CIM Opera Theater cooks up storybook season finale with Humperdinck’s ‘Hansel and Gretel’

This time, it’s happily ever after.  

With its new production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, CIM Opera Theater this month will draw its spring season to a cheery close. 

In contrast to the darker work that preceded it, CIM’s opera season finale boasts an ending that’s both literally and figuratively out of a storybook. 

After Judith Weir’s Blond Eckbert, Hansel and Gretel is “a nice carry-over, but also completely different,” said JJ Hudson, interim artistic director of CIM Opera Theater. “People will see a continuum of themes and motifs, but we’re taking a very friendly approach. We’re not adding any dark spin.”  

Performances of Hansel and Gretel take place at 7pm Friday, March 27 and 3pm Sunday, March 29 in Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music, 11021 East Blvd., Cleveland. Tickets, $30, are available now at cim.edu/events or 216-707-3163.  

The opera will be sung in the original German, with English supertitles. CIM Opera Theater is supported by a grant from the John P. Murphy Foundation and a gift from Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder.   

The “storybook” quality of Hansel and Gretel will be evident immediately. At Hudson’s direction, scenic designer Dave Brooks has constructed a set in the style of a pop-up children’s book, complete with moveable elements that spin or slide. This facilitates easy transitions between scenes by anonymous “woodland sprite” characters.  

Hand-in-hand with this will go Victorian-era costumes by Meredith Magoun and creative lighting by Nic Minetor, all of it with a color palette heavy on savory hues such as purple, green, and brown.  

“It’s not electric pink and sugary blue,” Hudson said. “Children at that time would have wanted doughy things, not candy. To get the visuals right, you really have to do your homework.”  

CIM’s production will feature a large cast, with two students sharing each lead role. Starring as Hansel will be mezzo-sopranos Caroline Friend and Morgan Potts, while Gretel will be sung by sopranos Catherina Carrington and Emilie Williams.  

Sopranos Kiana Lilly and Ariel Wong will share the role of Gertrud, the mother, and baritones Davis Fischer and Hyeondo Park will play Peter, the father. The role of the Witch will be sung by sopranos Calysta Jacobs and Hanyue Zhang. A large group of Conservatory students will comprise the chorus. 

Part of the thinking behind staging two works in quick succession is to simulate the real operatic world. Those who were in Eckbert and will be in Hansel and Gretel are getting a taste of a busy professional schedule.  

Two students, meanwhile, are also taking leadership roles. Tenor Connor Vrooman is assistant stage director, while Jacobs, who’s singing the Witch, is also assistant stage manager.  

“In the real world, young artists are bound to find themselves doing operas back-to-back,” Hudson said. “To be able to experience what that feels like, and the level of quick preparation it requires, that’s invaluable training.”