Hansel + Gretel Virtual School Tour performance March 22-April 16, 2021 across Alberta - Presented by Calgary Opera and AECON
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Hansel + Gretel
Virtual School Tour performance
March 22—April 16, 2021 across Alberta
Presented by Calgary Opera and AECON
1
Land Acknowledgement
Why do we begin by acknowledging the land?
Inspired by the 94 recommended calls to action contained in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of
Canada, which we now know as the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, land acknowledgements
are a step in Canada’s reconciliation journey. They acknowledge and honour the original occupants of this
place, in our case the province of Alberta, which we all call home. Land acknowledgements also help us rec-
ognize and respect Indigenous peoples’ connection to the land and remind us all to take care of this beautiful
home we share.
Treaty 7 territory is the land where Calgary is now situated, but the area we call Alberta has Treaty 6, 7 and 8
territories within it. These other Treaty territories have their own land acknowledgements that reflect the
First Nations peoples that originally and still live there. The agreements that these Treaty territories are
based upon were written between the First Nations and the settlers that came to live on the land from other
places in the world. Now we include a land acknowledgement to work toward reconciliation by acknowledg-
ing those that were here first.
2
Welcome to our Show
Thank you for joining us in our first ever Virtual School Tour performance of the classic opera Hansel + Gretel.
While this school performance is based on a classic Western fairytale and opera, it has been updated for our
modern times with current references and settings. The original Brothers Grimm fairytale contained some
elements that have fallen out of the modern-day telling of this story, like the Sandman helping the children
fall asleep when they’re lost and the dream the children have in which angels visit them. You will see ver-
sions of these original elements in our production, and what better way to bring them to life than opera.
Why did we choose Hansel + Gretel now, in these most unusual times? Hansel + Gretel deals with some
frightening themes of stranger danger and temptation, also the idea that if something is too good to be true,
it probably is, but from that difficulty emerges our two protagonists who use their intelligence to rescue
themselves from danger and prove that good prevails over evil when one perseveres and holds onto hope.
What better time for such a message?
We wish we could come to each one of your schools and communities. It is a highlight of our year to perform
our School Tour opera in person, seeing your excitement while you hear the singers. This year is different,
but we are happy to be able to offer you this free performance that keeps us all safe and healthy during this
time. It’s not the same as being together, but when we can come back together again in the theatres, halls
and performance halls that are quiet right now, more students than ever will have experienced an opera pro-
duction through this video and we will have new things to talk about.
We look forward to connecting with you and your students and sincerely hope they enjoy this performance
which took countless hours and people to assemble.
Now, on to the show! Calgary Opera, our sponsor AECON and our Emerging Artist Ensemble singers present
Hansel + Gretel.
Until we meet again,
Patricia Kesler
Education and Community Engagement Manager
Calgary Opera
Calgary, Alberta
3
Table of Contents
Hansel + Gretel Study Guide 2020-21
Land Acknowledgement 2
Welcome to our Show 3
Tell me about Opera: A Brief History of Opera 5
Tell me about Opera: Opera Voices 6
Tell me about Opera: Opera Terms 7
The Stories behind the Story: Composer and Librettist 8
The Stories behind the Story: The Brothers Grimm 9
Story, Characters, Performers: The Story aka The Synopsis 10
Story, Characters, Performers: Characters and Questions about the Characters 11
Story, Characters, Performers: Performers aka The Cast 12-13
Who’s Who at the Opera: Artistic and Production Crew 14
Who’s Who at the Opera: Costume Study 15-16-17
Class Exercises: Grades K-3 18-19
Class Exercises: Grades 4-6 20-21
Class Exercises: Grades 7-9 22-23
Listening: Listening Excerpts 24
References 25
A Note on Filming and Special Thanks 26
4
Tell me about opera
A brief history of opera
A brief history of opera
The word opera is the plural form of the Latin word opus, which translates quite literally as ‘work.’ The use
of the plural form indicates the many art forms that combine to create an operatic performance. Today we
understand the word opera to mean a theatrically based musical piece in which the drama is expressed
through singing and music, accompanied by an orchestra.
Traditional view holds that the first opera developed as a result of discussions held in Florence in the 1570’s
by a group of artists known as the Camerata. Their discussions led to the musical setting of Runuccini’s dra-
ma, Dafne, by composer Jacopo Peri in 1597.
The work of such early Italian masters as Giulio Caccini and Claudio Monteverdi led to the development of a
through-composed musical piece composed of recitative (fast sing-speaking) sections which revealed the
main storyline; followed by arias which provided the soloist an opportunity to develop the emotions of the
character with slower musical vocal lines. The new art form was greeted enthusiastically by the public and
quickly became a popular entertainment that often dealt with common people and the stories of the day.
Opera has flourished throughout the world as way to express the full range of human emotions. Italians
claim the art form as their own, with the bulk of famous opera composers being of Italian origin through to
the 1900s. Puccini, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi and Leoncavallo developed the art form through clearly
defined periods that produced opera buffa, opera seria, bel canto, and verismo. The Austrian Mozart also
wrote operas in Italian and championed the singspiel (sing play), which combined the spoken word with mu-
sic, a form also used by Beethoven in his only opera, Fidelio. Bizet (Carmen), Offenbach (Les Contes D’Hoff-
mann), Gounod, Faust, and Meyerbeer (Les Huguenots) led the adaptation by the French which ranged from
the opera comique to the grand full-scale tragedie lyrique. German composers von Weber (Der Fresichutz),
Richard Strauss (Ariadne auf Naxos), and Wagner (Der Ring des Nibelungen) developed diverse forms such as
singspiel to through-composed spectacles. The English ballad opera, Spanish zarzuela and Viennese operetta
styles all helped to establish opera as a form of entertainment, which continues to enjoy great popularity
throughout the world.
