Opera on the James presents...Hansel and Gretel

Opera on the James will join us this morning for another amazing Operatic version of a classic children's story performed by members of their Tyler Young Artists program.  This time they will be performing Hansel and Gretel based on the well-loved Brothers Grimm fairy tale!

Story/Plot
In a household living in poverty, siblings Hansel and Gretel are home alone. Hungry and bored, they sing and dance to lift their spirits, but are discovered by their mother, who is furious that they haven’t completed their chores. She spills what was to have been their supper and sends the children into the enchanted forest to forage for something else to eat.
 

And so the adventure begins...
In the forest, Hansel and Gretel encounter the magical Sandman, who sends them to sleep, and the mystical Dew Fairy who awakens them. They happen upon a mysterious, edible, and delicious house which, it turns out, is the home of a terrifying, child-eating Witch! Will Hansel and Gretel escape with their lives, or will they become dinner for the horrid old crone?

About the Music...
Hansel and Gretel was written by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921), not to be confused with pop star ‘Gerry’ Dorsey, who took the composer’s name as his own in 1966 to revive a slumping music career!

The original Engelbert Humperdinck’s score for Hansel and Gretel is chock-full of enchanting themes, with well-known German tunes and newer “folk songs” written for this show. Listen for the lovely Evening Prayer, sung by the two children as they drop off to sleep in the forest and imagine the angels who will surround them. 

Humperdinck was a student of Richard Wagner; he was invited by the composer to assist with preparations for the premiere of his Parsifal at Bayreuth in 1880. However, for most of his life, Humperdinck was best known as a teacher/lecturer, as Hansel and Gretel turned out to be his one and only hit production.

About the Tyler Young Artists Program:
Opera on the James’ nationally recognized Tyler Young Artists Program is made up of singers chosen for their vocal, musical, and theatrical excellence. For two, five-week residencies, they sing for thousands of central Virginians each year.

Chosen through annual national auditions, the Tyler Young Artists perform in schools, libraries, and community centers.  They participate in main-stage operas, perform in cabaret-style performances, and receive professional training from OOTJ’s nationally renowned artistic team. They are beloved, energetic,c and brilliant ambassadors who show us that opera can connect us all as we share our stories and revel in the beauty and primacy of the human voice.  Well-respected Master Coach and Program Director Thomas Getty travels from the NYC area each session, to coach the young artists and play for their outreach performances.