By Sam Jack

During symphony concerts, musicians’ facial expressions are often blankly focused. Yet when the orchestra of Wichita Grand Opera’s "La Cenerentola" joined the singers for a music rehearsal on Sunday evening, I saw lots of smiles, verging on grins, including from WGO’s conductor and artistic director Whitney Reader. It’s hard not to smile. In fact, if I were to pick a visual emblem for Rossini’s music, it might be a big yellow smiley-face. The music just makes you happy, whether you’re singing, playing or listening.

On stage, "La Cenerentola" moves between slapstick, Bugs-Bunny humor and warm affirmations of human kindness. The arias are much more virtuosic than those in Rossini’s better-known "Barber of Seville," the ensemble writing is more intricate, and the show is just as funny. In this version of the story, Cinderella’s stepfather and stepsisters are not “wicked,” exactly — just ridiculously self-absorbed. And her forgiveness of them, in the end, is not only gracious, but passionate and all-encompassing. “You’ve stirred my emotions deeply and become like a goddess before my eyes,” I sing, as a member of the chorus, just before the final curtain.

Performances of “La Cenerentola” are 7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Century II Concert Hall. Tickets are $23 to $90 and can be purchased online. Use the coupon code WGO20 for 20% off a single ticket, or use WGOBogo to buy one, get one free. Tickets are free for youth ages 17 and younger. 

— Sam Jack is a contributor to the SHOUT. 

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