<p>Rossini's La Cenerentola (or Cinderella) is one of the most popular comic operas in the classical repertoire ? the timeless fairy tale about the triumph of virtue over snobbery. Its first performance at Rome's Teatro Valle in January 1817 ? when the composer was not yet 25 ? was the customary fiasco. More recently, audiences have laughed at Rossini's wit, gasped at the momentum of his crescendos and marvelled at dazzling coloratura from great ...