Food Fight

Hänsel..................Alice Coote
Gretel..................Christine Schäfer
Gertrud.................Rosalind Plowright
Peter...................Alan Held
Witch...................Philip Langridge
Sandman.................Sasha Cooke
Dew Fairy...............Lisette Oropesa

Conductor...............Vladimir Jurowski
Production..............Richard Jones

The Metropolitan Opera's New Years Day simulcast version of Hansel and Gretel, which I missed at the time, was on local TV last night. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be Pamela Rosenberg's food fight production. Unfortunately I slept during the entire Witch's role and awoke for the rescue scene at the end.

There was a rerun this afternoon. It was much messier in San Francisco with the witch spewing food all over the set. This version seemed messy enough. It's Hansel and Gretel for the modern child. Is it too late to point out that this is Regietheater at its finest?

Christine Schaefer as Gretel and Alice Coote as Hansel were perfect.

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