Hansel & Gretel @ Opera Cleveland 10/31 With all that wood stacked outside their cottage, and the too-clean and neat clothing worn by the children, how could this family be starving? That's the initial impression that stayed with me throughout Opera Cleveland's presentation of Engelbert Humperdinck's Hansel & Gretel Friday evening. Unfortunately, they never convinced me otherwise...

Of course, in opera, the singing is all important – much more than the look of it – and in that regard the production fared much better. The orchestra, conducted by Dean Williamson, sounded just as one would wish for a Wagnerian-type musical foundation, especially the horns, which are all too often, justly maligned. Not this time, however.

It was just the well-fed, clean and happy appearance of the principals that really expressed the opposite opinion of the words being sung. (The translation into English went awry a couple of times, and the extra effort to rhyme the verses took away some of the sense. Still, I’m all in favor of having the English surtitles even when the singing is in the same language.)

Of these four main characters, the Hansel of Patricia Risley seemed to fare the best. (S)he was appropriately gawky and adolescent in his behavior, yet properly protective of his younger sister when necessary. Ms. Risley’s voice was perfectly suited for the role, and her diction was exquisiste.

Anya Matanoviè’s Gretel also fared well, vocally, and her winsomeness blended nicely with her practicality. Her manic sort of dance in the scene when the witch casts a spell was especially charming, and extra kudos to the soprano as well as the flute soloist in their second act duet. I’ll presume it was the principal, Sean Gabriel, who matched her note for enchanting note!

Todd Thomas as Father, seemed a little too hearty (and cheerful) considering the difficulties in which his family lived.

Dana Beth Miller performed dual roles: in one act she was the non-wicked step-mother and in the other, the non-wicked witch, in which she really chewed up the scenery! She cackled and coaxed very convincingly, however, as she cavorted through her beautiful fairyland of a gingerbread mansion with colorful large flowers disguised as edibles, along with the candy-cane fencing supplemented by gingerbread children baked into fenceposts. Set designs by Erhard Rom were greatly enhanced by the use of gorgeously painted (or printed) scrims and panels, creating a totally believable forest. The pristine costumes (which would have been aided by a bit of distressing) were by Daniel James Cole, and the atmospheric lighting by John Demous.

Natasha Ospina, who recently completed graduate studies at CIM, was radiant in her dual roles of the Sandman and Dew Fairy. She was given the two best costumes, by far, and gave each of her characters a definite voice and personality. The children’s chorus (directed by Katherine Plank) sang and danced in good voice and charming appearance.

Choreography was by Michael Medcalf, while previous choreographer Lisa L. Lock put on her dancing shoes this time, to become either the dream mother or dream witch, in the middle portion of the opera, which exhibited the most unusual aspect of this production. Director Hudson envisioned the dream sequence as mime, consequently, in that portion most of the characters moved as in slow motion, and in silence, leaving the orchestra to build tension as the music describes what’s happening. Stage manager Valerie Wheeler kept the production moving at the brisk pace established by the director.

There is one more performance of Hansel & Gretel on Saturday, November 8 at 8PM. It’s a great introduction to opera for the youngster in your life, and won’t scare them all that much in the process. For ticket information, call 241-6000 for tickets, or go online at http://www.operacleveland.org.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Kelly Ferjutz artswriterATroadrunner.com
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