Bravo! Bravo!
This applause is for Rossini who, for many decades, for centuries, hears every day the thankful reactions of thousands of spectators in hundreds of theatres all over the world, where his works are being performed.
The same goes for Mozart, Puccini, Verdi and so many others. This beautiful music is what makes people shiver and break into applause.
Τhe applause heard at the end of every aria and of every sextet, this enthusiastic applause comes, of course, as a reward for all contributors of tonight’s performance. To the members of the orchestra, to the singers, to the conductor, to the makers of the sets and costumes, to the members of the choir and their teacher, to the technicians – but above all, to the director.
I am thinking that this applause is piercing the roof of the Opera House of Leipzig and ascends to the heavens, reaching the one and only person who deserves it most of all, the composer of the beautiful opera called La Cenerentola. Rossini.
Of course the spectacle counts, too. But the spectacle follows, it is a complementary matter. The applause belongs for centuries to the maker of the work, to the one who thought of putting one note after another in order to compose this masterpiece. Notes going suddenly high up and then cascading like waterfalls, notes leading to a threatening silence or to a triumphant melodious mess.
This is Rossini at his best. One is probably familiar with his Barber of Seville and Figaro the “factotum” (meaning someone who helps with all the chores), but La Cenerentola (a slightly different version of the fairy tale Cinderella) is not so well‐known. The exhilarating music is just as good and the comic elements abound here, too. Instead of a bad stepmother, we have here a stepfather who in this particular performance of the Leipzig Opera bears a striking resemblance to someone… but I shouldn’t spoil it for you…
The two stepsisters are called Clorinda and Thisbe, whereas Cinderella’s name is Angelina. There is no fairy godmother here but don’t worry, the grandiose ball will take place and the Prince will fall in love with her as he ought to.
Still, the real protagonist is the music, this formidable flood of a music which reflects the larger-than-life personality of Rossini, who wasn’t only a great musician but also a chef and a gourmand. No wonder so many Italian restaurants in Germany bear his name.
The performance has come to an end and among the audience there are those who want to show that they are connoisseurs, those who want to manifest that they have undergone some kind of ecstasy. They shout bravo or brava or bravi to the performers! I would like to shout, too, even more loudly if possible and cover their voices. I want to state that I have also enjoyed this evening. But I want to be heard by somebody other than the persons who are on stage.
I want to shout Bravo, Rossini!
