WHEN:
October 17 and 19, 2025
WHERE:
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium
2 E South St.
Raleigh, NC 27601
A spokesperson describes the event as follows:
“...imaginative projections and intricate sets transform the stage into a dreamscape that moves effortlessly from hearth to ballroom to enchanted forest. As was customary in French opera of the period, Massenet’s Cinderella includes extended ballet sequences, choreographed for these performances by Marcelo Martinez, who spent 17 seasons as a principal dancer with Carolina Ballet.
In the title role is soprano Nicole Cabell, winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition, who returns to NC Opera after her acclaimed performance as Bess in Porgy and Bess. The role of Prince Charming will be sung by mezzo-soprano Kate Farrar, performing one of opera’s great trouser roles—a tradition in which a female singer portrays a young male character, allowing for vocal color and expressive nuance that heighten the story’s emotional depth.
Lucia Bradford commands the stage as Madame de la Haltière, Cinderella’s vain and villainous stepmother, while soprano Song Hee Lee sparkles as the Fairy Godmother, with dazzling coloratura that ignites the magic to set the story in motion. Baritone Malcolm MacKenzie, a familiar face to North Carolina Opera audiences, returns as Pandolfe, Cinderella’s kind but conflicted father, adding warmth and humanity to Massenet’s whimsical world.
Completing the cast are Elana Gleason and Gretchen Bruesehoff as the stepsisters, Coleridge Nash as The King, Markel Rashad Williams, Eric Luke, Tedd Szeto, and Frederick Beaujeu-Dufor. They join the North Carolina Opera Chorus and Orchestra for both performances…"
CAST & CREATIVE TEAM:
Cinderella – Nicole Cabell
La Fée – Song Hee Lee
The Prince – Kate Farrar
Pandolfe – Malcolm Mackenzie
Mme. de la Haltière – Lucia Bradford
Conducted by Joseph Mechavich; Directed by James Marvel
Performed in French with English translations projected above the stage.
