Customer Reviews

Humperdink: Hansel and Gretel [Blu-ray]

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Last year's EMI Met DVD (a performance that had been HD-broadcast to movie theaters on 1 January 2008) put considerable technical brilliance, both musical and in terms of stagecraft, in the service of a remarkably coarse and charmless production. Opus Arte now sticks its oar in with a strong alternative: a Royal Opera House, Covent Garden performance that also was shown in theaters, dated 9 December 2008 -- near the end of the same calendar year the Met's had inaugurated. The two performances contrast in many ways: The Met's was in a new English translation; the ROH, with Teutonic divas in the three longest roles, is in the language the composer set. Met conductor Vladimir Jurowski's reading was all Romantic extroversion and exuberance; the ROH's Sir Colin Davis favors Classical restraint. The Met had a tenor Witch; the ROH opts for the more traditional choice of a veteran soprano. In most areas, the faceoff has to be scored a victory for the British.

In one of the bonus featurettes, Sir Colin Davis opines that the elegance and concentration of Humperdinck's music makes HÄNSEL UND GRETEL more Mozartian than, as is usually said, Wagnerian. One can hear this view in his understated approach. Everything is precisely blended, and the maestro seems to go out of his way *not* to call attention to symphonic transitions within scenes -- the effect is that of well-oiled gears shifting ever so quietly. I could imagine someone preferring this to the work of Jurowski on the Met DVD, perhaps on the grounds that Davis is "not getting in between the listener and the music" or is "letting the music speak for itself." But I prefer the bolder colors, more imaginative accenting, and sharper rhythmic profile of Jurowski, who (let us not mince words) also had the better orchestra with which to work. The dazzling execution of Humperdinck's score is, in fact, the best reason to acquire the EMI DVD, and it is the Met's one significant boasting point in head-to-head comparison here.

About our faux-youthful protagonists, Angelika Kirchschlager (Hänsel) and Diana Damrau (Gretel), I have no reservations. Physically, they are such a convincing pair of German children that they may be unrecognizable from prior encounters as, for example, Octavian and the Queen of the Night. They sing beautifully individually, and they also team affectingly. Whereas the Met's Alice Coote and Christine Schäfer were saddled with a staging that emphasized Hänsel's bullying and Gretel's suffering, Kirchschlager and Damrau are allowed to be affectionate companions-in-arms. Their carrying out of the choreography in the dancing lesson is delightful, and Act II's Evening Prayer is exquisitely moving to hear as well as to see. For two minutes and 35 seconds, you may well forget dramatic context, stop thinking about "Hänsel and Gretel," and consider that these singers could represent *any* children of any time and place who are cold and hungry in the night, frightened of monsters imagined or real, clinging to one another for warmth. It almost but does not quite make an anticlimax of what comes next: the dream pantomime in which the Guardian Angels (winged and white-robed but with animal heads) conjure up a cozy study with a fireplace, with mute cameos from Father and Mother, who present gifts to the dreaming children. I would not dream (no pun intended) of spoiling the conclusion of this scene, but it is logical and a little heartbreaking.

Armed with the piercing shards of what was an important dramatic-soprano voice in the 1960s, Anja Silja, 68 at the time of this recording, soldiers on. Although her instrument has not always done her bidding or been pleasing to the ears, her musical instincts have never deserted her. These, her stage presence and the intensity of her declamation allow her to create a full and imposing Knusperhexe. Thomas Allen tells a good tale as Father Peter, but Maestro Davis is at his most blank in the scene for the parents, which just seems there to be gotten through uneventfully, and Elizabeth Connell disappoints as Mother Gertrud. With Anja Silja on deck in the second half as the Witch, it may not have been the brightest idea to cast a Mother with a shrill and cutting top. That aside, Connell does not seem to have been allowed or encouraged to find a sympathetic core to this unhappy, exhausted woman. Turn to Helga Dernesch in the Solti/Everding/DG film to see something extraordinary made (in close-up, yet) of Mother's prayer, post banishment of the children.

Directors Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser, commendably, do not shy away from the source fairy tale's darker elements, but they cannot resist a few debatable "adult" touches, and so parental discretion is strongly advised. In the happy interlude before Father learns how Mother has punished the children, the parents begin to undress for a romp on Gretel's bed (the whole first scene is set in the children's bedroom rather than the usual kitchen). At her first appearance, Silja's Witch wears her dowdy blue sweater unbuttoned with nothing underneath, exposing improbably supple and round, indeed soccer-ball-like prosthetic enhancements. For her confrontation with the children, fortunately, she buttons up. The bodies of previously captured children are visible hanging from nooses in the Witch's freezer -- they are obviously dummies, and they revive on schedule and are replaced with real children when the Witch herself is conquered, but it lingers as a grisly image. Hänsel and Gretel do not fully partake in the celebratory close; as the other children greedily devour the baked Witch, they still cling to each other in isolation, survivors of a terrible ordeal. (At final curtain, Kirchschlager and Damrau slowly back away from the tableau, toward the audience, and initially remain in character, pretending to be frightened and overwhelmed by the audience's cheers and applause. Later in the ovations, Anja Silja receives and basks in mock booing from the ROH audience for her villainous turn.)

