Think of this as a roller coaster. Down we go and then up we go again and then down we go and then up we go again.

Hold on because this is life.

From WQXR in the Metropolitan Opera, this is Ariaco. I'm Rianne Gibbons.

My conservatory became these people's houses and my practice rooms were these people's bathrooms.

Every episode we crack open a single area to see what's inside.

Distroids that are larger than life, they're twice as unnatural, but they help us navigate the real.

Today is Nompu Mesta, the joyous finale to Joaquino Rossini's take on Cinderella, La China Rentela.

By the time it hits the last note, the sensation is that you're in the heavens.

Okay, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you probably already know the Disney version of the Cinderella story.

You can fill in all the major plot points between once upon a time and happily ever after.

There's the singing mice and there's the pumpkin ubers and there's the really uncomfortable looking footwear and all of that.

But you may not know that there's actually quite a few different versions of the story.

And they're not all kid friendly, even though I've read some of them to my kids.

There's the one where Cinderella kills their step sisters. I didn't read that one, I promise.

There's the one where the step sisters have to chop off their toes and their heels, try to fit them into the shoe.

That's a little gruesome. I didn't read that one either. Anyway, you get the picture.

But don't worry, there's none of the bloody stuff in the operatic version that we're going to talk about today.

It's by the great Italian composer, Joaquino Rossini.

And there are twists. Like there's a stepfather instead of a stepmother.

And instead of a fairy godmother, it's the princess tutor, Alidoro, who acts as kind of a wingman, getting the two lovebirds together.

Also, no singing mice, no slippers, no coaches, expiring a midnight. In fact, there's no magic at all.

Well, except for the music.

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