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Hänsel and Gretel lost in the Missouri Ozarks?  It turns out that the German classic by the Gebrüder Grimm transcends time and place just fine, the Opera Department of the UMKC Conservatory superbly demonstrated this weekend in their production with four performances at White Recital Hall.  In fact, Grimm has never sounded more grand.

The opera received its premiere in Weimar, Germany, under the baton of Richard Strauss, on December 23, 1893.  Humperdinck composed the work as a Christmas present for the children of his sister, Adelheid Wette, who wrote the libretto based on the Grimm fairy tale.  Traditional nursery songs are incorporated into Humperdinck's opera, making it a favorite children's introduction to opera in Germany.  This production sang it gloriously in German, with supertitles in English.  Although American children seeing it for the first time may have been too young to read the supertitles, the excellent acting by the singers, pantomimes of the dancers, and visual continuity mirrored in the tone of the music most likely delivered the content.

I sometimes cringe at the liberties directors take in producing well-known classics like Hänsel and Gretel.  The Met's production of Hänsel and Gretel transmitted live to cinemas around the world on New Year's Day 2008, staged it with 14 overblown chefs in gigantic chef hats tooling around an enormous banquet table laden with pastries, instead of Grimms' 14 angels surrounding and protecting the lost Hansel and Gretel asleep upon the forest floor.  The Grimms' tale, translated marvelously into music in Humperdinck's score, delivers that concept subliminally in the orchestral interlude based upon the Abendsegen (children's prayer) theme and visually with 14 angels circling the sleeping children on stage.  Whimsical imagery in that pivotal moment that fails to convey the symbolism of omnipresent forces protecting us, unseen, tends to raise my ire.  Not so with this production by Director Marciem Bazell.  Even with comedic tweaks, Bazell's production kept intact the timeless tale with its themes of poverty and greed, the importance of attaining self-reliance, and the triumph of good over evil.

For starters, the singers were first-rate musicians with professional-level acting abilities. 

They were supported splendidly by the pit orchestra, led by Robert Olson in all of the performances except the Sunday matinee, which was conducted by student Sam Seung-Ryul Yang.  The lushly scored and extremely challenging orchestral accompaniment soared in instrumental interludes and scaled back to near nothing when required.  Humperdinck, a student of Wagner, orchestrated this masterpiece in a style remarkably similar to that of his teacher, demanding high technical proficiency and super endurance from the instrumentalists and singers, alike.

Bazell, assistant professor and director of opera at UMKC, brings with her a wealth of experience, having directed for the Sarasota Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Illinois, Opera Delaware and numerous other companies.  She has served on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music and The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and had a career as a Mezzo Soprano in the United States and in Germany. Bazell shared the basis of her inspired vision for this production: "I am a complete slave to the music."

Despite the space constrictions of the intimate stage of White Recital Hall, the team of experts Bazell assembled to design the student production led to a resounding success.  The production utilized students representing the full range of artistic disciplines taught at the Conservatory of Music and Dance. 

With the opening tones of the overture, a ramshackle hut dimly lit emerged from the darkness.  Set designer Panela Leung managed to effectively incorporate all the elements necessary to underscore the three stage settings required in a way that underscored Bazell's intent to emphasize the timelessness of the tale, and still add some modern strokes.  The wooden shack of a house seen in the opening act could have been in a German forest or somewhere in the Ozarks - poverty is universal.  And, who knew? The trees of the Ozark mountain range in Act 2 appeared interchangeable with those of the Ilsenstein Forest.  The Knusper Haus in Act 3 was constructed as a giant cupcake with lots of frosting and sugary morsels for Hänsel and Gretel to break off to nibble.  It was a feast for the eyes together with the whipped cream topped oven and fence of gingerbread cookie children. 

Adding dimensions of magic and wonder were the lighting effects executed brilliantly by Lighting Designer Latrice Lovett.  Her success at visually realizing Bazell's dramatic intent was revealed from the very beginning as the sky above the hut morphed stunningly from a deep midnight blue to reveal a jumble of forest branches silhouetted by a fiery dawn into daylight in synch with different themes heard in the overture.  Another spectacular effect was achieved by waves of light that seemed to emanate all over the stage when the Witch waved her stick to hypnotize Hänsel and Gretel with her spells.

The expertise of Stage Manager Claire Jarman saw to fluid changes of scenes and sets accomplished before the eyes of the audience by an able stage crew with the clever assistance of the seemingly ever-present dancers, guided brilliantly by Choreographer DeeAnna Hiett.  Exceptionally beautiful solo dance work was delivered by ballerina Megan Squires and her partners, Gavin Stewart and Erik Sobbe.  The choreography of the dance of the 14 Angels in the forest scene was fluid and dreamlike, a perfect realization of radiant beauty and strength.  Contrasting well with those dancers were the writhing, slithering movements of the witch's minion dancers who did her bidding when she concocted potions and spells.     

Costume Designer Mary Traylor deserves credit for a satisfying array of garb ranging from traditional mountain-folk drab for the title characters to an amusingly pink sparkly Dew Fairy costume, to a sinister cloak and Darth Vader-type hood for the Witch removed to reveal a gaudy turquoise jacket and striped stockings.

To top it off, the perfectly matched voices of the youth choir, Canta Filia, led by Jennifer Benjamin, added vocal depth to the forest echoes and as gingerbread cookies that came back to life as children when the witch's spell was broken.

Friday night's cast included Lindsay James as Hänsel, Lauren Onsrud as Gretel, Sarah Burke as Mütter, Aaron Markarian as Vater, Sarah Anne Goeke as Sandmännchen, Kristen Griffeath as Taumännchen, and Vigthor Zophoniasson as Hexe.

The Thursday/Saturday cast included Katherine Crawford as Hansel, Sarah Bauer as Gretel, Katelyn Mattson-Levy as Mütter, William H. Perry as Vater, Stephanie Zuluaga as Sandmännchen, Laura Sudduth as Taumännchen, and Kelly Hill as Hexe.

I heard the dress rehearsal of the Thursday/Saturday night cast, and the performance Friday night, and can say with complete candor that these singers, every one of them, are superb - and several of them are headed for major careers in the vocal arts.  Kelly Hill as the Hexe/Witch blew me away with her acting and complete command of vocal range from the top notes of the high range to the very bottom tones.  Her male counterpart in the Friday night production, Vigthor Zophoniasson was equally impressive.  Both of the Fathers, William H. Perry and Aaron Markarian possess magnificent, full voices and commanding stage presence.  And I loved the comic touch of the Sandmännchen in using a lawn seed dispenser to sprinkle sleep upon the children.  I left wishing it had been possible to have heard all four performances.  Bravo to all! 

REVIEW
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance: Fall Opera
Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck
November 19 - 21 at 7:30 p.m., November 22 at 2:30 p.m.
Date reviewed: Friday, Nov. 20 at 7:30 pm
White Recital Hall, UMKC Campus
4949 Cherry Street, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-235-6222 or online www.tickets.cto.umkc.edu


Cover photo: Cast members of Hänsel and Gretel in the Dance of the 14 Angels.

By Gayle G. Hathorne

Classical and Vocal Contributor (Past writer)