Hansel und Gretel

[Flosshilde]

Went to see Scottish Opera's new production of Hansel und Gretel last night. A good production, but probably not the darkest interpretation there has been, despite the SO's claim that the director (Bill Bankes-Jones) has taken it "back to its roots, revealing a macabre tale, with psychological depth." The parents were merely a bit tetchy & harrassed, & the witch - blonde, dressed in pink - was a bit too sweet to be thoroughly frightening (perhaps she was the Sugar Plum Fairy's wayward sister?) - although her interest in Hansel seemed more lascivious than gluttonous.

The cast were all very good, with Kai Ruutel (Hansel) & Ailish Tynan (Gretel) especially so, & very well acted as well. The music bowled me over - I'd had the idea that there was 'only one good tune' - the dance, which happens near the beginning - but the whole thing was delightful, with some wonderful orchestral interludes - especially at the end of act 1.

One thing puzzles me - the publicity I saw suggested that Bill Bankes-Jones had written a "new libretto", but in the SO season programme it says that it's a "new translation". It certainly sounded (in terms of idiom used & also content) like a new, rather than a translated, version. Whichever it was it came across very clearly (possibly being in rhyming couplets helped).

Altogether it was a very enjoyable evening.

[Beef Oven]

Went to see Scottish Opera's new production of Hansel und Gretel last night. A good production, but probably not the darkest interpretation there has been, despite the SO's claim that the director (Bill Bankes-Jones) has taken it "back to its roots, revealing a macabre tale, with psychological depth." The parents were merely a bit tetchy & harrassed, & the witch - blonde, dressed in pink - was a bit too sweet to be thoroughly frightening (perhaps she was the Sugar Plum Fairy's wayward sister?) - although her interest in Hansel seemed more lascivious than gluttonous.

The cast were all very good, with Kai Ruutel (Hansel) & Ailish Tynan (Gretel) especially so, & very well acted as well. The music bowled me over - I'd had the idea that there was 'only one good tune' - the dance, which happens near the beginning - but the whole thing was delightful, with some wonderful orchestral interludes - especially at the end of act 1.

One thing puzzles me - the publicity I saw suggested that Bill Bankes-Jones had written a "new libretto", but in the SO season programme it says that it's a "new translation". It certainly sounded (in terms of idiom used & also content) like a new, rather than a translated, version. Whichever it was it came across very clearly (possibly being in rhyming couplets helped).

Altogether it was a very enjoyable evening.

What language was it performed in?

[Mr Pee]

Went to see Scottish Opera's new production of Hansel und Gretel last night. A good production, but probably not the darkest interpretation there has been, despite the SO's claim that the director (Bill Bankes-Jones) has taken it "back to its roots, revealing a macabre tale, with psychological depth." The parents were merely a bit tetchy & harrassed, & the witch - blonde, dressed in pink - was a bit too sweet to be thoroughly frightening (perhaps she was the Sugar Plum Fairy's wayward sister?) - although her interest in Hansel seemed more lascivious than gluttonous.

The cast were all very good, with Kai Ruutel (Hansel) & Ailish Tynan (Gretel) especially so, & very well acted as well. The music bowled me over - I'd had the idea that there was 'only one good tune' - the dance, which happens near the beginning - but the whole thing was delightful, with some wonderful orchestral interludes - especially at the end of act 1.

One thing puzzles me - the publicity I saw suggested that Bill Bankes-Jones had written a "new libretto", but in the SO season programme it says that it's a "new translation". It certainly sounded (in terms of idiom used & also content) like a new, rather than a translated, version. Whichever it was it came across very clearly (possibly being in rhyming couplets helped).

Altogether it was a very enjoyable evening.

I love Hansel Und Gretel, but if it was ever known as only having "one good tune", surely that tune is the Dream Pantomime, the melody of which is the very first one heard at the beginning of the overture?

[Pabmusic]

I love Hansel Und Gretel, but if it was ever known as only having "one good tune", surely that tune is the Dream Pantomime, the melody of which is the very first one heard at the beginning of the overture?

It is, of course, replete with good tunes. Humperdinck first wrote it as music for his sister's children's puppet show (how he got a Wagnerian orchestra into her home isn't told) which gives a nice angle to that scene in The Sound of Music, doesn't it?.

[Il Grande Inquisitor]

What language was it performed in?

It was performed in English.

http://www.opera-britannia.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=641:hansel-and-gretel-scottish-opera-4th-february-2012&catid=8:opera-reviews&Itemid=16

[Flosshilde]

It is, of course, replete with good tunes. Humperdinck first wrote it as music for his sister's children's puppet show (how he got a Wagnerian orchestra into her home isn't told) which gives a nice angle to that scene in The Sound of Music, doesn't it?.

In fact the orchestra was surprisingly small - it only occupied about half the pit. I too had been expecting a 'Wagnerian' sized orchestra - perhaps because of the comments I'd read of the Wagnerian style of the music.

[Mr Pee]

In fact the orchestra was surprisingly small - it only occupied about half the pit. I too had been expecting a 'Wagnerian' sized orchestra - perhaps because of the comments I'd read of the Wagnerian style of the music.

Well that's probably as much due to Scottish Opera's dire financial state as any artistic decision.....

[Pabmusic]

In fact the orchestra was surprisingly small - it only occupied about half the pit. I too had been expecting a 'Wagnerian' sized orchestra - perhaps because of the comments I'd read of the Wagnerian style of the music.

I have the published full score here, and it gives a reasonable-sized late-19th century orchestra, though not, in fact, a truly Wagnerian one. Double wind plus a piccolo; 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 troms and tuba; harp and strings. Plus 3 timps and rather a lot of percussion. A slight surprise for me,, too, though it sounds as though this production may have cut even this down.

[Flosshilde]

Yes, there was quite a lot of percussion - I should have mentioned that, & I wasn't really including it in the 'half the pit' estimation. I should also say that, as far as I know the Theatre Royal's pit is possibly slightly larger than average (& those with a wider knowledge of orchestra pits than I might be able to confirm or contradict that impression); it extends quite far into the auditorium since the theatre's renovations some years ago.