Cinderella Through the Ages

7 BC: The earliest recorded variation of the Cinderella story in Western history is found in a geography book by the ancient Greek scholar Strabo. It tells of an Egyptian girl named Rhodopis whose sandal was snatched by an eagle and dropped into the lap of a pharaoh. 

1697:  Through the centuries, countless variations of the folktale are circulated through Europe orally, but it is French author Charles Perrault who writes down the first significant literary version. Perrault’s “Cendrillon,” along with the 1812 Brothers Grimm retelling, will serve as the basis for most of the adaptations that follow. 

1817:  Rossini manages to produce the masterpiece HGO is presenting this season—originally titled La Cenerentola—in the short span of three weeks. It is by no means the only Cinderella opera at the time. In fact, it’s a remake of an 1810 French-language opera by Maltese composer Nicolas Isouard.  

1899:  Jules Massenet’s opera restores many of the familiar elements that were altered in Rossini’s: the wicked stepmother, the glass slipper, and the fairy godmother. Catering to French tastes, Massenet adds a dreamy ballet sequence with dancing sprites and dewdrops.   

1950:  Disney enlists Tin Pan Alley songwriters Al Hoffman, Mack David, and Jerry Livingston for its version. They co-write six original numbers, including the Oscar-nominated “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.”   

1957:  Two years before The Sound of Music, Rodgers and Hammerstein collaborate on a Cinderella TV musical. The CBS “colorcast” starring Julie Andrews is viewed by 100 million people. It is remade in 1965 and again in 1997, with Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother.   

2015:  British composer Alma Deutscher writes her celebrated Cinderella opera when she’s just 10 years old. Like Rossini’s adaptation, it makes some changes to the story: Cinderella is reimagined as a composer. Instead of a glass slipper, she leaves behind a melody for the prince.