Frightening forests, wicked witches and haunting melodies await audience members at the Creative Arts Center in local schools in early April as the WVU Opera Theatre presents “Hansel and Gretel.”

Performances at the CAC will be held Wednesday, Thursday and Monday, April 1, 2 and 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Antoinette Falbo Theatre.

Based on the popular Grimm’s fairy tale, the opera “Hansel and Gretel” was originally composed by Engelbert Humperdinck as an entertainment for his family, with his own sister writing the libretto for the score.

When the opera premiered in 1893, Richard Strauss praised it as “a masterpiece” and “Hansel and Gretel” became an instant success. It has continued to delight audiences of all ages to this day.

The WVU production features graduate and undergraduate vocal performance majors from the WVU School of Music performing all the musical roles. Music director is Marcello Cormio, stage director is Rebecca Kreider and set design is by William Winsor.

In addition to “Hansel and Gretel,” the WVU Opera Theatre production will also include scenes from Gaetano Donizetti’s “L’Elisir D’Amore” (The Elixir of Love), Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide,” and Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” and “Into the Woods.”

After the CAC performances, WVU Opera Theatre will be taking the show on the road to elementary schools in the Morgantown area, as part of its new program called “Opera-on-Wheels.”

Schools on the tour, during April 8-24, include Eastwood Elementary, Brookhaven Elementary, Morgantown Learning Academy, North Elementary, Mylan Park Elementary, Morgantown Christian Academy, Mountainview Elementary, St. Francis Elementary, Cheat Lake Elementary and
Fairmont Catholic.

According to Stage Director Rebecca Kreider, “Opera-On-Wheels” was established to bring quality classical music to young West Virginia audiences.

“With a commitment to making quality music accessible and interesting for our elementary students, Opera-On-Wheels will bring one-act operas, appropriate for young audiences, to local schools and communities annually,” she said.

“The programs will be performed in a school cafeteria or gymnasium, with the student audience close enough to enjoy everything up close. In this show, they will see Gretel picking strawberries and wandering through the ‘forest’ of students, and, of course, the Witch and her oven!

“A question-and-answer session will follow each performance so that students can speak with the cast and ask questions about singing and music.”

“Hansel and Gretel” is approximately 50 minutes in length and is appropriate for ages kindergarten through adult.

The cast, featuring different students performing on different days, includes: Natilan Crutcher and Janine Ernsting as Hansel; Jocelyn Raychel and Ruby Zhao as Gretel; Devan Balaguer as The Witch; Denise Battle and Caryn Crozier as Mother; Alex Anderson, Luke Diamond and Joe Ryan as Father; and Hannah Friend and Rachel Taylor as Fairy. Pianists performing with the show will be Youna Choi and Giuliana Contreras.

Tickets for “Hansel and Gretel” at the CAC are $10 for the general public and $5 for senior citizens and WVU students. There is a group rate of $5 per ticket for groups of ten or more.

Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com, the CAC or Mountainlair Box Offices, or by calling 304-293-SHOW.

-WVU-

cl/03/24/15

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.