By Allan Kozinn [NY Times, 10 October 2005]

The charms of "La Cenerentola," Rossini's telling of the Cinderella story, were apparent to European audiences at the opera's premiere, in 1817, and it did well in its first New York performances less than a decade later. But the work has been a rarity at the Met, which didn't stage it until 1997. Its Cesare Lievi production, with comic-book sets and costumes by Maurizio Balò, hasn't been seen much since then, either: its return to the repertory on Saturday evening, now under the direction of Sharon Thomas, was the work's 24th Met performance.