wit, gasped at the momentum of his crescendos and marvelled at dazzling coloratura from great sopranos such as Cecilia Bartoli. The opera moves at the same frantic pace at which Rossini worked to compose it. Written by Michael Steen, author of the acclaimed The Lives and Times of the Great Composers,  Short Guides to Great Operas' are concise, entertaining and easy to read books about opera. Each is an opera guide packed with useful information and informed opinion, helping to make you a truly knowledgeable opera-goer, and so maximising your enjoyment of a great musical experience. Other  Short Guides to Great Operas' that you may enjoy include The Magic Flute, L'Elisir d'Amore and La Traviata.

Michael Steen OBE was born in Dublin, studied at the Royal College of Music and was organ scholar at Oriel College, Oxford. As well as pursuing a successful career in the City, he has been chairman of the Friends of the Victoria and Albert Museum, and of the Royal College of Music Society, and is Treasurer of The Open University. Michael saw his first opera in 1960 when he was 15, and was enchanted. Michael saw his first opera in 1960 when he was 15, and was enchanted. He now goes to the opera at least once a month, often much more, and has seen performances all around the world, for example in Milan, Bayreuth, St, Petersberg, Vienna, Dresden, Moscow, Sydney, New York, Wexford, Berlin, Budapest, Paris, Cape Town and many across the UK. His previous books include The Lives and Times of the Great Composers - described as 'hugely informative and deliciously gossipy' by the Spectator - and Enchantress of Nations. His Great Operas - bringing together guides to twenty-five of the world's finest musical experience - is published by Icon Books in November 2012.