An opera aimed at the whole family, a rare Spanish-language opera and a return to the Ohio Theatre are among the highlights of Opera Columbus’ new season. For its 2022-23 season, the company will open on Oct. 28 and 30 in the Southern Theatre with Gioachino Rossini’s 1817 opera “La Cenerentola,” which tells the Cinderella folk tale familiar to families from film, television and ballet adaptations. 

The Italian-language opera fills a void in Opera Columbus’ recent slate of programming, said General Director and CEO Julia Noulin-Merat. “We’ve been building on inviting everyone in, and then when you’re looking back, truly, at this past season, I felt like it was always: ‘13-year-old-plus, 13-year-old-plus,'" said Noulin-Merat, who joined the company in early 2021.