Shepherd School to present ‘Hansel and Gretel’ March 20, 22, 24 and 26

The Shepherd School of Music’s Opera Department and Chamber Orchestra will present Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” at 7:30 p.m. March 20, 24 and 26 and at 2 p.m. March 22 at Rice University’s Wortham Opera Theatre in Alice Pratt Brown Hall.

The production will be conducted by Richard Bado, director of Rice’s Opera Studies Program, and staged by guest director Pat Diamond.

“Hansel and Gretel” premiered in Weimar, Germany, in 1893 under the baton of legendary composer Richard Strauss. Based on the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale, the opera tells the story of a naïve young brother and sister who visit the forest to pick strawberries. The youngsters get tricked by an evil witch living in an irresistible gingerbread house and must devise a way to escape from her.

“This is a large, romantic piece influenced by both German folk music and the operatic music of Richard Wagner,” Bado said. “The orchestra in particular plays a very crucial role in the telling of the story.”

Bado also noted that Diamond’s approach to stage direction emphasizes “the struggles of a family in turmoil learning the value of faith over fear.”

The opera will be sung in German with English surtitles. Tickets are $12 for general admission and $10 for students and senior citizens. For tickets, call the Shepherd School Concert Office at 713-348-8000.