Alice Coote tripped and slipped a disc in front of Domingo, but neither that setback nor others have impeded her progress towards Covent Garden and glory, she tells Jessica Duchen
Prince Charming played by a woman? It may sound like the Christmas panto, but this is midsummer at the Royal Opera House and the Cinderella in question is something quite different. Jules Massenet's Cendrillon is a French romantic take on the fairy tale – one that is scarcely ever performed and is now coming to Covent Garden for the very first time. The British mezzo-soprano Alice Coote has fallen under its spell. She is starring in the trouser-role of Le Prince Charmant and, pausing for a cup of tea during rehearsals, she says she can't get the melodies out of her head. "I've never been in a show before where I've woken up each morning singing another character's tunes," she declares.
