Talya Lieberman as Gretel and Adria Caffaro as Hansel. Photography by Mark Lyons.
CCM’s Mainstage Series proudly presents Engelbert Humperdinck’s timeless opera Hansel and Gretel from Nov. 20 – 23 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium. This magical production also features the Cincinnati Children’s Choir, ensemble-in-residence at CCM.
Based on the German fairy tale popularized by the Brothers Grimm, this contemporary production is conducted by CCM Director of Orchestral Studies Mark Gibson with stage direction by the J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair in Opera Robin Guarino. This opera will be sung in English with supertitles.
Composed by Humperdinck, with a libretto by his sister Adelheid Wette, the perennially popular opera premiered in 1893 to instant success. Showing the influence of German folksong, along with harmonic and textural influences of Richard Wagner, the opera was hailed by fellow German composer Richard Strauss (who conducted the premiere) as “a masterpiece of the highest quality.” The opera has since become a holiday tradition throughout the world.
Guarino’s production transports the classic fairy tale to the 1930s Depression Era. The precocious brother and sister duo are poor, hungry and dreaming of tasty treats. When their overworked mother sends them into the world to find food, they lose their way in the forest and encounter a scary witch with a deliciously sinister plan.
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