On the whole, this is a worthy live, up-to-date supplement to the aforementioned 1981 Solti/DG film, which boasts a stunningly consistent cast of its period (Fassbänder, Gruberova, Prey, Dernesch, Jurinac), plus the orchestral sheen of the Vienna Philharmonic, but was filmed on sets with below-average lip-sync work. It is good to see that the ROH has not adopted the regrettable practice in the United States (at the Met as well as in smaller regional theaters) of giving this opera in English, presumably under the assumption that children will find it more accessible if the foreign words they can't understand without titles are replaced with English words they can't understand without titles. And, of course, we would never want to send our youth away thinking that opera appreciation will entail listening to people singing in a foreign language.

Humperdinck's short opera is excessively spread out across two discs here, but if there were some demonstrable audio and/or visual gain in the extravagance (and not just an inflation of the list price), I suppose I should declare myself in favor.

Everyone knows this story. Two poor hungry children are sent out into the woods to pick berries and find themselves captured by a witch whose house is made of gingerbread and sweets. She wants to eat them. Depending on the version you've read, either the witch gets her way, or she gets cooked in her own oven. This Humperdinck opera follows the latter interpretation, and in some ways that seems a shame, because it's hard to take the creepiness of the witch as seriously when she's so flatly dumb about what's happening. You can't help but wonder how this witch found a child she COULD trick? Enough about the plot.

This is, honestly, a great production. The score is moving and beautiful, and it is masterfully performed here. The audio clearly benefits from the Blu-ray format. All of the performers did admirable jobs singing their parts, but standing out above and beyond all others were Diana Damrau (as Gretel) and Thomas Allen (as Father). Allen's performance is boomy and believable as the carefree, drunken Father who comes home to find his children sent out by the rather spiteful Mother into the (apparently dangerous) woods. You can't help but wonder why Mother and Father had never discussed the fact that a witch who eats children lives in the woods outside their house...you'd think that would have come up at some point.

Anyway, Damrau's performance of Gretel is inspiring. You can't exactly say she "stole the show" as it is pretty much the lead role, but her beautiful voice and the whimsical sparkling in her eye really put Hansel's character firmly out of your mind when she's singing. You almost forget its in German and you're reading everything!

When the witch finally shows up, she is wearing a sweater with the top and bottom buttons fastened, and the rest of them undone, completely exposing her strangely-painted [...]in a very strange (and apparently pointless) way. I guess when witches are wandering around in the woods, they like to feel at one with nature. Without getting cold shoulders.

When the scene shifts into her gingerbread house, she trades in the exposed nipples for a walker. Yes, a walker. The little metal frames with two wheels that old people use to get around more easily. This is just one of a bizarre string of production decisions that were taken to bring a modern-day mentality to a very old story. Other examples include the occasional "all stars" t-shirt, or plastic bag from a grocery store. Sometimes these choices were funny and clever. The walker was just there to be weird.

I should probably say something about the picture quality, as this is a Blu-ray release. In a word: Fantastic. The cameras are not afraid to get close to the performers, and with so many wonderful expressions coming from Damrau throughout the performance, this is most definitely a good thing. You can really connect with the childrens' playful spirits and get lost in their play. The set design is somewhat unique, although I can't really say that there seemed to be any reason for the uniqueness.

Why make the walls in the bedroom crooked? Was it to make Hansel and Gretel seem smaller than they actually were? If that was the intent, then they should have made the beds bigger to dwarf them.

There are several "what tha?" moments that left me scratching my head. Regardless, the overall effect of this performance is a positive one. Not for children, even aside from the exposed [...]. There are some really dark moments at the end that are perfectly valid story elements, but still not something I would want my kids to see portrayed so graphically.

In short: Worth it for Diana Damrau's performance, the Blu-ray visuals, and the score.

This is one of my new favorite Blu-rays - the picture is incredible and the sound is wonderful. The performers are all incredibly talented, and let me say - this is NOT your typical opera. It's full of hysterical innuendos and the characters expressions are not typically opera (aka they actually have expression). If you're new to opera and wonder how Hansel and Gretel translates to the sung-word, I highly recommend picking this up!

Oh - I should mention that if you're thinking about showing this to your kids, watch it first. There is an interesting twist mid-way through the second act. In true Grimm fashion, Hansel and Gretel is a pretty dark story!

There are many reasons for enjoying this performance of Hansel and Gretel, with just a few reservations.
First, the reservations:

1. Yes, the witch does have a "cooler" filled with the hanging bodies of dead children. I tried to understand the reason behind this, and I think it might be to impress viewers that the witch is an evil person, deserving of the fate that Hansel and Gretel have in store for her.

