Cinders of Transcendance

"In this production of the classic fairy tale by Austin Lyric Opera, Cinderella is transported to the magical land of 1930's Hollywood musicals. One thing hasn't changed, though - and that's the timeless beauty of Gioachino Rossini's transcendent score."

Someone writing the above copy for tonight's KLRU PBS broadcast of Cinderella may have been a little over the top, or even out of this world, in their choice of "transcendent" as an aesthetic judgement for Rossini's music. Though not as well known or popular as the current ALO production of Rigoletto, La Cenerontola is indeed a classic fairy tale that fits well inside the semi-mythical setting of Hollywood's movie musicals. I also believe some of this score to be great and timeless music, but the quote made me think about why the opera itself is so apt to a drastic change in its presentation. This line of thought led me into the realms of philosophy, including some forks into epistemology, rationalism, psychology, and some of the other branches of the tree of knowledge.

"To say of something which is that it is not, or to say of something which is not that it is, is false. However, to say of something which is that it is, or of something which is not that it is not, is true." - Aristotle

First, I have been accused of being both skeptic and optimist--a combination that may complement the rationalist label I would most often apply to myself. Seeking the truth of a proposition using logic seems to me the best approach, though as I've grown older the issues of belief and ethics have impinged ever more heavily on my deliberations.

The Cinderella story embodied in this opera presents archetypical characters that occur often in folklore, literature, and other forms of storytelling throughout the history and pre-history of humans. The heroine may even be an epitome of the Magical/Innocent Child Survival personality archetype classified by Jung. Cinderella, like Candide, is faced with aspects of "the problem of evil" in "the best of all possible worlds" embodied in the behavior of her fellow characters. With even superficial review, traits of other archetypes known as the Devil, Angel, Knight, Kingmaker, Child Hero, Professor, or Kindly Mentor quickly emerge from this libretto. And, as dictated by our expectations of an ideal ending for these stock characters, the good people are rewarded with "living happily ever after" while the bad get their just deserts.

Okay, I know that's a lot of over-simplification. But I think it sets the Cinderella story squarely where it belongs in the context of this adaptation. A classic story with characters immediately identifiable to the audience is relatively easy to recast in time and space, especially from a mythical kingdom into a mythical Hollywood. Best of all, our heroine transcends all adversity singing gorgeous music.

"True philosophy must at all costs be idealistic; indeed, it must be so merely to be honest." - Shopenhauer