Vancouver Opera presents a new family-friendly production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s beloved fairytale opera Hansel and Gretel, featuring the enthralling larger-than-life puppet creations and costume design of world-famous Calgary-based Old Trout Puppet Workshop. The master artisans of Old Trout Puppet workshop have created an enchanting fairy-tale world of visual surprises for ages 6+.
VO’s new production has been abridged from its original length to appeal to young and adult audiences alike. Singers from Vancouver Opera’s prestigious Yulanda M. Faris Young Artists Program bring fresh energy to this delightful holiday production. The performances will be sung in English, in a new adaptation by stage director Brenna Corner with the lyrics projected above the stage as they are sung.
VO commissioned Russian composer Anatoly Korolyov to create an intriguing and charming new reduced orchestration of Humperdinck’s score, which perfectly suits the intimate Vancouver Playhouse. The sensational 24-year-old Scottish-born conductor Alexander Prior will lead a youthful cast of emerging opera stars, a chorus of fourteen children, and a 14-member ensemble of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra which includes strings, woodwinds, brass, percussion, a saxophone and an electric guitar.
THE STORY IN BRIEF
Long ago, in a fairy-tale house, two children find themselves on a magical adventure. Lost in the woods and pursued by a witch, Hansel & Gretel must use all their wits and trickery to avoid a terrible fate VO's production will include astonishing puppets as well as other playful surprises in this family-friendly holiday treat. Engelbert Humperdinck’s familiar dramatic score, adapted for the intimate Playhouse, will thrill seasoned opera-goers and charm new audiences with familiar tunes that beautifully evoke the forest setting and the opera's colourful characters and creatures.
Vancouver Playhouse
November 24 – December 11
November 24, 26, 29 | December 1, 3, 8, 10 at 7:30pm
November 27 | December 11 at 2:00pm
November 30 | December 7 at 12:30pm
Tickets: VO Ticket Centre 604-683-0222 or online at vancouveropera.ca