2. Why does the witch have an aluminum walker? The only explanation I can come up with is that it may be to show her deceptiveness--how she tries to appear as a sweet old lady that "wouldn't hurt a fly."

3. Why does the witch appear early on to have her bare breasts exposed through her blue sweater? I really don't have an explanation for this unless it's some kind of pseudo-intellectual device to suggest that she's presenting a maternal image to the lost children. I just think it was gratuitous and not beneficial to the production.

OK, so what are the reasons for enjoying this performance?

First, the Blu-ray recording allows remarkable clarity of the picture. I almost thought that Hansel and Gretel's house was right there in my living room. Also, the sound (PCM 2.0 and PCM 5.1) was impressive. Be careful, when the witch's oven explodes, it may well frighten your neighbors.

The music is given full justice by the Royal Opera House Orchestra led by Colin Davis. The stage is a more contemporary setting, where you'll see Hansel and Gretel's parents as a working class couple. He comes home from a hard day of work, and she clutches her purse, worrying about family finances.

Hansel is sung and acted perfectly by a tousled hair Angelika Kirchschlager who really comes off as a typical "difficult" brother for Gretel.

Anja Silja does good work as a convincing witch, but I still can't forget that bare-breasted blue sweater--darn them for doing that!

Finally, the best feature of this performance: Diana Damrau. I know what an excellent singer she is, but I simply couldn't imagine her in the role of a little girl. She does it incredibly well. She sings the song about the little man in a purple cloak in the woods, while standing as he did on one leg--which makes his description and her childlike nature more genuine (and it's not easy to sing a song while standing on one leg). Kudos should go to the makeup and costuming people as well for turning such a glamorous and beautiful soprano into a believable little Gretel.

As others have suggested, if you were planning to watch this with children, the hanging dead kids and the bare breasts might be a reason not to. If you love seeing new and different takes on old familiar operas, this is the one for you!

This is simply one of the best opera productions I ever saw. Damrau is her usual incredible, magical self and the rest of the cast is equally excellent. The sets and costumes are decidedly non-traditional but they work amazingly well and the staging is a truly magical --- filled with imaginative touches. This is a Hansel and Gretel for people who usually find the opera a bore --- it is mezmerizing --- don't miss it!

I purchased this DVD to play to middle school students. Upon its review I was was disturbed by the parents touching and undressing of each other. Next came the witch with her large naked breasts realistic enough to cause concern. Finally, the realistic look of hanging children could upset young children and adults alike. I will need to order a more child friendly version of this!
Despite my concerns for children, the music is amazing and I personally enjoyed this production.

This production is the one of the two that rival the Gruberova/Solti one of the 1980s. True, Hansel and Gretel in this do not look like kids, which seems to be the only criticism that some people have recorded, but with the exception of the Zurich production with Malin Hartelius and Liliana Nikiteanu, no production that I know of has come up to that standard insofar as that kind of criticism goes. This Opera does require some serious singing skills, and I dont think any of the very young brats that are going around can do justice to a blu ray or dvd production of this.

I would also state that this production has been very well made, with no holds barred for visuals that stun and scare the target audience (mainly children, but enjoyed more by adults too), something that Humperdink himself avoided - no matter.
It does not make it yucky like some scenes from the recent MET production (Alice Coote, Christine Schäfer).

I would gladly recommend this as a companion to the Solti production (that was marred by pesky kids hamming it away in the audience being shown from time to time, distracting one from the fabulous film) insofar as the music and singing are concerned. Moreover, it is a Film and not performed on stage like this one..It also scores high above productions that are keen on ruining it be setting the scenes in places like malls and such and trying to modernize it. Singing is top quality and so is the conducting.

I agree with the reviewers of the Blu-Ray version of Hansel and Gretel that this is a wonderful and creative production. We showed it to our Opera and Ballet Group at a retirement home and they really liked all three Acts. We warned them about the Act 3 witch portrayal, briefly revealed in the synopsis shown before Act 1. Since Acts 1 and 2 were viewed before dinner, we were surprised and pleased that nearly everyone came back after dinner and enjoyed Act 3.

Damrau and Kirchschlager blend so well in their duets, one wishes they had been cast as Sophie and Octavian in Renee Fleming's recording of Der Rosenkavalier. That would have produced a memorable trio!

In an attempt to make this story more modern and relevant, the author/composer destroyed the original story beyond recognition. It is no longer a Brothers Grimm story. And the musical arrangements do a great job of concealing the talent of Diana Damrau and her beautiful voice. We only watched about a third of it before turning it off. We love Diana Damrau; but, this production is one she should have refused to do, as it does little to show off her rare musical talent. Do a You Tube search for her and you will hear her true ability as she does the Magic Flute. This production is more like a Broadway play than an Opera; and, a poor one at that. If you like the original Brothers Grimm story, if you like Diana, and if you like Opera, then you will not want to buy this DVD.