Act ONE
In the crumbling home of Don Magnifico, his daughters Clorinda and Tisbe bicker while their stepsister Angelina, known as Cinderella, does her chores. As she scrubs the floor, she sings a song about a king who marries a simple girl because she has a good heart. The sisters mock her for being so sentimental and continue their chatter. When a beggar knocks at the back door, the sisters treat him badly, but Cinderella offers him bread and coffee. What no one knows is that the beggar is really Alidoro, tutor to the prince Don Ramiro, on a fact-finding mission for the prince, who is in the neighborhood looking for a bride.
A group of courtiers arrive and announce that Ramiro will soon follow to take the ladies to his palace, where he will choose his bride. The sisters immediately begin tormenting Cinderella, demanding that she prepare them for the evening. The noise wakes Don Magnifico, who describes his dream: he was a donkey and his daughters were royalty. The prince arrives disguised as his valet, Dandini. He is in search of Cinderella, whose kindness his tutor Alidoro has related. He surprises Cinderella, causing her to drop the dishes she’s carrying, and the two find themselves attracted to one another.
Dandini arrives, declaring himself to be the prince with exaggerated pomp. Cinderella asks her stepfather to let her go to the palace with her stepsisters, but he cruelly refuses. When Ramiro and Dandini ask Magnifico where the third daughter of the household is, he claims that she is dead. Everyone struggles to untangle the situation. Alidoro enters, again disguised as the beggar. He reveals his identity to Cinderella and invites her to the ball.
The company has assembled at the palace, where Dandini, still playing the prince, appoints Don Magnifico master of the wine cellar in appreciation of his ability to consume vast quantities of alcohol. Magnifico immediately proffers a decree forbidding the dilution of wine. Dandini and the real prince share their encounters with Magnifico and his slightly warped family. They can’t imagine which of his two dreadful daughters Alidoro could have been praising. They devise another test in which the disguised Dandini offers the hand of his valet, played by the real prince, to Clorinda and Tisbe. Both women refuse in disgust. The unexpected arrival of a beautiful stranger—who bears an amazing resemblance to Cinderella—heightens everyone’s anxiety.
INTERMISSION
Act TWO
At the palace after the feast, Don Magnifico tries to reassure himself that one of his daughters will still marry the prince, despite their lackluster performance that evening. He imagines himself laden with royal appointments, bestowing his favors only to pretty ladies willing to grease the wheels with a small cash donation. Annoyed by the constant attentions of Dandini (who is still disguised as the prince), Cinderella tells him that she would rather marry the prince’s valet. Don Ramiro’s heart leaps at this declaration, and he tells Cinderella his true identity. She tells him that if he really loves her, he must come find her, giving him a bracelet that matches one she always wears. Magnifico corners Dandini, and demands that the “prince” choose a daughter. Dandini reveals that he is really just a valet, a confession that bewilders Don Magnifico.
Back at Don Magnifico’s house, Cinderella sings her song again, and Magnifico and the stepsisters return from the palace. Alidoro and the prince, meanwhile, search for Cinderella, and a fortuitous storm causes the prince’s carriage to get stuck outside Magnifico’s house. Taking shelter inside, Don Ramiro immediately recognizes his beloved. Cinderella begs Ramiro to be kind to Magnifico and his daughters, who, even though they treated Cinderella despicably, deserve forgiveness. Cinderella rejoices at her happy fate.
