Classical Concert Reviews Cinci

@uc_ccm’s undergraduate Opera d’Arte program celebrated its 30th anniversary with a fun and invigorating production of Engelbert Humperdink’s opera Hänsel und Gretel, under the leadership of director Kenneth Shaw and conductor Brett Scott. A more lighthearted take on the eponymous fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it featured a relatively small cast and orchestra (including a string quartet, two horns and piano), which worked very well in CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theatre.
This production was primarily a showcase for the vocal powerhouses of its two leads. Mezzo-soprano Shir Ordo as Hansel brought emotional pathos to the role as well as a boisterous spirit to her vocal timbre. Soprano Alea Vernon as Gretel was utterly dazzling, with a plush and bright sound with impish charm that rang out when the music required it (especially in her highest registers in the first third of Act 3) without being too forceful.
In smaller roles, soprano Laura Stanell as the Mother conveyed the character’s frazzled personality wonderfully, as did baritone Michael Temesi as the Father (this despite the fact that he was recovering from a bout of food poisoning which happened two days prior to the performance).
In an unusual move, the role of the Sandman was taken by a tenor, Jack Brunch, who gave the role an air of Schubertian eloquence. The same could be said for soprano Leah Yachanek as the Dew Fairy, even if her role was considerably smaller.
But the real standout of the production has to be soprano Lauren Albano as the Witch. From the moment she first appeared, her personality felt like a combination between Effie Trinket from the Hunger Games films and the Emcee from the Kander and Ebb musical Cabaret: more clever and seductive than pure evil. Her voice was one for the ages, with a powerfully ringing upper register and an amazingly exuberant stage presence to match, particularly as she moves through the audience and around the massive witch’s house set that forms the foundation of Act 3.
What a wonderful way to mark 30 years of such a fabulous undergraduate program, and I cannot wait to see the future many of these artists will have in the classical music field.