Cendrillon watercolors and sketches, 1900-1950

Summary

Creator:
Unknown
Date:
1900-1950
Extent:
1.2 Linear Feet 1 oversized box
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Cendrillon watercolors and sketches, ms2638, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of fifty watercolor and gouache sketches of set and costume designs from the production of Cendrillon.

Biographical / historical:

Cendrillon is a chamber comic opera with dialogue in three acts by Pauline Viardot based on the story of Cinderella. The work, for a cast of seven with piano orchestration, premiered in Viardot's Paris salon on 23 April 1904, when she was 83, and was published later that year. Historians are unsure of when the opera was actually composed, although it is thought to be after the death of Viardot's friend (and possibly her lover) Ivan Turgenev in 1883 as he did not write the libretto. It has been described as "a retelling of the Cinderella story with Gallic wit, Italianate bel canto, and a quirkiness all her (Viardot's) own." The plot remains relatively faithful to Perrault's original fairy tale, but takes a much more lighthearted approach than the other operatic adaptations by Massenet, Rossini and Isouard. The evil stepmother is replaced with a bumbling and clueless stepfather and the Fairy Godmother (La Fe�e) actually appears as a guest at the party and entertains the guests with a song. A full performance of the opera lasts a little over an hour.

Access and use restrictions

Preferred citation:

Cendrillon watercolors and sketches, ms2638, Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library, The University of Georgia Libraries.