Opera mauritius

Hansel and Gretel

By Engelbert Humperdinck

Serge Constantin Theatre, Vacoas

26th, 29th and 30th July 2011 at 7:30pm; 31st July at 3pm

Sing in English with French subtitles

Tickets from 100 rupees for children and 200 rupees for adults

Cast

Hansel
Katrin Caine

Gretel
Sandrine Thomas-Herchenroder

Witch
Joël Ramdoo

Father
Paul Jhureea

Mother
Ingrid Ducasse

Sandmen
Maxime Espitalier-Noël and Emmanuel Labauve d’Arifat

Dewfairy
Ophélie Espiègle

Gingerbread children

Opera Mauritius Children’s Choir

Stage Direction
Angela Brandt and Ashish Beesondial

Musical Direction
Paul Wilmot and Katrin Caine

Dancers and Choreography
Thabo Legrand and Eva Caillé

Sets and Costume Designers
Émilien Jubeau, Nicolas Bastien and Nora Tiesler

Stage Manager
Benoit Harter

Pianist / Répétiteur
Paul Wilmot

The Story

Based on the famous Grimm brothers’ fairy tale, Engelbert Humperdinck's playful retelling of Hansel and Gretel is a wonderful opera for first-time opera-goers, families and experienced opera fans alike. This charming, thrilling and fantastical tale is about two poor, hungry children who fall asleep in the woods after some trouble with their parents. They awake to the enchanting sight of a candy house, the home of a powerful witch. Hungry and sorely tempted, the children begin to nibble at the house, arousing the attention of the witch. The witch traps the children with a spell and brings them inside the house to bake them into gingerbread, like many children before them. Hansel and Gretel overpower the witch and turn the gingerbread children back into humans. In the end Hansel and Gretel’s worried parents are reunited with the children and the story ends happily ever after.

A Mauritian Setting

Although originally a German fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel is known worldwide as a classic children's story.

Sponsors

We hope to imbue this sweet tale with a unique Mauritian flavor. By incorporating Mauritius's unique influences of architecture, culture, sweets, folk-tales and much more into our production, we aim to tell this story from a local perspective. This production will mark the first ever time that surtitles will be used in Mauritius, a historic moment!

Promoting Local Artists

Hansel and Gretel will be the first performance featuring the Opera Mauritius Academy, a unique programme focused on the development of young Mauritian voices and talents. Within this programme we provide vocal training to our Children's Choir and our Young Artists, Mauritian singers who have received guidance from international artists and vocal coaches. Hansel and Gretel will see the pilot launch of our Technical Theatre Apprentice Programme with Ashish Beesoondial as our first Apprentice Stage Director.