Bel Cantanti Operapresents

Cendrillon

Cinderella

Act I

Someone’s calling!

Someone’s ringing the bell!

We’re coming! We’re coming!

O my dear!

She's a shrew, that woman is!

Sir!

Men have all the power.

Yes, I should let it be seen, and know how to obtain from my wife a little obedience.

Alas! Wishing is not the same as being able to.

Why, great gods, widowed and alone, living at home, away from the city…

Free of worry and excitement, near my adorable little girl…

Did I leave my farm and my great woods!

But worst of all, you must endure neglect, my poor daughter!

How I suffer, seeing you, Lucette, without fine jewelry or clothes...

Hiding when you to come give me a kiss...without a single look to accuse me.

When I leave you at home all alone during the Ball! Seeing you like this, oh how I suffer!

O my Lucette! How I suffer!

What can I do, I know that it's wrong, but if my wife scolds and rages…

I tremble and cannot withstand the storm!

It may well be difficult... I’ll have to, someday, at home...

In the end I’ll have to be master!

Someday, finally, at home, I'll be the master!

Master! Master! Master!

Madame!

My wife! Alas, I have to go. Even with a will, there isn’t always a way.

Make yourselves very beautiful, tonight I have reason to hope.

Why, Mama?

I’m not telling.

We would like to know... what is your hope?

Make yourselves very beautiful, tonight I have reason to hope.

And I don't want any surprises.

What is this about?

For it is more than once that we have seen kings...

What is it, Mama? More than once...

So... what did they do... these kings?

We should be ready for anything.

Ready for anything? But why?

Because tonight we will present you to the King!

Ah! What happiness! We shall see the King! The King!

He will notice you, I hope.

So what are we to do?

You are to do as I do! The ball is a field of battle...

How so, Mama?

The ball is a field of battle!

Stand up straight.Show off your full height!

Alright!

No nervous movements...

No, Mama.

Has your hair been well curled?

Yes, Mama!

For I will never believethat love at first sight only exists in novels.

Ah! Love at first sight!

Love at first sight!

Take on a gracious bearing by rounding your mouth...

Good! Do not appear to be too fierce...

There, Mama!

Perfect! Could not be better.

Do not be ordinary, nor too original.

We will look beautiful tonight!

What success we will have!

Madame! Madame! Madame!

Introduce the artistes!

Her dress folds must be lighter, softer...

What say you?

The line is pure!

Dorothée! What demeanor!

Huh?

What?

Nothing.

This is all very well.This hairstyle is complimentary to the face!

Do we look nice like this?

Yes, truly!

Yes, truly.(And I’m not just saying so.)

Charming!

Yes, it's charming!Without compliment.

Congratulate me on my punctuality.

Yes. It is so... unusual.

You are always late.

Late?

Late.

Well, this time by chance...

Can't you think of a kind word to say, upon seeing our beauty?

Excuse me. I admire...

(Let’s say nothing. Remain quiet in our corner. Not a word.)

A tender hope sustains me, comforting me, consoling me...

They'll lock her away, she's crazy!

Well! What’s the matter with you?You stand there like you've been planted!

Let's go!

I'm coming right away.

My Lucette, I leave without saying goodbye.I leave you alone again, my poor child…

… without daring to give you a kiss, withoutsoothing your sadness with one word of tenderness!

Come on! Let's go!

A bit of pedigree, some allure, and daring…

Some bewitching finesse,A somewhat disturbing flexibility…

A mischievous smile…

A flattering word...

The eyes of a cat…

We have it all!The prince is caught if he has taste!

We have everything, yes, really everything!

(They’ll lock her up, she's crazy!)

Shhh!

But...

Shhh! If he has taste!

He is ours!The prince is caught!

To us, the throne and its greatness!

Ah! How happy my sisters are!For them, every day brings some new pleasure...

They don’t have time to form a desire...And happiness only makes them lovelier.

They are going to court... to court…This ball!

People will come from all the provinces,encircling the royal throne...

All the lords, the marquises and the princes...

And my sisters will be there... while I! I dream ...

And I'm wrong, yes, I'm wrong... these dreams hurt.

I have to complete my task.

Stay at home, little cricket.Resign yourself, Cinderella...

For it is not for you that shinethe beautiful and joyful rays...

Won’t you bring envy to the butterfly?What are you thinking, poor girl?

Resign yourself. Work, Cinderella!

It's also a joy to do one’s duty.Let’s clear the table and tidy up the sideboard.

Truly, I am feeling quite lazy tonight.

Much as I’d like to... I still hear the sounds of celebration, echoing in my head.

