Theatrical wonder let down by the music Outstanding mezzosoprano Fiona Campbell in the title role. Picture: Stephanie Do Rozario Source: Supplied OPERA Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant By Rossini. Opera Queensland. Conservatorium Theatre, Brisbane, July 6. PREVIOUSLY, the second of Opera Queensland's three operas each season has been a modest production suitable for regional touring, showcasing local singers and using the outstanding acoustics of the Conservatorium Theatre to show off smaller voices to advantage. Ambitions are higher this year, with Rossini's Cinderella being Lindy Hume's first full-scale new production as artistic director, inaugurating a partnership between New Zealand Opera and the now rebranded Opera Q. Theatrically, this second Cinderella in Queensland in recent months (Li Cunxin chose the Prokofiev version for his Queensland Ballet debut) is a wonder. Dan Potra's magnificent set offers several gasp-aloud moments, as the royal palace and grounds of Don Ramiro (Virgilio Marino) are transformed into the gloriously detailed Dickensian old curiosity shop of Don Magnifico (Andrew Collis). And his costumes - a red velvet suit for the prince and elaborate gowns for the stepsisters - are terrific. So no problem in shifting the action of this 1817 Italian comic masterpiece to a down-at-heel, patriotic, 19th-century Britain, where the marriage of any shopkeeper's daughter into royalty would indeed be the stuff of fairytales. In this case the fairytale is Charles Perrault's, a gentler version than the Grimm brothers' more bloodthirsty one. But ultimately opera has to be about the music, and never more so than in Rossini, with his intricate set-pieces of pure genius. And that's where the problems begin. Hume's clever, colloquial translation about "silly old fools" and "heartless bastards" (the opera is sung in English, with surtitles) could work well as a play, but becomes an obstacle in the most tongue-twisting patter songs in Italian opera. Sure, Rossini's immortal quintets and sextet spill their syllables at the required rate, but not always in sync with the music, meaning that when people in the audience should be dazzled, they're desperately glancing from stage to surtitles to pit, trying to work out what's going on. To make matters worse, the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Wyn Davies played way too loud, drowning out the singers. This was a shame, because Fiona Campbell in the title role is surely the best mezzosoprano in Australia right now, but instead of her glorious low-voiced coloratura, you remember mainly the oh-puh-leez moment when they make her fly. Ashraf Sewailam brings a rich bass-baritone as the fixer Alidoro, but the plucky local singers are left to act charmingly while getting belted musically in a production where theatre comes first and opera second. Tickets: $68.35-$123.35. Bookings: 136 246 or qtix.com.au. Duration: 2hr 45min, one interval.