The story of 'Cinderella' appears in many countries from Romania
to Scandinavia. One version of it can be traced back to
Madame d'Aulnoy's fairy tales published in 1721. The story was originally called
'The Story of Finetta; the Cinder Girl'.
The first stage appearance of the story in England was at the
Theatre
Royal Drury Lane in 1804 as part of the 'New Grand Allegorical
Pantomime Spectacle'. This was written anonymously but based
on a story by another French writer, Perrault, in Mother
Goose's Rhymes.
By 1820 the story of 'Cinderella' had become a comic opera,
Rossini's La Cenerentola. This was the first version in which
Cinderella's father was a Baron. It also featured Dandini,
the prince's faithful servant. Just 12 weeks later the King's
Opera in Covent Garden opened an Easter pantomime entitled
Harlequin and Cinderella or the Little Glass Slipper.
This featured Baron Pomposini, and his wife was played by
Grimaldi,
the clown. It would be hard to imagine Grimaldi playing a
serious role and this was probably an early example of a pantomime
dame.
In 1860 H.J.Byron added the Ugly Sisters and Buttons to the
tale. His Ugly Sisters were originally called Clorinda and
Thisbe and both were played by men. It was not until after
the
First World War that the principal boy in Cinderella became known
as Prince Charming.
Make a Toy Theatre
performance of Cinderella.
Introduction
