Hansel & Gretel at the Metropolitan Opera

Believe it or don't, I'd never been to a performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy-tale opera, Hansel & Gretel, so when a friend invited me to come with him for the Christmas Eve performance, I jumped at the opportunity. 

The current Metropolitan Opera production is kind of odd.  This production was originally devised for houses with smaller stages, the Welsh National Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and evidently they preserved the size of the sets by greatly reducing the size of the Met stage for this production.  Which made it look quite tiny from the Family Circle where I was sitting.  Even with opera glasses, the folks looked rather small.  Which is OK, because it helped the illusion of adults playing children in any event.

So the music is warmed-over Wagner without the great tunes, and the plot is simplicity stretched out to absurd lengths (turning the story of Hansel and Gretel into a full-evening three-actor takes quite a bit of stretching), but it is mainly fun, and the odd production has its moments.  Certainly not a bad way to spend Christmas Eve.  More the usual quota of kiddies in the audience, which meant some restlessness at times...  But I'm glad I saw it.  Now back to more important stuff, grading final exams.  What a way to spend the holidays!