Abgebrannter Märchenwald: Hänsel und Gretel an der Oper Stuttgart

By Christoph Wurzel, 08 February 2022

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Reviewed at Staatsoper Stuttgart, Stuttgart on 6 February 2022

Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Alevtina Ioffe, Conductor

Axel Ranisch, Director

Saskia Wunsch, Set Designer

Alfred Mayerhofer, Costume Designer

Reinhard Traub, Lighting Designer

Staatsorchester Stuttgart

Staatsopernchor Stuttgart

Josefin Feiler, Gretel

Esther Dierkes, Gretel

Catriona Smith, Gertrude / Mother

Ida Ränzlöv, Hänsel

Diana Haller, Hänsel

Rosie Aldridge, Witch

Shigeo Ishino, Peter / Father

Claudia Muschio, Dew Fairy, Sandman

Bang to rights: a rare outing for an opera from the former GDR

Matthew Rye, 13th November

Die Verurteilung des Lukullus, Paul Dessau and Bertolt Brecht's political satire about a Roman general judged for his deeds after death, has lost none of its relevance in Staatsoper Stuttgart's new production.

****1

In Konwitschny's modern Medea, monsters are made by men

Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 27th December

Director Peter Konwitschny's staging of Cherubini's Medea critiques rejection and mistreatment of refugees. A strong new German translation and a talented cast make this a must-see.

****1

Rousseau and a boxing ring: Ariodante in Stuttgart

Jonathan Sutherland, 17th December

In Jussi Wieler and Sergio Morabito’s pugilistic production of Ariodante, the singers needed as much physical and gymnastic dexterity as vocal finesse.

***11

Sex and violence in the ghetto: Pique Dame

Ako Imamura, 6th July

Oper Stuttgart’s new production of The Queen of Spades (Pique-Dame) pushes a directorial tendency to update opera to a modern setting to an extreme.

***11

Devil in the detail: Gounod's Faust in Stuttgart

Matthew Rye, 3rd November

A thrilling new staging of Gounod's opera from the team that brought Bayreuth its current Ring, with musical rewards to match.

*****

Modern terror: Salome in Stuttgart

Ako Imamura, 1st December

Director Kirill Serebrennikov gives us a frightening new reality of the modern world beset by war and terrorism in his reimagining of Strauss's Salome

****1

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Christoph Wurzel

Nach dem Studium der Germanistik, Politikwissenschaft, Philosophie und Musikwissenschaft war Christoph Wurzel lange im pädagogischen Bereich tätig. Er interessiert sich besonders für die gesellschaftlich relevanten Aspekte der Musik. Er lebt in Baden – Baden und schreibt für verschiedene Magazine in Deutschland.

Abgebrannter Märchenwald: Hänsel und Gretel an der Staatsoper Stuttgart