On December 4, Boheme Opera NJ will present Engelbert Humperdinck’s operatic adaptation of the timeless Brothers Grimm fairytale “Hansel and Gretel” at Kendall Hall Theater on the campus of The College of New Jersey. A vibrant cast and stunning virtual sets will bring the story you may have only “seen” in your mind to life — and amazing visual and musical treats will make a familiar tale something exciting and unexpected.
The idea for the opera leaped from the pen of Humperdinck’s sister, Adelheid, who wrote songs for her children as a Christmas gift based on the Grimms’ tale. She asked her brother, Engelbert, to write music for her words — and he pieced the songs together to create a work that’s rarely been off the stage since its first performance in 1893.
The opera takes a different path to its happy ending than the original story, since the fairytales the Grimms collected for their famous anthology often lived up to the siblings’ surname. Humperdinck toned down the more…grim…elements, maintained the core theme and events, and created a magical, musical journey that’s been an audience favorite since its 1893 premier.
The brothers weren’t above a little self-editing, either: subsequent editions of the anthology included their own subtle and not-so-subtle changes. With “Hansel and Gretel,” they decided that the original story, in which the mother was the villain, would be too traumatic for their young audience members. So “mother” became “stepmother” — and thus began the Grimms’ go-to theme that could have been their book’s tagline: “Stereotyping Stepmothers — One Story at a Time.”
The Grimms’ tale still had a dark beginning. Mother (later the stepmother) forces Father to abandon Hansel and Gretel in the forest so that both parents don’t die of hunger. In the Humperdinck adaptation, the mother chases them out of the house in a fit of frustration at their misbehavior, telling them to go to the forest to pick wild strawberries. Unlike the candidate for parent of the year in the Grimms’ version, Humperdinck’s mother panics and chases after them with her husband when he tells her that there’s an evil witch, with a taste for children, living in the forest.
The outcome, though, is the same: the children escape, the witch dies; good triumphs, evil loses. The difference is that the opera is full of beautiful melodies and images that make it a confection for the ear and eye.
“Hansel and Gretel” was created as a holiday gift for children. This year, treat yourself and the children in your life to Boheme Opera NJ’s production of this timeless classic. Happily ever after never tasted so good!
Hansel and Gretel, Sunday, December 4, at 3 p.m. in the Kendall Hall Theater on the campus of TCNJ. Directed and conducted by Boheme Opera NJ Artistic Director Joseph Pucciatti. Starring mezzo-soprano Kaitlyn Tierney as Hansel and soprano Kerri Lynn Slominski as Gretel and contralto Alison Bolshoi as The Witch. Virtual sets by J. Matthew Root. For tickets and information, visit www.bohemeopera.org.
