There exists a curious bit of musical history between Australia and Engelbert Humperdinck, German composer of the opera Hansel und Gretel. According to Australian composer Vincent Plush, in 1914 Humperdinck unsuccessfully applied for the position of general director of the then New South Wales Conservatorium of Music, a job which instead went to Henri Verbrugghen, a name with which most of us are familiar.
This little bit of trivia may seem more relevant in the context of Pacific Opera’s new production of Hansel and Gretel, which is set in Depression-era Sydney. Director Christine Douglas and her creative team effectively depict an atmosphere of poverty, hunger and privation which is particularly evident in Act 1 thanks to realistic set and costume designs (Simone Romaniuk and Alisa Paterson, respectively). The production’s best moment comes at the end of Act 2 with a touching dream sequence, aided by appropriately evocative lighting (Karen Norris), during which the children are first saved from their poverty by Salvation Army ‘fairies’ and then live out their idealised relationship with their parents during a few seconds of unsurpassed happiness. Unfortunately, the inclusion of clowns instead of children takes away much of the emotional impact from the opera’s ending, directing attention towards these figures and away from the message of ‘God will provide for us’ which closes the work.
Dora Armannsdottir as Hansel and Cathy Zhang as Gretel gave vocally and dramatically satisfying portrayals; their energy and commitment towards highlighting their relationship with each other and with their parents was particularly impressive. Kerry Nicholson offered an appropriately fuller-voiced Mother, conveying the opera’s heavier elements of poverty, hunger and frustration in a very convincing manner. The best singing came from James Roser as the Father; his rich baritone combined with detailed acting made his the best-polished performance of the night. The Witch is perhaps the opera’s most challenging role, demanding an excellent singing actor which can make the Witch either darkly comic or truly sinister. Thomas Strong’s energetic and confident performance in the part was worthy of recognition.
Russell Ger led a controlled and well-detailed performance from the orchestra, making the most out of the reduced orchestration and working well with his singers to achieve an excellent balance in the theatre.
This was an engaging performance by already highly-skilled young artists with exceptional potential from whom we will surely be hearing and seeing more in the future.
By Paulo Montoya