"La Cenerentola is one of those Rossini operas that cannot be forced into a stylistic straightjacket. An opera buffa with tragic overtones, a comedy with magical nuances, a parable in which one character – Alidoro – pulls all the strings. The fairy tale transcends character comedy to become a baroque allegory whose finale is a vindication of Ferretti’s subtitle La bontà in trionfo: “the triumph of good”. For the 1988 Salzburg festival, Michael Hampe staged La Cenerentola with the assistance of stage and costume designer Mauro Pagano and lighting designer Hans Toelstede.
His approach highlights not so much the fairy tale as Rossini’s underlying satirical commentary on the society of his times and human relationships. A star cast including Ann Murray as Angelina and Francisco Araiza as Don Ramiro ensure musical quality, as does Rossini expert Riccardo Chailly’s conducting of the Vienna State Choir and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra."