Utah Arts Review

In his music for Hansel and Gretel, Engelbert Humperdinck creates a magical mix that successfully blends simple, folk-like tunes with a more sophisticated operatic style. And in Utah Opera’s current production of Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck’s score is coupled with sets and costumes that bring the Grimm Brothers’ fairytale to life.

With sets from New Orleans Opera and Utah Opera’s own costumes, this production transports the audience immediately into an enchanted realm where anything can, and does, happen.

And the cast at Saturday’s opening night performance in the Capitol Theatre delivered on all counts, from first-rate acting to marvelous singing. 

Leading the cast are Maureen McKay as Gretel and Sarah Coit, a former Utah Opera resident artist, as her brother Hansel. 

McKay is a soprano whose voice is warm in her lower register and big and full in her upper range. She sings with a depth of expression and feeling without ever crossing over into shrillness on high notes. 

Coit’s mezzo-soprano has a silky-smooth richness that is fluid and lyrical. She and McKay blended wonderfully together in their duets, and through their singing and acting both lent credibility to their respective roles.

Aubrey Adams-McMillan, alto, and baritone Gabriel Preisser sing the roles of Hansel and Gretel’s parents. Both have resonant voices that blend well together and breathed life into their characters with their singing and acting.

Stealing the show, however, is tenor Freddie Ballentine as the Witch. Made up to look like a parody of a drag queen, Ballentine hammed it up with his over-the-top acting, which, surprisingly, worked remarkably well in this context. He obviously had a blast Saturday in his role, and his characterization fit right in with the make-believe world of the  production. 

This kind of gender reversal for the Witch could have been disastrous in the hands of a lesser director, but stage director Kyle Lang didn’t fall for any of the obvious traps, like having the singer do falsetto or making the character grotesquely absurd. It provided a fun twist to the role. And while Ballentine’s acting was superb, his singing was no less so. He has a resonant and full voice that he put to good use in his portrayal.

In the small roles of the Sandman and the Dew Fairy, Utah Opera resident artists Sarah Scofield and Stephanie Chee, respectively, were delightful, as were the members of the Children’s Ballet Theatre as the angels and woodland animals and members of the Madeleine Choir School as the gingerbread children who come to life after the witch’s spell is broken.

Another unexpected moment in this production comes towards the end of the second act when Hansel and Gretel fall asleep in the forest. Both dream of eating to their hearts’ content, and that is visualized by Adams-McMillan and Preisser wheeling out their home dinner tavbke, which is overflowing with all kinds of food. The father carves a roast and both he and the mother hand it to the children. All the motion in this scene is slowed down and effectively conveys the imagery of a dream.

Stephanie Rhodes Russell conducted the Utah Symphony with well-chosen tempos, allowing the singers space and the freedom to express themselves fully.

Utah Opera’s Hansel and Gretel runs through January 26. utahopera.org