Login
Lecture, Conway Hall, Monday, 18 May 2026 - 19:00
Happily Ever After? Singing and Dancing Cinderella
Need help registering?
Why has the Cinderella story given rise to so many musical adaptations? From Massenet to Rossini and from Prokofiev to Rodgers and Hammerstein, great composers have turned to the same idea for inspiration. What are the problems with its ubiquity throughout Western culture? What musical ideas have been repeatedly used to depict the story, and what does music convey that words and movement can’t? The lecture ends by considering how Sondheim’s Into the Woods turns the Cinderella story on its head by showing what happens after she gets the prince.
Support Gresham
Gresham College has offered an outstanding education to the public free of charge for over 400 years. Today, Gresham College plays an important role in fostering a love of learning and a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us. Your donation will help to widen our reach and to broaden our audience, allowing more people to benefit from a high-quality education from some of the brightest minds.
