Who is popular today?

Hackney Empire, LondonJenny Ogilvie grafts a wacky ‘Night at the Museum’ concept onto the fairytale in this new production for English Touring Opera. Conductor Naomi Woo’s speeds are brisk to the point of breathlessnessEveryone knows the story of Cinderella – and where English Touring Opera’s new production is concerned that’s a good job. Directed by Jenny Ogilvie and designed by Basia Bińkowska, the staging takes Rossini’s 1817 opera and wrangles it into an unlikely Night at the Museum scenario dreamed up by soon-to-be-ex-employee Alidoro, Rossini’s fairy godfather figure. “Sorry you’re leaving,” says the banner stuck across his office door at the beginning of the overture – although if he was your colleague you probably wouldn’t be, as his relationship with the items on display is already unusual and about to get stranger.Characters emerge from exhibition cases or are wheeled in and out on gurneys and in packing crates, dressed in beige Lycra, like costume display mannequins come to life. Everyone is back in their box by the end except Cinderella, who is able to stride free in a trouser suit and glittery trainers. (Rossini’s opera dispenses with the glass slipper in favour of matching bracelets, and gives its heroine a bit more agency in the process.) Continue reading...