Leigha Schumaker (left) as Gretel and Anabella Petronsi (right) as Hansel for Ohio State Opera Theatre’s upcoming production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel.” The show is double cast, with Stephanie Ranallo and Samantha Sayar also playing Hansel and Gretel, respectively. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State School of Music.
Though it may be common to see traditional fairy tales transformed into Hollywood-style motion pictures, translating such fables into an opera is distinctly less typical.
The story of Hansel and Gretel is one exception.
Ohio State’s Opera Theatre will perform “Hansel and Gretel,” an opera written by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck, at the Weigel Auditorium Friday through Sunday. Eric Gibson, a postdoctoral scholar in the College of Arts and Sciences and the production’s director, said the free opera will present a fresh rendition of the classic folk story.
“There’s not a lot of movies or plays about the tale,” Gibson said. “For a lot of people, their first and last experience with the story is the Grimms’ fairy tale.”
To bring this show to life, Gibson said the cast and crew have been hard at work since January 2023.
“You have to go through and figure out what the hardest things are,” Gibson said. “We identified that we could have people sing it among the principal singers at the School of Music, and I felt comfortable that I could clothe it and design a set.”
Finding a show that caters to students’ voices was also a significant factor, Gibson said.
“In academia, you sometimes have a limited amount of voice types, and you select an opera based on the students you have,” Gibson said. “We have some tenors that have come in, but when we picked this, we didn’t have a huge crop of tenors. There’s not a tenor role in Hansel and Gretel.”
Gibson said one major facet of the “Hansel and Gretel” opera is the subtextual theme of food insecurity, which led to a collaboration with the Buckeye Food Alliance. In lieu of buying a ticket, attendees are encouraged to donate unopened and nonperishable food items, he said.
“The script reads that these people are extremely hungry,” Gibson said. “A lot of their suffering, and their attitude and their mood is affected by hunger.”
The Ohio State Symphony Orchestra and Women’s Glee Club are likewise involved in the production. Notably, Gibson said the “Hansel and Gretel” score gives musicians a fun opportunity to show off.
“For the orchestra, we wanted to come up with a piece that we knew the orchestra could play and that would be challenging for them,” Gibson said.
Ava Gilley, a second-year in music education and the Women’s Glee Club alto-two section leader, said the rehearsal process has been highly cooperative in nature. Since singing opera is so physically demanding, she said the club is prioritizing vocal health leading up to this weekend’s performances.
“A big part of preparation is hydration. Singing is a very active thing, and I don’t think that’s recognized, but your voice box is a muscle,” Gilley said.
Gilley said the glee club will serve as a selectively employed chorus, lending their voices to the story when necessary.
“The witch in ‘Hansel and Gretel’ turns her past victims into gingerbread people,” Gilley said. “At one point in the show, we come on stage and sing for about five minutes in full gingerbread costume.”
Training in different spaces is another aspect of show preparation, Gilley said.
“In the place that we rehearse, it’s a small room, and sound just bounces right back,” Gilley said. “There’s not that much of an echo. There’s not that much of a delay. With bigger spaces, the risk that you run is it’s going to take a while for the audio to travel back to your ears.”
Though the club has limited stage time, Gilley said members plan to make the most of it.
“We’re all really excited,” Gilley said. “A lot of the people in glee who are music majors took upon the opportunity, I think, to just get more performance experience.”
“Hansel and Gretel” will play at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, with a matinee performance taking place at 3 p.m. Sunday. More information — including show times, livestream access and Buckeye Food Alliance donation details — can be found on the School of Music’s website.
