Rossini's La Cenerentola: Opera's Cinderella Story
b'Gioachino Rossini\\u2019s operatic version of the Cinderella story may not have any enchanted mice or pumpkins, but there\\u2019s plenty of magic in the music. Cinderella (or La Cenerentola, in Italian) has silently suffered the abuse of her stepfather and stepsisters, but in true fairy tale fashion, her fate changes for the better and all is made right by the triumph of goodness over evil.\\xa0\\nIn the opera\\u2019s joyous finale \\u201cNacqui all\\u2019affanno\\u2026 Non pi\\xf9 mesta,\\u201d Cenerentola looks ahead to a future with no more sadness. In this episode, Rhiannon Giddens and guests explore this universal tale and how it still resonates today. Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato sings the aria onstage at the Metropolitan Opera.\\xa0\\xa0\\xa0\\nThe Guests\\nMezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato loves the strength and sincerity of this great Rossini heroine. She has performed the title role in La Cenerentola at leading opera houses around the world and believes in its absolute celebration of human goodness.\\nWriter Fred Plotkin loves opera \\u2013 all of it! \\u2013 and he shares this love in his book Opera 101: A Guide to Learning and Loving Opera. He has a special connection to Rossini\\u2019s music, which he feels is all about the heartbeat.\\nMaria Tatar is a research professor at Harvard University in the fields of folkore and mythology. She vividly remembers when her sister used to read fairy tales to her as a child, and believes that we have the right and responsibility to keep retelling these stories in a way that\\u2019s meaningful to us today.\\nMezzo-soprano Alma Salcedo\\u2019s mother tells her she\\u2019s been singing since she was nine months old. Her personal Cinderella story began in Venezuela and has brought her to Spain, where she has fought to keep her dreams of being a singer alive.'