I Act, Don Ramiro, Angelina
«Un soave non so che»
Don Ramiro has arrived at Don Magnifico's house and, to observe without being recognized, he disguises himself as a page. The people in the house treat him with disdain, but the maid Angelina is kind to him. It is at this moment that love begins to blossom between the future couple, reaching a peak with a long duet that starts shyly and cautiously – they have just met, and naturally, they are shy and embarrassed – but ends up speeding up, in a perfect example of Rossini's devilishly difficult bel canto.
I Act, Don Magnifico
«Miei rampolli feminini»
Don Magnifico is not the protagonist of this opera, but at times he seems to be: he is the character to whom Rossini gives the most arias and essential parts in ensemble numbers. La cenerentola remains a buffa work, and the typical comic bass must have a significant weight. In this aria, Don Magnifico dreams of a future of wealth at the possibility that one of his two daughters might marry the prince. The number is grotesque, in a line very similar to the slander aria of Rossini's earlier great success, The Barber of Seville, and with equally spectacular results, a perfect example of the communicative power of buffo bass numbers in 19th-century bel canto.
II Act, Angelina, Don Ramiro, Don Magnifico, Clorinda, Tisbe and Dandini
«Questo è un nodo avviluppato»
When it is discovered that Angelina is the young woman who has captivated Don Ramiro at the grand party, astonishment spreads throughout Don Magnifico's house. At this moment, Rossini writes a sextet in which the main characters participate, built from a technique, a hallmark of the house, syllabic singing. Each note corresponds to a syllable of the text, very marked and at a frenetic pace, giving the music a syncopated and comic character. Rossini had experimented with this technique in earlier operas, but it is in La cenerentola where he signed his best number in this style.