Sisterly love? Not so much in 'Cinderella,' this weekend in Tucson

But don’t tell soprano Katrina Galka or mezzo-soprano Mariya Kaganskaya that their characters are “evil.”

“We don’t think we’re evil; we think we’re great,” said Kaganskaya, who sings the role of Tisbe in Arizona Opera’s production of Rossini’s “Cinderella” this weekend at Tucson Music Hall. “That’s been a topic of discussion in the process of whether we’re evil or we don’t know better, based on who’s been raising us this whole time.”

“I think in the end we do have moments where we find out that Cinderella is the woman that Don Ramiro is in love with. We are actually quite cool, but it’s really only at the end,” added Galka, singing role of evil sister Clorinda. “Until then we are just very ignorant, in a way naïve in a kind of buffoonish way.”

The naïvité comes naturally when it comes to sisterly love, or the lack thereof. Neither Galka or Kaganskaya have sisters in real life, so this is all new to them.

“I have a brother,” Galka volunteered, and while the two were close growing up, it’s not the same. No giggly gossiping or sharing clothes and secrets like sisters are known to do.

Kaganskaya was an only child, so she gets her character’s jealousy toward her beautiful stepsister, who could easily steal the spotlight if given a chance. Growing up, Kaganskaya was used to being spoiled, she confessed with a laugh.

Rossini’s version of the classic fairytale takes place in Italy in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and loosely follows the original, with some notable differences. Instead of an evil stepmother, there’s a wicked stepfather. The fairy godmother is out, replaced by a philosopher and dreamer named Alidoro, and no glass slippers here: Cinderella leaves behind a bracelet as the only clue for Prince Romiro to find her.

“There are no weird creatures or a pumpkin turning into a carriage,” added Galka.

“We’re having a blast,” Kaganskaya said. “The director (Crystal Manich) is fantastic, the conductor (Dean Williamson from Nashville Opera) is awesome. It’s perfectly cast, I think.”

But true to the fairytale, Rossini’s “Cinderella” mixes two parts evil with one part sweet in the stepsisters. Some of their antics to trip up their stepsister include having her fetch exciting jewelry and feather boas to wear to the prince’s ball.

“Naturally we have to ask Cinderella to get us all our clothes to prepare for this. And we don’t give her much time to do it. We just sort of yell at her a lot,” Kaganskaya said.

“There’s a lot of yelling, a lot of ordering,” Galka chimed in during a call last week from a break in rehearsing. “She’s really like our personal servant, and that’s how we treat her.”

Even as they come around to the reality that Cinderella has won the prince’s heart, they still can’t stop themselves from final digs, like arriving fashionably late for the royal wedding. Of course, they apologize and come to the conclusion that poor Cinderella is worthy of the throne she’s about to marry into.

“I think we see the error of our ways,” Galka said. “We see that she is good-hearted, and that’s where we shift from that place of ignorance to being more enlightened.”

“Cinderella,” which closes Arizona Opera’s 2016-17 season, will be performed on Saturday, April 1, and Sunday, April 2.