Little LOON 2023-2024: Hansel and Gretel

Opera for the Young’s Adaptation of Hansel and Gretel
Music by Engelbert Humperdinck
Libretto by Adelheid Wette
Music adapted by Jeffrey Sykes
Libretto adaptation by Diane Garton Edie

Cast and Creative Team

Carson Rose Schneider
Pianist / Music Director
Bill Munson
Pianist
Vicki Fingalson
Mother/Witch
Angela Born
Mother/Witch
Anna Donnelly
Gretel
Caroline Kouma
Gretel
Hannah Wheeler
Hansel
Kaisa Herrmann
Hansel
Spencer McIntire
Father/Witch
Robert Riordan
Father/Witch
Calland Metts
Stage Director
Ora Jewell-Busche
Costume Designer
Ann Gumpper
Scenic Designer & Painter

Tour Dates & Scheduling

Little LOON will be touring in the Fall of 2023 and the Winter of 2024. Here are the dates: 

  • October 9-13
  • October 16-18
  • February 5-9
  • February 12-16
  • February 26 – March 1 

Contact us for more information about bringing Little LOON programming to your school!
Call 218-464-0922 or write info@loonopera.org

How does Little LOON work?

Find the answers to your questions about Little LOON in this FAQ document.


About Hansel and Gretel

Plot Synopsis

Hansel (M*) and Gretel (S) live at the edge of a dark forest with their parents. They are poor and hungry. One day, Mother (M or S) returns home from market and loses her temper with the children who romped with Ragamuffins (SC) instead of doing chores. Mother sends them into the woods to gather berries. Father (B) returns home from selling brooms, and is frightened when Mother tells him what happened. Father has heard tales of a witch who bakes children into gingerbread cookies and eats them!  The parents run off to search for Hansel and Gretel.

Deep in the woods, Hansel picks berries and both children hungrily eat them.  Soon the berries are gone, it’s getting dark, AND they’re lost! The Sandman and Sandwoman (B and M or S) sing a lullaby to the frightened, exhausted pair.  In the morning, Pixies (SC) wake the children who head off in the wrong direction. Soon they come upon a tantalizing gingerbread house – home to the sneaky 2-headed Witch (B and M or S). The Witch captures Hansel, but the clever Gretel bravely rescues her brother and they push the Witch into her own oven, turning her into a giant cookie.  This allows the smaller Gingerbread Cookies (SC) to turn back into children – Hansel and Gretel’s friends. Mother and Father appear and the family warmly reunites. All is forgiven.

*S – soprano; M – mezzo; B – baritone, SC – student chorus; AV – adult volunteer

Notable Features

  • Children play three different parts, allowing for more participation than the original score: Ragamuffins, which opens up conversation on historic and current homelessness and hunger; Pixies; and Gingerbread Cookies.
  • Mezzo-soprano and baritone share roles as conflicted parents, comforting supernatural Sandman and Sandwoman, AND the evil Witch. This makes the workload in the cast is more even, and changes the traditional psychological slant on the Mother/Witch duality.
  • In the famous Witch’s aria, the baritone chimes in with a rhythm section of ‘beat boxing’ on the written bass line – an appealing element for today’s young people.

Teaching Materials

Thank you for bringing Hansel & Gretel to your school! All of the teaching materials you will need to prepare your students (written materials and recordings) are linked below.

TEACHERS

TEACHER GUIDE (click to view and download)

The required STUDENT PREPARATION CHECKLIST can be found in the teacher guide (linked above), along with sheet music, suggested activities, gym setup guidelines, and more!

LIBRETTO (click to view and download)

EVALUATIONS (TO PRINT) (click to view and download)

TUTORIAL AND CAST RECORDING (click to view, listen, and download)

Please note that all of the recordings – student practice, piano accompaniment, tutorial, and full cast – exist on a single playlist, in that order. A track listing document is included in the Tutorial and Cast Recording link to assist with finding specific recordings.

STUDENTS

STUDENT HANDBOOK (Click to view and download)

STUDENT PRACTICE TRACKS

Student Practice Track 1: Hansel, Dearest Hansel

Student Practice Track 2: Brother Come and Dance With Me

Student Practice Track 3: A Magic Little Elf’s Hiding in the Wood

Student Practice Track 4: Dream While the Starry Skies Above

Student Practice Track 5: Pixies Dialogue

Student Practice Track 6: We’re saved, we’re free AND Student Practice Track 7: lesson learned

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