Stay at home, little cricket.Resign yourself, Cinderella!

Won’t you bring envy to the butterfly?What are you thinking, poor girl?

Resign yourself. Work, Cinderella!

Let’s see. I've done all I had to do. Now I may rest.

How clear the night is!The stars seem to smile at me from heaven.

It's strange. Sleep overwhelms me.

I am no longer at the age where the sandmanshould come so early to close my eyes.

Let’s sleep. Often, we are happy when we sleep,and we have dreams that are... marvelous!

Resign yourself... Cinderella…

Dear child, your complaint, sweet as the breath of a flower…

Has gone all the way to my heart.

Your godmother sees you and protects you.Hold on to your hope.

Hope!

Sylphs, Elves, Wisps, hasten to my voice,from all horizons, throughout space.

Follow my decrees exactly.Bring me all your talents, all your graces.

What do you order us to do?We shall obey.

I want that this lovely child here be free from worry.

I want it!

And by you to be splendidly attired,so that she may finally know happiness in her turn.

I want that at the feasts of the Courtshe be the most beautiful and the most admired.

The most beautiful, the most beautiful!I want it!

O, my little Cinderella, flower of innocence and love.I watch over you, O Cinderella!

Lovely vision!

Cinderella, you will be the unparalleled beauty!

Amazing wonder!

Cinderella, you will be the unparalleled beauty!

In order to make a breathtakingly silky fabricwith which you will compose her dress...

Deftly steal from the radiant starsthe subtle splendor of their rays.

From moonlight borrow its pallor.Borrow from the rainbow sky its harmonies.

And in order that you bring together its bouquet,in a love potion, borrow the sweetest scents.

And you, prepare the team and carriage!

You, you shall be the coachman.

You shall be a page!

And you will be the postilions!

All the little birds will lend us their wings.

The chargers will be fragile insects:moths, butterflies and dragonflies.

Skilled craftsmen, provide us with stones.Go forage in the grasslands for ladybugs and fireflies.

May the midges and beetles flicker like rubies.May the dewdrops sparkle like diamonds.

And to light her path, you will hide lightning bugsAmid the tulips and jasmine.

Everything is ready.

Awake, little one.

Your godmother invites you, Cinderella.

O flower of love!You are awaited at the ball of the Court!

Your wishes are fulfilled. Awake, little one!

Finally, it will be my turn to know happiness…

But one does not go to the ball, to Court, in rags.

What do I see? Am I crazy?

Is it gold that glitters?Instead of my tatters, this splendid dress!

I'm no longer Cinderella, nor Lucette.I am a princess.

I am a queen!

Thank you, good godmother!

Listen closely, when midnight chimes,you must return here.

So, no matter by what pleasure you're detained,you must leave the ball quietly...

When midnight chimes.

I will be back.

Remember it well.

I’ll be back at the appointed time.

Go, princess.Go, with a happy heart, a joyous face!

But, alas, my happiness is already over...

Why?

My stepmother and my sisters are at this ball.I will be recognized. And...

Calm your needless fears.

This slipper, sweetie, is a precious talismanwhich will make my Lucette a stranger to their eyes.

Now get on the road.Time is short!

Go, princess!

Here is your coach, princess!

It's so pretty! It’s so small!

All the Spirits, Elves and Wisps will be at your command!

I laugh! Even if this were only once, but an hour in my life!

You, who until now knew only contempt, now even the most beautiful will envy you.

Go!

I laugh! I cry and I laugh!

Go, princess!

But at midnight, be back, back on this spot.

Act 2

May sweet thoughts blossom into smiles on your lips.

Flee these depressing sorrows, leave sadness and its fevers.

Noble prince, respond!

No!He makes no reply.

Gentlemen, I believe we are being ousted.

There is no way to prolong this interview.

By Hippocrates and... and...

...our training in the law...

We wish to...

… raise our voices...

Drugged, according to the rules of the Codex...

Listen!

No.

He will not listen.

Nothing?

Nothing.

By the terms of a Royal Decree,you must have fun at the ball.

Noble Prince, consent.

No.

He agrees to nothing.

We wish for you to raise your...

No!

He agrees to nothing!

Poor prince!

Leave me alone with my troubles.Heart without love, spring without roses!

For me every day is glum,and every night is gloomy.

Chills pass through my whole being...

Heart without love, spring without roses!

If, holding out her arms to me, I saw her appear,the one my soul wants, intoxicating, radiant...

I would tell her in my euphoria...I would say: I am yours.

I am yours.Take my youth. Love will make gods of us!

