About the work
Fairy-tale opera (opéra féerie) in four acts by Jules Massenet after Charles Perrault's tale 'Cendrillon' (1697), with a libretto by Henri Cain. It premiered on 24 May 1899 at the rebuilt Opéra-Comique in Paris, whose hall had been closed since a fire in 1887.
Plot
Cendrillon is humiliated by her stepmother and stepsisters until her fairy godmother sends her, in a magic gown and carriage, to the prince's ball. The two fall in love, but at midnight Cendrillon must flee and loses a shoe. Only when the prince finds her again with it do they become a couple.
Cultural significance
Cain added a scene at the 'Chêne des Fées' (fairy oak) not found in Perrault, in which the fairy displays her powers amid the new electric stage effects of the rebuilt house — a set piece that became the production's signature. With some 50 performances in its first season alone, the opera was an immediate success, even though Massenet had wrongly announced it beforehand as his last work for the stage.