Cinderella has just started her job as an AuPair girl. Her employers are not exactly nice to her: Widow Knurrig, the mother, lives up to her name, and her three daughters boss Cinderella around quite nasty. They don't want to take Cinderella with them to the big ball either. Our heroine receives support only from a cat, which turns out to be a good fairy in this situation, helps Cinderella to get a beautiful dress and accompanies her to the ball. There it happens as it must: Cinderella meets her prince Charming, who, bored with all the other vain girls, immediately falls in love with her. When the two finally dance together, time flies far too quickly – it's already midnight and Cinderella is just an ordinary au pair again.
At the ball she not only lost her shoe but also her heart, and full of longing for each other she and her prince sing about their great love. Will there be a happy ending this time too? With "Cinderella", Peter Maxwell Davies has composed a modern version of the popular fairy tale of "Cinderella" by children for children, which the young singers of the Singschul' at Oper Graz perform with a lot of joy in singing and playing under the experienced guidance of director Michael Schilhan will tell.