I am yours!

But I live sad, sad and lonely, heart broken by troubles...And every night is gloomy.

My heart is broken. I am sad and alone.

My son, you must obey me.You will see at this feast the daughters of the nobility.

So, you must choose the one that will best turn your head…

… And wed her.My son, such is my desire.

This is the King's desire!

We are in his presence!By our superb allure, let us play off of all our appeals!

It's now or never!

How very touched I am!His Majesty... recognized me!

Mama!

My august Master will speak to me... perhaps.

Mama! We are in distress!

Pull yourselves together!

Mama, I’m going to faint.

This is it. The prince is coming!

Time for me to go.

Mama!

Look! The adorable beauty!Who knows her?

Nothing troubles her...Look!

The prince seems entranced.

Oh what a surprising occurrence. Oh the charming creature!

Is this our future queen? Let’s greet her.

Oh what a disappointing adventure!Who is this strange creature?

Is this our future queen? Let’s ignore her.

The charming creature!

You who appeared to me,as a lovely enchanting dream, beauty from heaven...

Please tell me, by what name hails you,O Queen, the Heavenly Court…

Which, in Paradise, invokes you with love.

Please, tell me!

To you I shall be The Stranger.

Beauty come from Heaven,who are you?

To you I shall be The Stranger.

Who are you?

The Stranger.

The Stranger?

I shall be The Stranger.

Oh heavenly Stranger!

You have said it: I am a dream,and so I must pass without leaving any trace...

As fades a reflection of the sky that we see glideupon the water rippled by the wind...

I'd lose you?No, I’d prefer death!

Whoever you are, everywhere,I want to follow in your footsteps!

No, I'll fly, alas!And you will not see me again. Alas!

This cruel word, is it indeed you who spoke it?How can your soft lips be able to pronounce it?

Your innocent eyes belie it...

You are my Prince Charming!

And if I listened to my desire, I’d want to dedicate my life to making you happy.

You are my Prince Charming, and my soul cries out, wounded to the point of death…

Dying at the thought of grieving you.

You are my Prince Charming.

Well, then leave your hand...

My hand?

Pressed in mine...

Like this?

Yes, because if you abandoned me, I'd be your unfortunate prince...

His voice is like a harmony thatdelights my ear and holds my heart spellbound!

Yes, my spirit will languish in the memory of this blessed hour.

Stay! Take pity on my heart!

Awake in my spirit the infinite sweetness,and the innocent charm of April.

I love you, and I will love you forever!Nothing will pull me away from you...

No matter the hour. You must forget it!

I shudder! Already! The clock is chiming the hour...

My God! It's time!

I am on my knees, pleading with you.I love you. Stay!

Midnight.

Am I crazy? What happened to her?

The Stranger, what happened to her?O heavenly Stranger!

Intermission15 minutes

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Act 3

Here I am at last.The house is deserted.

I returned safely and without being seen.

But so much trouble!

Fleeing in the night, across the palace terraces,I lost my glass slipper.

Godmother, will you ever forgive me?

When I fled through the dark avenuesand saw the great white statues there...

I was do frightened! Ghost-like in the moonlight,their unseeing eyes fixed upon me...

They pointed at me, mocking my misfortune.

Ah! What fright!

You must have seen my great distress, Godmother.

I kept my promise, did all I could to keep it.

In the depths of the garden, I lost my way.It was so dark.

Still I ran, then stopped, suddenly.

You must have seen my great distress, Godmother.

I kept my promise, did all I could to keep it.

My own shadow frightened me!

Yet I kept running.

Searching the horizon, fearing treachery everywhere,I crept along the walls, afraid to cross the square.

A great noise scared me, freezing my blood.It was the clock in the belfry far above me!

Comforting my heart, it spoke to me in its language.

It said: I am keeping watch over you.

Courage.

Now go!

But it is all over, alas.The ball and its splendors...

I will never again hear such tender words,the words which filled me with deceptive hopes.

My happiness is extinguished. Only the ashes remain.

Resign yourself, little cricket...

My parents and my sisters are coming back!I must hide my tears.

I do declare, you are a fool, a numskull, a dolt, a poor excuse for a man!

You have the nerve to deny...

That that girl, that rag, that fright, that thing...

What more can I call her?...

Was a fool, a good-for-nothing!

Mama, how rightly you speak!

Why are you so angry?

Do you expect me to shut my mouth to please you?

That worthless adventuress!

Our Prince did well to drive her away.

It was well deserved.

She had a very gentle manner. It's a quality...

