In 1817 and already at the height of his fame, Gioachino Rossini composed an opera based on the famous Cinderella story to help launch Rome’s carnival season: Angelina, called Cenerentola, is refused permission by her stepfather Don Magnifico to join him and his daughters Tisbe and Clorinda at the Prince’s ball. But Alidoro, the Prince’s mysterious tutor, manages to secret her in, where she once again encounters the Prince’s valet, the young man who had been so clearly attracted to her in Don Magnifico’s house, and she to him. As a pledge of her affection, she gives him a bracelet – unaware that the servant is none other than the Prince himself! Rossini’s ›Semiseria‹ is bursting with wit, chattering parlando, dizzying coloratura and the purest buffo art, with here and there elements of tragedy. It is not magic or the benevolence of some high-ranking personage that finally brings about the happy end, but rather the strength and virtue of a pure heart. Italian stage director Damiano Michieletto will make his Semperoper debut with this production of »La Cenerentola«.