Cendrillon (Isouard) - Cendrillon (Is...

The Maltese composer Nicolas Isouard (1773–1818) was also known as Nicolò, or Nicolò de Malte. He led an adventurous life, travelling between France and Italy, Lisbon, Madrid, Dresden and Russia, while spending time on the island of Malta and composing numerous operas. His greatest operatic success, however, was Cendrillon (also known as Cendrillon et les bonnes sœurs), a fairy-tale opera in three acts which premiered at the Opéra-Comique in Paris in 1810. It was composed for the soprano Anne-Cécile Duret, with whom Isouard was in love.

Duret's younger sister, Alexandrine Saint-Aubin, was also a singer, albeit with modest musical talent. For Cendrillon, Isouard wrote a score tailored to her abilities, and the young Saint-Aubin performed the title role at the premiere. However, the most spectacular passages of the work were written for the roles of the two wicked sisters, especially Clorinde, played by Anne-Cécile Duret, who had great musical ability, as well as Tisbe, sung by Louise-Thérèse Antoinette Lemonnier.

When it was first performed, Nicolas Isouard's Cendrillon was a resounding success with audiences, and the opera was performed throughout Europe. The romance 'Je suis fidèle et soumise' (I am faithful and submissive) was frequently performed in 19th-century salons, and Charles-Guillaume Étienne's libretto included enough comic elements, such as the conceit of the Baron of Montefiascone and the squire Dandini, to delight audiences. However, this success was not enough to ensure the work's longevity: in January 1817, Rossini composed La Cenerentola, also based on the same tale, and Isouard's Cendrillon gradually disappeared from both the stage and people's memories. Despite its charm, rhythm and original score, this Cendrillon was rarely performed again, perhaps due to the musical weaknesses of the title role compared to the better-written secondary roles.

Nevertheless, the work was rediscovered thanks to the Palazzetto Bru Zane, and a new production was staged at the Opéra de Saint-Etienne in 2020, with Anaïs Constans in the title role and Jeanne Crousaud and Louise Pingeot as Clorinde and Tisbe. In 2025, the Festival d'Hardelot will invite audiences to experience the work in a new production.