For shame, sir! I assure you…

When one comes from more than twenty generationsof nobility, as our family tree attests...

When one can number four chief justices – and a doge! – among one's ancestors...

Twelve archbishops, an admiral, a cardinal,six abbesses and thirteen nuns...

Two or three mistresses of kings,who all came close to wearing crowns...

Not to speak of smaller fry,such as princes and capuchins...

One should move about like a vessel cleaving the billows...

Maintaining its glory and scorning the noise of the tempest.

It's a duty, when one is raised to the pinnacle, to elevate one’s eyes...

Leaving gentleness to you good-for-nothings!

Mama, how rightly you speak!

I would much prefer obscurityif I could also have tranquility.

Did something happen, father?

No, really, nothing extraordinary.

How can you be so calm! Does nothing move you?

Listen.

An intriguer, a stranger came to the ball,A good-for-nothing, dressed without taste...

She dared to address the king's son.

Everyone was seized with fright --with horror and dread! It was a scene.

At once, a silence condemned this impudence.

But in a moment, they began to murmur...

So that the intruder quickly fled...

Driven from the ball by our scorn!

You exaggerate, a good deal, it seems to me.

Leave us in peace! You won't even let us say two words.

If you all shout together, I'm going.

Tell me, what did the king's son say?

That no one should mistake him.That his eyes, blinded for a moment, saw clearly.

And that, moreover, for her looks aloneThis stranger should be hung.

My daughter is pale. What ails you, child?Enough of this prattle!

How a man gets on your nerves!

My God! Her strength deserts her.Get out!

What?

I command you!

Daughters, come. This is too much.I don't recognize you. You are unmannerly.

Get out at once.

Stamp your feet all you want. I'm throwing you out!

Take it back!

The devil take you!

My poor child, you suffer so.

Come, rest your grieving heart on mine.

Let me cradle you in my arms.

I sacrificed you when I went to the court,but you will pardon me.

And one day we will both laugh at my cursed ambition.

Come, we will leave this town, where I have seen your happiness fade away...

And return to the shade of our dear woods,to our peaceful farm.

There, we will be happy.Just the two of us, very happy.

In the morning we will go, like lovers,to gather white lilies...

And blue periwinkles...as soon as the silvery church bells awake...

... Calling to matins.

In the evening, we’ll hear the sweet and gentle nightingale...

... In the depths of the forest.

Yes, we will leave this townwhere we have seen our happiness vanish...

And return to the shade of our dear woods,to our peaceful farm.

There, we will be happy.Just the two of us, very happy.

Now, I am better, and my senses have returned. You can leave me alone.

Yes, if you promise to be sad no more.

I will go to prepare our escape.

We will be happy.Just the two of us, very happy.

I will go alone, father.

The weight of my shame will weigh you down.

I don't want you to see my misery.

No, I can live no longer. He doubts me,he, my lover and my only king!

Him, whom I adore! He denies me and rebuffs me.

Yet his voice is very sweet,and his eyes are very soft.

O my dream of love!

Alas… dispelled.

Adieu, memories, happy and sad, memories that spoke to me of hope...

Witnesses and companions of my too brief fate.

Go, my turtle-doves, for whom each morningI went through the lanes to gather green herbs.

I shall never see you again, flowers of springtime...

Or you, my favorite hiding place.

Let me kiss you again, all dried up and yellowed,relic of a happy day, poor little twig.

How we love that which we must leave!

Adieu, big armchair, in which, when I was small,before I wore my somber garb of grief...

I ran to hide my face, roguishly,in my mother's lap.

Her smile of kindness, mingled with sadness.My mother, my good, pretty mother...

Humming as she cradled me: "It is the Angelus."

“Sleep, my little angel. Sleep, as Jesus slept in the manger."

Mama!

Since all happiness has fled, I will scale the sacred rocksand go into the night without fear.

Despite the ghosts and goblins that prowl the night,I shall go and die beneath the Fairies' Oak.

Ghosts and goblins, wandering chimeras,ephemeral glimmers...

Glide over the heath! Skim over the broom!

Yonder, across the darkened moor,there comes a child, moaning.

Look across the moor!

And from the other side, look, my sisters,that poor boy, in tears.

Look across the moor!

They are pretty lovers.How unhappy they are!

Veiled shadows, invisible,my sisters, heed their crying.

That they may not see each other,sylvans, obey my command!

Between the Prince and his belovedraise a perfumed wall.

I come to you, powerful Queen,and ask you on both knees to end my pain.

On both knees, kind GodmotherI implore your pardon if I have caused you pain.

