Il gran ballo di Cinerello (Cinderello’s Grand Ball)
An amoral operetta by Salvatore Ronga
The show “Il gran ballo di Cinerello – An amoral operetta by Salvatore Ronga”, organised by the Fondazione Karin e Gabriele Mattera and the Associazione culturale Metamorphosis, will take place in the Cathedral of the Assumption at the Aragonese Castle in Ischia on Tuesday 1 and Wednesday 2 September 2026, at 9.00 pm.
Admission is free, but you must register by writing to segreteria@fondazionemattera.org.
In an operetta-like realm, shrouded in silvery mists, preparations for the Grand Ball are in full swing.
The prince is called upon to choose his consort, but the fact that he has as yet shown no interest in the fairer sex throws the court into turmoil.
Meanwhile, by the hearth of a humble hovel, Cinderella toils away, tormented by her stepsisters. It will be an eccentric fairy who shows her the path to freedom, becoming her Destiny and guiding her on an imaginative journey of self-discovery, amongst the inspiring muses of Virginia Woolf and the loves of Marcel Proust, amongst the outbursts of jealousy on the stages of the Ballets Russes and those no less passionate in Gertrude Stein’s Parisian salon.
Inspired by the countless versions of the Cinderella fairy tale, the adventure of Cinerello and her prince – both grappling with the discovery of their own identities – glides towards a happy ending that descends upon the papier-mâché ruins of the old world, which has already cheerfully set off towards decay and dissolution.
The play, written and directed by Salvatore Ronga, features a zany cast of characters played by Daniele Boccanfuso, Ludovica Capuano, Antonio Castiello, Giulio Cigliano, Irene Esindi, Letizia Gallo, Roberta Madonna, Lucrezia Mandolini, Antonio Manzi, Francesco Monti, Lorenza Romano, Riccardo Scotti e Mattia Sirabella.
Photos: © Antonello De Rosa
Video: The Mother Factory © Fondazione Karin e Gabriele Mattera
