Alma Deutscher: Cinderella [Blu-ray]

In December 2017, Opera San José and the Packard Humanities Institute presented the American première of Alma’s opera Cinderella. The five original performances in the California Theatre, SJ, were all sold out, and two additional performances . This was a lavish production with a large orchestra, choir and dancers. Alma has re-orchestrated the whole score for a full orchestra of 44 musicians, and has greatly expanded the music for the Ball scene and for the Finale (the royal wedding), adding new music for the choir to sing and for the dancers to dance to. The production was led by renowned British conductor Jane Glover, and directed by Brad Dalton.

“A twelve-year-old British girl has written an opera of astounding wit, craft, and musical beauty… Deutscher has an effervescent sense of musical humor. The sheer amount of orchestral and vocal invention is stunning… A smart producer would mount Cinderella on Broadway. In addition to its comedic force, its score puts recent musicals to shame, whether from the Disney franchise or Andrew Lloyd Webber.” (Heather Mac Donald in The New Criterion).