Rising Stars Burn Bright: Lauren Curnow and Maureen McKay Venture Into the Woods as Hansel and Gretel 09-02-2007 Say the name Engelbert Humperdinck to many people on the street and they will assume you're referring to the British singer who hit number one on the pop charts during the 1960s. But the 20th-Century icon borrowed his name from the original Mr. Humperdinck - the 19th-Century German composer of Hansel and Gretel. The strikingly unique name is said to have contributed to his increase in popularity - with everyone but the original Engelbert Humperdinck's heirs, of course. Born in 1854, Humperdinck studied at the Cologne Conservatory and at the Royal Music School in Munich, meeting Richard Wagner in Naples and assisting him with Parsifal at Bayreuth. After interludes working for a music publisher in Paris, Spain and Cologne, he moved to Frankfurt as a teacher and opera critic. In 1890, Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, asked her brother to set a libretto she'd written based on the Grimm Brothers' tale Hansel and Gretel to music as a Christmas entertainment for her children. The opera began with just four songs featuring texts from the beloved tale, and evolved into a longer piece, including spoken dialogue. It was greeted so enthusiastically by friends and family that Humperdinck grew determined to expand the work into a full-blown opera. Hansel and Gretel premiered on December 23, 1893 at Weimar and was conducted by none other than composer Richard Strauss. It was an instant hit that took the opera world by storm and remains an everlasting masterpiece that has become a holiday tradition with an irresistible happy ending. Hansel and Gretel is being performed in its Opera Company of Philadelphia Premiere, and will be the first fully-staged, professional production in the city in 50 years. For this monumental occasion, General and Artistic Director Robert B. Driver engaged the immensely popular production designed by famed children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, whose renowned "Where the Wild Things Are" is a classic staple in any library. Sendak created the production in his signature style, with a gingerbread house that is as much a character as is the famous Witch. Veteran director Dorothy Danner teams up with Maestro Corrado Rovaris, with Lighting Designer Drew Billiau and Costume Director Richard St. Clair completing the creative team. The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that Hansel and Gretel "… is to opera what The Nutcracker is to ballet - that is, it leads a double life as both entertainment and superb art," while The New York Times says, "Though Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel is beloved by children, it is a fully adult opera with a score of near-Wagnerian richness." To pull off this complex amalgam of child-like wonder and sweeping German lyricism, the Opera Company has assembled a stunning cast of artists whom OCP audiences will catch on the cusp of their burgeoning international careers. Lyric soprano Lauren Curnow stars in the pants role of Hansel. Curnow, who was trained at the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, appeared twice in 2002 with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, first as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and then as Mercedes in Carmen. Since then, her Philadelphia fan base has watched as she landed coveted spots in the young artist programs of Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Santa Fe Opera, and Chicago's Lyric Center for American Artists, where she completed a three-year apprenticeship and has performed several roles at Lyric Opera from Papagena in The Magic Flute last spring to Berta in The Barber of Seville later this season. Gretel is sung by another major American voice on the rise - soprano Maureen McKay, in her Philadelphia debut. With a pedigree from the Seattle Opera Young Artists program and multiple summers spent at the popular Wolf Trap Opera Festival in Virginia, McKay's New York City Opera debut as Despina in Così fan tutte last spring was lauded. After starring performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Seattle Symphony this summer, she arrived back at New York City Opera this fall to sing Caroline Gaines in Margaret Garner. Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Roderer makes her Opera Company of Philadelphia debut as the deliciously-comic but truly-scary Witch, following back-to-back successes in the role with New York City Opera and the Phoenix Symphony. The role is a departure from her often-Wagnerian repertoire, with credits such as Fricka in Die Walküre with Teatro Colòn in Buenos Aires and Waltraute in Die Walküre for Lyric Opera of Chicago and Seattle Opera. Also featured in Hansel and Gretel are soprano Heidi Melton (debut) and baritone Michael Mayes (Margaret Garner, '06) as parents Gertrude and Peter, with Kristine Biller Mattson (The Grand Duchess, '04) as the Sandman and Kiera Duffy (Cinderella, '06) as the Dewfairy. Fresh from their success in last season's La boheme, the Commonwealth Youthchoirs, Inc. also perform, with the Keystone State Boychoir and Pennsylvania Girlchoir. Don't miss this delightful classic, the perfect introduction to opera for all ages! Click here to learn more about Hansel and Gretel or click here to purchase tickets!