You, who can see all things and know all things,you know of my suffering...

And you know how, for a brief momentI conceived a hope of divine happiness.

That happiness, I saw it plainly.

It was a brilliant ray, which entered my very heartand by which my eyes were dazzled.

In an instant, alas, all vanished,leaving in my mind only a deep regret.

A poor soul in deep distress here prays in desperation.

Since there is nothing left for me anywayexcept sadness and misery

Let me suffer instead of this poor wounded heart.

Godmother, strike me down! But let him be cured.

Poor unknown girl, sweet angel of goodness,snatched from my sight by enchantment...

I bless you for your great charity,poor unknown girl!

I am so unhappy. But she whom I love is so beautiful...

If you saw her eyes, you would sayno star in heaven shines purer.

I would cross over land and sea to see her again and cherish her.

To conquer her again, I would overcome the world.

It is you, my Price Charming!

You, who has taken pity on my distress, who are you?

I am Lucette who loves you.

Oh joy!

It is you, my Prince Charming!

You have told me the name I wished to know.Lucette, I am now the master of your sweet secret.

From your lips my soul has captured a vow.

His sweet voice fills me with ecstasy.But alas, to hear him is not enough.

Her sweet voice fills me with ecstasy.But alas, to hear her is not enough.

Good Fairy, let him reappear. Let me see him again.

Good Fairy, let her reappear. Let me see her again.

On the branch of the enchanted oak, good FairyI will hang my heart, a pure and bleeding trophy.

I accept your sacrifice and grant your wish.

My Lucette, I have found you again!

My Prince Charming! It’s really you.

I will love you forever.

Love each other. The hour is brief.You will both believe it was only a beautiful dream.

Sleep. Dream.

Act 4

O poor child, since I found you by the streamfrozen and unconscious...

Months have passed.

How terrible and how cruel your suffering.

In taking you, death might have taken us both.But death dared not touch one so beautiful.

I have been sleeping again, and you have stayed by me,watching while I slept.

My dear child, don’t worry about me.I am very happy. You have recovered.

But rest. You must still take care.

Tell me the truth.

Why ask me?

Was I so foolish...

What are you thinking?

Father, it seems as though my mind had suddenly left me.

You laughed and wept, needlessly and without pause.

You lived as though in a dream.Fitfully you murmured confused words.

What did I say?

Poor child, you were suffering.

And I talked?

Of the ball – yes, really! – and especially of Prince Charming, whom you have never met.

Of a brilliant future, and wild promises,of a great enchanted oak, of a bleeding heart...

Of a glass slipper, and of rich attire.

You said you saw Elves pulling your coach.

But nothing like that happened to me.

Nothing, my dear little girl.

Alas, I have only dreamed.

You laughed...

And I wept, needlessly...

And without pause.

I lived as though in a dream...and I talked.

Of rich apparel!

Of a bleeding little heart...

And especially of Prince Charming.

Of the Prince...

Whom you've never seen.

I thought that Elves...

Pulled your coach.

None of this happened.

Yes, you dreamed it all.

Yes, father, I have dreamed.

It is the King's herald!

After me!

Good people, you are informed that today the Prince will receive in person in the great Court...

All the princesses who are coming to try on the glass slipper lost by the unknown woman...

Whose departure has distressed the king's son…

And whose absence has caused him to languish and despair.

So my dream was real.

Now I am sure of it. If my darling sees me again,he will revive at my sight.

I know that he loves me. He told me so.He told me himself.

Godmother, come at my earnest appeal,and let me see my sweet Prince Charming again.

In its casket on a cushion of flowers,place the glass slipper, sprinkled with my tears.

May she at last appear to my hungry gaze, the divine princess who thinks to claim it.

I can live no longer without her love!

Each of you is beautiful, but still I seek only her.

Will nothing appease my grief?Will my lips never know kisses?

Will my fever never end?They have not returned my heart to me!

On his pale face, such a melancholy expression!

His eyes are closed. Speak to me, my son!

What marvelous enchantment!

What matchless beauty!

Prince Charming, open your eyes!

It's she, it's my Lucette!

Cinderella, the poor girl.

You are my Prince Charming.

Return to life again. That is all I desire.Take back this bleeding heart.

You are my Prince Charming.

Keep it, mistress. It is yours.

April has bloomed for them.

Let us honor our sovereigns.

Great heavens! It is...

My daughter!

(What aplomb she has.)

Lucette, whom I adore!

All is well that ends well.

Behold our lovers are now out of trouble.

So ends the play. We have done our bestto take you all through to the Land of Make-Believe.

The End