Live Opera Locally

With less than a month to go until Mid Wales Opera perform their first ever production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel at Theatr Brycheiniog (11th March) andThe Courtyard (18th March), we caught up with the stars of the show.

MWO’s tour is always a highlight of the theatres’ Spring season. Sung in English, it features a new chamber arrangement by music director Jonathan Lyness performed by their partner orchestra Ensemble Cymru.

MWO are working with some familiar faces this Spring–includingsopranoAlysMereridRobertsand baritone Philip Smith, as well as newcomers including Charlotte Badham as Hansel and Montgomeryshire mezzo soprano Rebecca Afonwy-Jones.

Rebecca has sung for prestigious companies across the UK and beyond and joins MWO in the twin role of Mother/Witch. She told us:- “It’s been an exciting challenge preparing two roles in one opera – a bit like learning Jekyll and Hyde...the mother and witch are more similar than perhaps we’re prepared to admit. I am looking forward to finding the extremes in both their characters!”

Hansel and Gretel is based on the Brothers Grimm’s fairytale, two children are banished to the enchanted woods by their hungry, frustrated mother. When their father returns he reveals the terrors of the gingerbread Witch, and the parents hurry out to rescue them.

Out in the woods, the children get lost before wandering into the clutches of the Witch who is determined to fatten them up and turn them into gingerbread! MWO will be joined on stage by children from local choirs and theatre schools, performing the opera’s children’s chorus in a new Welsh translation.

Hansel and Gretel is at Theatr Brycheiniog, Brecon on Saturday 11th March and The Courtyard, Hereford on Saturday 18th March. The show is touring Wales throughout March. Dates and details are at www.midwalesopera.co.uk, suitable for children aged 8 plus and performances start 7pm.

Article Supplied by Mid Wales Opera