"La Cenerentola " SIR,—Surely Martin Cooper is very wide of
the mark in his observa- tions on the Glyndbourne Cenerentola. "The role demands a roguish vivacity, a voice of incisive brilliance and perfectly confident showman- ship "—such qualities would surely make a caricature of Cinderella, and I should have thought it obvious that Rossini deliberately confined his heroine's part within the contralto range (with an upper extension) to ensure that her essential meek and humble goodness should show up in contrast to the hard, nattering brilliance of her two sisters. Yet even with this (as I think) radical misconception of the part in his mind, it is surprising that your critic found Mme. de Gabarain's voice " small and colourless." How such terms can be app'ied to a voice widely praised for the mellow loveliness of its middle notes, and capable of real power higher in the register, quite passes my compre-
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