A little touch of magic in Scottish Opera's Hansel and Gretel

By Simon Thompson, 10 February 2021

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“roundly upstaged by Nadine Benjamin, doubling as the distressed mother and the hysterical witch”

Reviewed at Theatre Royal, Glasgow on 10 February 2021

Humperdinck, Hänsel und Gretel (sung in English)

Scottish Opera

David Parry, Conductor

Daisy Evans, Director

Neil Foulis, Lighting Designer

Kitty Whately, Hänsel

Rhian Lois, Gretel

Nadine Benjamin, Witch, Gertrude / Mother

Phillip Rhodes, Peter / Father

Charlie Drummond, Dew Fairy, Sandman

East meets West in Dai Fujikura’s The Great Wave at Scottish Opera

David Smythe, 12th February

Stuart Stratford conducts the world premiere of Fujikura’s opera about Hokusai’s image at Scottish Opera, with Satoshi Miyagi directing with his Japanese creative team.

***11

Sepia memories: Scottish Opera’s La bohème delights in revival

David Smythe, 11th October

Hye-Youn Lee and Mario Chang head a strong cast in Barbe and Doucet’s revival of La bohème, which marks the retirement of veteran lighting designer, Guy Simard.

****1

Lampooning the law: Scottish Opera’s satirical new double bill

David Smythe, 14th May

Scottish Opera’s double bill of Trial by Jury and the world premiere of Toby Hession’s fun-packed A Matter of Misconduct! features an ensemble cast, mostly of Emerging Artists.

****1

Scottish Opera’s Merry Widow tangles with the New York Mafia

David Smythe, 30th April

With misplaced horse heads, violin case guns and as many mafia gags as you could hope for, Scottish Opera’s Merry Widow may not be subtle but it looks and sounds gorgeous.

****1

The Makropulos Affair defies the march of time

Mark Valencia, 15th February

Orla Boylan’s creation oozes charisma and reeks of entitlement, driven to emotional cruelty by the lassitude of a life too-long lived.

****1

Scottish Opera’s Albert Herring: as fresh as dew on a May morning

David Smythe, 22nd October

Scottish Opera’s Albert Herring is updated to 1990 in Daisy Evans' likeable production, finely sung with a tight ensemble.

****1

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Simon Thompson

Simon lives and works in Edinburgh, and teaches History and Modern Studies at a local high school when he is not writing about music. Born an Irishman, he is an enthusiastic adopted Scot, and has lived in the capital for fifteen years since university days, making the most of its many avenues for classical music. He spends his spare time enthusing about music, theatre, art and literature to anyone who will listen, including his long-suffering students, who have no choice.