Humperdinck - Hansel and Gretel / Fulton, Blegen, Von Stade, M

MAGNIFICENT PRODUCTION FROM THE MET !!!
I agree with all the positive reviews and accolades given this production by the reviews. This is the BEST recording of this opera on DVD. The production team of Nathaniel Merrill and Robert O'Hearn captured all the beautiful facets of the libretto. It makes the "new" Met production seem even more ridiculous and ugly. Hopefully, DG will remaster and re-release this DVD soon as it has other Pioneer Met treasures. It is no longer available from Pioneer. If you hunt for it, you will find it occasionally but at very high prices...that alone should tell you how much this great production is in demand.

A Charming Fairy Tale Opera in English
I borrowed this version of Hansel and Gretel from the library shortly after watching the December 2007 version of the very same opera this Christmas. Hansel and Gretel has been my favorite opera ever since I heard the dramatized story version on CD by Jane Powell, but I was almost turned off by the gloomy, surreal world I saw in the modern version. It was refreshing watching opera the way it should have been done. Even though there were some dark undertones and a hideous witch, the 1982 Hansel and Gretel had a cheer and innocence that I found truly disarming. To start with, the relationship between the two main characters was beautiful to see. Judith Blegen played such a cute little girl, curly pigtails and all! Meanwhile, Frderica von Stade was a convincing older brother. My little sister, who was watching the movie with me, even mentioned what a good brother Hansel was after watching the scene where he covers her up with his coat at night while they're lost in the woods. They occasionally squabbled, which added realism to the story, but you could tell they loved each other. They really had to look out for each other when they got to the gingerbread house! As I said before, the witch was pretty scary with her warty nose, long chin and green petticoats, fingers, and tongue! We all gasped when we got our first glimpse of her frightening face through the window of the gingerbread house. However, once she began singing her lively song ("So Hop, Hop, Hop") and flying on her broomstick, I think she became so fascinating that we forget to be afraid! Rolsalind Elias did an excellent job. So did everyone else at the Met it seems; the prop people, the costume designers, the angels, the orchestra, the conductor and anyone else I may have forgotten. And of course Englebert Humperdinck's music is just about the most beautiful ever written! The whole production was top notch. The only characters I didn't really love were the couple who played Hansel and Gretel's parents. They were definitely adequate, so I'm not complaining. I'm just saying that I didn't particularly care for them. Oh, I had one more thing to say. This is the first opera I've seen in English and I could understand nearly every word, although there were no subtitles. The translation seemed very good and went well with the music. I know some people swear by the original German, but I thought it was kind of nice to understand what everyone was saying. Bottom line: if you want to see a traditional staged version of Hansel and Gretel in English, this is the one to see! Order it from your library or buy it on the Met's website!

Wonderful dvd--just got it from the Met!!
I think this is a wonderful production and was so sad to see the used price of $250.00 or so above. I had given up on owning a copy. Then I went to the Met web site and was thrilled to see it still available for around 30.00. It is a magical performance--well worth hunting down.

Gorgeous Music and a Charming Story
This is the Metropolitan Opera's grand production of Hansel and Gretel, starring Julith Blegen and Frederica von Stade. It is absolutely a delight to the eyes and ears, and is so deliciously done, you can almost smell the gingerbread and taste the witch's candy house. This is from a live performance, and it is likely you will gasp in amazement (as the live audience did) as the witch's house appears on stage. Equally well-executed are the flying angels who guard Hansel and Gretel's sleep. (The Met made sure it didn't look like singers hanging from wires--they really look like angels, and the effect is dazzling.) You'll love the witch, as she flies on her broom, or sticks out her green tongue. Although most people regard Hansel and Gretel as a children's piece, (and it is a lovely way to introduce children to the world of opera) the orchestration is so lush and rich that people of all ages will find themselves saying, "I thought it was kids' music, but it's so beautiful." This music was written by Humperdinck, who might be considered the heir to the sound of Mahler, and his music is as gorgeous as a Mahler symphony. Yes, this production is performed in English instead of the original German language, but perhaps that makes it a better vehicle to interest new-comers to opera. Buy it, enjoy it, and share it with those you love!

Magical Production!
It seems like "magical" is a word only used by hack reviewers from suspicious-sounding newspapers. But really, there's no better word for this production. The richly romantic score is wonderfully played by the orchestra, and sensitively conducted by Fulton. The singers are uniformly good. The fantasy elements are spectacular... the house, the forest, the flying of angels and witches add immeasurably to the production. The only thing that I wasn't overly fond of was at certain moments the production was "childrened down," like with the occasional addition of somewhat corny graphics. But much better than some productions that remove anything "dangerous" at all, and have the witch played by a man as a drag queen! All in all this is a wonderful production of a wonderful opera. You'll be whistling the folksy score for days, and that haunting, meltingly beautiful prayer will stick with you for a long time.