Warwick Graduates present ‘Hansel and Gretel’ at the Belgrade

Hansel and Gretel is an incredibly well known Brothers Grimm fairy tale, but is not known to many as an opera. As an opera lover I had already seen a production of it at the Royal Opera House years ago, so I was intrigued to see Hightime in association with The Belgrade Theatre’s version of this fairy-tale opera in three acts. Straight away from the programme I could see an exciting circus theme, so I was looking forward to seeing Ben Hamilton’s translation of the originally German opera.

The opera began with a well choreographed physical theatre section which set the adaptation of the opera perfectly. The circus theme was clear, as the clowns set the stage with the piano playing the prologue. This worked brilliantly and the facial expressions of the three clowns were hilarious, setting the somewhat comical tone of the new translation of the opera. Having the three clowns set the stage for the opening scene along with Hansel and Gretel was a very different way of opening an opera, but it worked beautifully and I was mesmerised immediately.

Whilst the piece was set in the modern day, it was nice to see elements of the set mirroring the classic fairy tale setting of a poor household. However, the modern adaptation of the lyrics reflected contemporary themes which were very comical and worked really well. A great example of this is when Gretel is singing to her brother about what she wants to be when she is older; she sings about being a ‘pop star’ and being on ‘TV’ a lot. I feel this really helped the audience engage with the piece and relate to the two characters on stage, as I was laughing and smiling throughout. Alexa Mason, playing Gretel and Sian Cameron, who played Hansel, worked extremely well together with their singing sounding utterly beautiful in harmony. The modern themes really stood out with alcoholism affecting their father and poverty within the family but the translation and adaptation of the piece still kept in the key themes of the classic tale which audiences could relate to.

I have to credit the incredibly talented Benjamin Hamilton, whom I have worked with previously with Opera Warwick, as his translation was, quite frankly, outstanding. It was smart, funny and utterly beautiful. I also have to credit the director, Felicity Green, who did an incredible job with the adaptation and whose directing made the piece fun, exciting and most importantly engaging. For someone who has seen many operas before this performance was one of my favourites to date.

The acting of the entire cast was faultless throughout and I was moved by their singing ability. The Hightime young artists Charlotte Ireland and Oliver Marshall were fantastic and impressed me hugely with their performances. The children’s chorus too were incredible with their singing and their enthusiasm throughout, so well done to all of the young people! Overall I was impressed by the entirety of the show. The translation was perfect: it was comical, it was moving and I left with a huge smile on my face having had a brilliant night.