Hansel and Gretel

by Engelbert Humperdinck

English libretto and stage direction by Tom Boyd

Orchestra conducted by the Musical Director William Bell

CLICK ABOVE to see "the Father comes home" and to hear the Father telling the Mother where the witches ride

Hansel: Debra Blake/Erin Johnson

Mother: Claire Bartram

Father: Niall Hoskin

The Sandman: Susan Black/Jeanette Gallant/Catrine Kirkman

The Dew Fairy: Jeanette Gallant/Joan Self

The Witch: Maria Moll

CLICK ABOVE to see the Witch's scene ......... CLICK ABOVE to see H & G outwit the witch and are reunited with their parents - end of ACT III

Hooray! Shout it out...the witch is dead! She's in there and she won't survive.

REVIEWS The Gloucestershire Echo. 16 December 1999 Company delights with performance Humperdinck’s masterpiece opera, Hansel and Gretel, which traditionally heralds the run-up to a German Christmas, is not well known in England. This delightful new production at the Bacon Theatre by producer/librettist Tom Boyd, conducted by William Bell, is the best English version I have ever seen. Well sung and acted, it preserves the fairy-tale atmosphere in a translation which respects the composer’s intentions without losing any of the immediate impact of the story on an English audience. It is a pure delight for adults as well as children. The soloists in the production by Bel Canto Opera are all experienced professionals. Catherine Benson, as Gretel, sang with radiant sweetness. Debra Blake, in the difficult role of her brother Hansel, was vocally secure...Niall Hoskin, the father, sang with warm tone and fluent diction. The other singers, Claire Bartram, Susan Black and Joan Self, were excellent, while Maria Moll played the wicked witch with a shrewd twinkle in her eye. Full marks too, to the young dancers and the children who provided the background and the continuity to the story. Praise is also due to the orchestra which followed every change of mood with great sensitivity. Ronald Kay The Wilts. and Gloucestershire Standard. 23 December 1999 Musical enchants audience Producer and librettist Tom Boyd, in his programme notes for Hansel and Gretel, rejects the fashionable contemporary interpretation of Humperdinck’s operatic masterpiece as an exploration of the darker side of man’s nature, and states his interntion of ‘returning it to the children where it belongs. He successfully reverts to the traditional portrayal of the tale of two lost children at the mercy of a child-eating witch as a musical fairy tale in which good prevails and the "forces of the night" are more comic that evil. And while a Tom Boyd libretto will always contain contemporary references and humour, the treatment is traditional. And strangely, for a tale set in a Black Forest summer, the production seems singularly appropriate as part of the festive season in England. In casting Hansel and Gretel, Bel Canto had to look beyond its usual stalwarts and only Sue Black, unrecognisable as the Sandman, and Joan Self as the Dew Fairy will be familiar to Bel Canto audiences. They gave their usual immaculate performances. The capacity to attract distinguished performers from further afield marks a further step in the development of Bel Canto Opera , particularly in recruiting the distinguished soprano Maria Moll, who has played the witch in a production by the English National Opera, no less. She very nearly stole the show, her lyrics clear, her characterisation a subtle blend of the villainous and the comic and played with a definite twinkle in the eye. But it is the leads which largelydetermine the success of a production and the title roles in Hansel and Gretel are particularly demanding not only because of their size but also the demands they make on adult actors playing children. Both Catherine Benson as Gretel and Erin Johnson as Hansel were totally convincing. Miss Benson sang with great clarity and sweetness, while Miss Johnson was equally at home in the more difficult role of her mischievous urchin brother. Their duets were a particular delight. Claire Bartram as the hard-pressed mother and Niall Hoskin as the humane father also sang and performed impressively. The excellent dance teams of good fairies and witches supplied the symbolism, and the chorus of children liberated by the witch’s demise added to the final enchantment. The orchestra performed with its usual smooth efficiency under William Bell’s direction...it was an evening to savour for adults and children alike and maintained Bel Canto’s burgeoning reputation. Stuart Russell