Say the name Engelbert Humperdinck to many people on the street and they will assume you're referring to the British singer who hit number one on the pop charts during the 1960s. But the 20th-Century icon borrowed his name from the original Mr. Humperdinck - the 19th-Century German composer of Hansel and Gretel. The strikingly unique name is said to have contributed to his increase in popularity - with everyone but the original Engelbert Humperdinck's heirs, of course.
Born in 1854, Humperdinck studied at the Cologne Conservatory and at the Royal Music School in Munich, meeting Richard Wagner in Naples and assisting him with Parsifal at Bayreuth. After interludes working for a music publisher in Paris, Spain and Cologne, he moved to Frankfurt as a teacher and opera critic. In 1890, Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, asked her brother to set a libretto she'd written based on the Grimm Brothers' tale Hansel and Gretel to music as a Christmas entertainment for her children.
The opera began with just four songs featuring texts from the beloved tale, and evolved into a longer piece, including spoken dialogue. It was greeted so enthusiastically by friends and family that Humperdinck grew determined to expand the work into a full-blown opera. Hansel and Gretel premiered on December 23, 1893 at Weimar and was conducted by none other than composer Richard Strauss. It was an instant hit that took the opera world by storm and remains an everlasting masterpiece that has become a holiday tradition with an irresistible happy ending.
Hansel and Gretel is being performed in its Opera Company of Philadelphia Premiere, and will be the first fully-staged, professional production in the city in 50 years. For this monumental occasion, General and Artistic Director Robert B. Driver engaged the immensely popular production designed by famed children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, whose renowned "Where the Wild Things Are" is a classic staple in any library. Sendak created the production in his signature style, with a gingerbread house that is as much a character as is the famous Witch. Veteran director Dorothy Danner teams up with Maestro Corrado Rovaris, with Lighting Designer Drew Billiau and Costume Director Richard St. Clair completing the creative team.
The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that Hansel and Gretel "… is to opera what The Nutcracker is to ballet - that is, it leads a double life as both entertainment and superb art," while The New York Times says, "Though Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel is beloved by children, it is a fully adult opera with a score of near-Wagnerian richness." To pull off this complex amalgam of child-like wonder and sweeping German lyricism, the Opera Company has assembled a stunning cast of artists whom OCP audiences will catch on the cusp of their burgeoning international careers.
Lyric soprano Lauren Curnow stars in the pants role of Hansel. Curnow, who was trained at the Juilliard School and the Curtis Institute of Music, appeared twice in 2002 with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, first as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and then as Mercedes in Carmen. Since then, her Philadelphia fan base has watched as she landed coveted spots in the young artist programs of Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Santa Fe Opera, and Chicago's Lyric Center for American Artists, where she completed a three-year apprenticeship and has performed several roles at Lyric Opera from Papagena in The Magic Flute last spring to Berta in The Barber of Seville later this season.
Gretel is sung by another major American voice on the rise - soprano Maureen McKay, in her Philadelphia debut. With a pedigree from the Seattle Opera Young Artists program and multiple summers spent at the popular Wolf Trap Opera Festival in Virginia, McKay's New York City Opera debut as Despina in Così fan tutte last spring was lauded. After starring performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Seattle Symphony this summer, she arrived back at New York City Opera this fall to sing Caroline Gaines in Margaret Garner.
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Roderer makes her Opera Company of Philadelphia debut as the deliciously-comic but truly-scary Witch, following back-to-back successes in the role with New York City Opera and the Phoenix Symphony. The role is a departure from her often-Wagnerian repertoire, with credits such as Fricka in Die Walküre with Teatro Colòn in Buenos Aires and Waltraute in Die Walküre for Lyric Opera of Chicago and Seattle Opera. Also featured in Hansel and Gretel are soprano Heidi Melton (debut) and baritone Michael Mayes (Margaret Garner, '06) as parents Gertrude and Peter, with Kristine Biller Mattson (The Grand Duchess, '04) as the Sandman and Kiera Duffy (Cinderella, '06) as the Dewfairy. Fresh from their success in last season's La boheme, the Commonwealth Youthchoirs, Inc. also perform, with the Keystone State Boychoir and Pennsylvania Girlchoir.
Don't miss this delightful classic, the perfect introduction to opera for all ages! Click here to learn more about Hansel and Gretel or click here to purchase tickets!
