Composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1893 storybook Opera,
“Hansel and Gretel”, based on The Grimm Brother’s tale of the same name is the
current fare at the Civic Center on Feb. 14th and 16th.
This will be the third time in the opera’s history producing Humperdinck’s
work.
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| Woodland Creatures checking out Hansel and Gretel while sleeping |
Aside from glossing over Hansel (mezzo-soprano Blyhte
Gaissert) and Gretel’s (soprano Sara Gartland) dilemma of having no food in the
cupboards and being sent out into the woods, some of the darker sides of this
morality tale (don’t take candy from strangers/ never let the kids out alone in
a dark woods, etc.) are glossed over more to suit the youngsters sensibilities than
satisfy their adult counterparts.
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| Soprano Devon Guthrie ( standing) is Sandman |
Soprano Gartland and mezzo Gaissert are a perfect match in
their respective roles of protective and more serious older sister to errant,
trouble maker and fidget digit brother completely set on unnerving his sister.
Their trek in the woods is where we find most of the puppets and this is where
the story and music, for the most part picks up and piques our interest.
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| Baritone Malcom MacKensie is Peter and Soprano Marcy Stonika is Gertrude |
The San Diego Opera Company with production design by The Old
Trout Workshop for Vancouver Opera has its eye on the overall look of
everything being larger and more threatening to life and safety of the
youngsters in Humperdinck’s telling story of the two starving children at risk
of being baked and turned into gingerbread cookies by the Wicked Witch (tenor
Joel Sorensen is both puppeteer and witch) whose gingerbread house is snap -dag
in the middle of the woods luring the hungry pair straight to its doorstep.
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| Sara Gartland and Blythe Gaissert outside the Witch''s house munching on something sweet. |
The oversized cutouts outside and surrounding their home follow
their trail (sans pebbles and/ or breadcrumbs) into the woods. They are
banished by their cruel mother Gertrude (soprano Marcy Stonikas) to fetch
strawberries in the woods to stave off their hunger.
Pickings are good at the outset, but as nightfall descends
and the path back home is lost to the darkness, larger than life creatures loom
over the children adding to the overall fright factor.
Hansel tries to comfort his sister and asks her to wait for
the moon to come out so the light can protect them. It’s one of the more moving
scenes of the night where the two lie side by side exhausted by their day of
wandering in the woods. This is where we see the ghost like creatures lighting
the night. . (“Evening or Children’s Prayer” of Fourteen Angels).
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| Willow Whisps in the woods |
Back home, things get a bit testy when Peter, father/ husband/
broom-maker, -wearing seven-inch platforms, (baritone Malcom Mackenzie with a
full and powerful voice) comes home with a bounty of food for the family, but
finds the nest empty of children. He questions about he safety of the children
out in the forest alone in the dark. They both set out to find them. It takes
them on an all night trek.
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| Big Mouse |
Under the direction of Brenna Corner and the baton of guest conductor
Ari Peltro and with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra at its best, General
Director David Bennett and his solid cast, including fourteen youngsters in the
children’s chorus under the direction of Michael Green handling most of the
stick puppets, an imaginative, oft whimsical and innovative evening of magic
unfolds.
Soprano and Devon Guthrie is the Dew Fairy and Sandman (whose
eyes and ears a bit off the grid) guiding Hansel and Gretel through a long
night’s journey.
With some beautiful singing especially in the opening scenes
with Sara Gartland’s taking command of keeping her brother in tow while Blythe
Gaissert’s Hansel finds more ways to annoy her, the story gets under way with a
young boy sitting alone on the stage appearing to read the tale.
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| Tenor Joel Sporensenis the Witch (photo by Edward Wilensky) |
The harmonizing (don’t expect any big arias, the music is all
in the story telling) between soprano and mezzo is simply lovely as the two
stand toe to toe while their fate awaits them in this two hour, one
intermission opera with Opera Text in English even though the opera itself is
sung in English.
I took my grandson, who is in his twenties but this is his
introduction to opera. We will run the gamut together from this season’s lineup
of “Aida”, “Hansel and Gretel” and
“Barber of Seville” coming up in April. He is more than thrilled with this, new
to him, art form.
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| Soprano Devon Guthrie as The Fairy accompanied by puppeteer Jason James Johnson |
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Feb. 14th and 16th
Organization: San Diego Opera
Phone: 619-232-5911
Production Type: Opera
Where: 1100 3rd Ave., Downtown Dan Diego, CA
Ticket Prices: Start at 35.00
Web: sdopera.org
Venue: Civic Theatre
Photo Credit: J. Katarzyna Woronowicz Johnson
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