Theater Review
Hänsel and Gretel Opera by Engelbert Humperdinck
Hänsel and Gretel, Premiere 30.10.04
I must have seen this opera once before, in Estonia, (in Estonian,) and, when I was very young, I sang a few songs from it with a youth choir. This piece is nice, although not spectacular. It seems interesting to me, that it can be performed with 6 soloists, and a small group of children. (Or, in a pinch, 4 soloists could do, with the mother doubling as the witch, and the father as the Sand-Man.) This particular production didn't have a small children's chorus; There were nearly 45 of the little terrors on stage. 45.
They did a fabulous job of it though. The entire production was pretty decent, with only one place forcing me to laugh at the sheer ridiculousness of it: At the end of the 1st act, when the children are in the forest, they say their prayers about 14 angels keeping watch. I suppose that after this, it's standard to have 14 "Angels" enter, to the orchestra's music of 5 minutes or so.
Here, there were black lights, and 14 little people in white costumes -with wings, (Yes, but also) Antennas, an short skirt things. And they just slowly came on, and waved their wings up and down. I found it looked rather like a large group of moths. I was very proud of the thought I had, that it looked like Alfred Hichcock's "The Birds" directed by Steven Spielberg.
Anyhow, the mother and father were a bit odd, with their running out into the woods to look for the children, and generally being much more decent to them. The other peculiar thing, was the witch's house: part of the forest scenery turned around, and there you had her Caravan, (Well... that's the Australian word for it; What would You call the Houses on Wheels that you find in Trailer Parks?) So, we had the whole White Trailer Park Trash image before the Witch ever appeared. -And of course, her Trailer was all decorated with gumdrops and icing, and ice-cream swirls. It was quite pleasing to the eye.
And now, I really have to sleep!
'Night World!