Into the Woods: Hansel and Gretel at Grange Park Opera

By Benjamin Poore, 24 June 2019

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“Caitlin Hulcup’s Hansel is a scruffy ragamuffin... on the model of the Artful Dodger or Gavroche”

Reviewed at The Theatre in the Woods, West Horsley on 23 June 2019

Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel

Grange Park Opera

George Jackson, Conductor

Stephen Medcalf, Director

Yannis Thavoris, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Caitlin Hulcup, Hänsel

Soraya Mafi, Gretel

Susan Bullock, Witch, Gertrude / Mother

William Dazeley, Peter / Father

Lizzie Holmes, Dew Fairy

Eleanor Sanderson-Nash, Sandman

Grange Park Opera Chorus

English National Opera Orchestra

Taj Mahal by Nishat Khan premieres at Grange Park Opera

David Karlin, 10th July

Scion of generations of sitar players, Nishat Khan is the perfect person to tell the "greatest love story never told" behind India's most iconic building.

***11

Ukraine matters: Tchaikovsky’s Mazeppa at Grange Park Opera

Roy Westbrook, 14th June

Why is Tchaikovsky’s very fine opera still a rarity outside Russia? David Pountney directs a new production at the Surrey festival.

****1

Pountney’s vivid Simon Boccanegra at Grange Park Opera

Mark Pullinger, 5th June

Sir David Pountney's 1997 staging for Welsh National Opera is given a welcome new lease of life at Grange Park Opera, splendidly cast... with one major exception.

****1

A confusing operatic take on The Tempest at Grange Park Opera

Nick Boston, 11th July

Strong vocal and orchestral performances, supported by impressive visuals, struggle to bring coherency to Anthony Bolton's Island of Dreams at Grange Park Opera.

***11

An impressive, minimalist Kátya Kabanová at Grange Park Opera

David Karlin, 27th June

A memorable performance, with Stephen Barlow conducting Janáček’s remarkable score with vividness and clarity, while David Alden's staging is a masterpiece of "less is more".

****1

Aleko on the Arno: Bryn Terfel leads fine new GPO double bill

Roy Westbrook, 6th June

An unlikely pairing opens Grange Park Opera's season, the two works united by the dominant central character of each opera – Sir Bryn Terfel.

****1

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Benjamin Poore

Benjamin Poore is a writer and critic. His book on psychoanalysis and literature is forthcoming in 2019. He has previously written about literature and culture for the Independent, the Times Literary Supplement, and Times Higher Education. In his spare time he tries to sing Schubert; he has a very patient teacher.