With the beginning of the 20th century, composers in America diverged from European traditions in order to
focus on their own roots while exploring and developing the vast body of the country’s folk music and leg-
ends. Composers such as Douglas Moore, Carlisle Floyd, Scott Joplin and more recently Jake Heggie have all
crafted operas that have been presented throughout the world to great success. In Canada, composer John
Estacio and librettist John Murrell were commissioned by Calgary Opera to produce Filumena, based on a
true Canadian story of the last woman to be hanged in Alberta - which premiered in 2003 in Calgary to great
success, and is one of the most produced Canadian grand-operas in the world.
5
Tell me about opera
O p e r a Vo i c e Ty p e s + Te r ms
Voice Types
The Main Voice Types in Opera are:
SOPRANO The highest voice of all
MEZZO-SOPRANO Voice type between Soprano and Contralto
CONTRALTO Usually the lowest female voice
TENOR Usually the highest male voice
COUNTER TENOR Higher than a tenor, but a less common voice type, although becoming more common
and popular
BARITONE Voice between Tenor and Bass
BASS The lowest voice of them all
Breaking down the voice types:
COLORATURA Typically a voice with a very high range with the ability to sing
complicated passages with great agility
DRAMATIC A heavy, powerful voice with a steely timbre capable of great range and emotion
LYRIC An average size voice, but capable of singing long
beautiful phrases.
HELDEN A German term referring to a powerful voice capable of
singing very demanding roles
FALSETTO The upper part of a voice, more often used in reference
to male voices
SPINTO A somewhat more powerful voice than that of a true lyric.
Educators: To watch a short but descriptive video on operatic voice types explained, go to the
Royal Opera House London (ROH) YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/hLfvkwTnJVM
Opera Terms
ACT: A portion of an opera designated by the composer, which has a dramatic structure of
its own, not unlike a chapter in a novel
ARIA: Italian for an ‘air’ or ‘song’. The big number where the singer expresses feelings and
shows off the voice
6
Tell me about opera
Grades 4-6
Opera Terms Continued
BEL CANTO: Italian for “beautiful singing”, refers to a style of opera that developed in Italy and was
characterized by a small but dynamic vocal range requiring much vocal control
BUFFA/O: From the Italian for ‘buffoon.’ A singer of comic roles (basso-buffo) or a comic opera (opera-
buffa)
BRAVO: Literally, a form of applause when shouted by members of the audience at the end of an espe-
cially pleasing performance. Strictly speaking, “bravo” is for a single man, “brava” for a wom-
an, and “bravi” for a group of performers
CHORUS: A group of singers, singing together, who portray peripheral characters who usually comment
on the action and help to support the storyline
DUET: An extended musical passage performed by two singers. They may or may not sing simultane-
ously or on the same musical line
DRESS REHEARSAL: A final working rehearsal where all characters are in full costume with full set and live musical
accompaniment
ENCORE: Literally, French for “again”- Is shouted from the audience after a particularly well sung pas
sage or, more commonly, at the end of a well-done performance
LEITMOTIF: Recurring bits of music associated with particular characters or moods
LIBRETTO: Italian for “little book”, the written text of the opera without music
MAESTRO: The conductor of the orchestra
OPERA SERIA: “Serious” opera, a term developed in Italy to refer to operas from the 17th century with
themes of mythology, ancient history and no comedic elements
OVERTURE: An orchestral piece at the beginning of the opera, a musical introduction to the opera
PREMIERE: Opening night of a performance, the first public performance in the theatre
RECITATIVE: Speech-singing where the singer chants the words in rhythm of free speech, used to further
the plot or set up an aria, to communicate much of the story in a shorter span of time
SUPERNUMERARIES: Extra, small, supporting roles in the opera in which the characters do not sing, such as people
in a crowd
SYNOPSIS: The story of the opera in short form
THROUGH-COMPOSED: A piece of music that has no repetition of musical passages throughout, but has different mu
sic for each ensuing section
TOI TOI TOI: An expression used in the performing arts to wish the performers a good performance which
exists because of the superstition that to wish a performer good luck is actually bad luck
VERISMO: An artistic style from 19th Century Italy that dealt with themes of common people and daily
lives set in a dramatic style
7
The stories behind the Story
C o m p o s e r a n d L i b re t t i s t
The Composer, Engelbert Humperdinck
A Composer is the person who writes the music for an opera.
Engelbert Humperdinck, (born Sept. 1, 1854, Siegberg, Hanover—died
Sept. 27, 1921, Neustrelitz, Germany), German composer will be re-
membered primarily for his opera Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and
Gretel).
Humperdinck studied at both the Cologne and Munich conservatories
in his younger years. He received a Mendelssohn scholarship in 1879
that allowed him to go to Italy where he met the famous German
composer Wagner. He worked under Wagner, assisting in the produc-
tion of Parsifal at Beyreuth, Wagner’s own opera house in Germany.
He went on to teach at the Barcelona Conservatory from 1885-87 and
then at Frankfurt from 1890-96. While he wrote many early works
such as choral ballads and orchestra pieces it was his Hänsel und Gretel which premiered on December 23,
1893 in Weimar, Germany, conducted by Richard Strauss. The opera, which was heavily influenced by Wag-
ner’s style and German folk song, won him acclaim, although Humperdinck’s own talents of storytelling
through music and understanding of a child’s mind and sense of poetry were no less a part of the opera’s
success. In 1923 the Royal Opera House in London chose it for their first complete radio opera broadcast and
then eight years later it was the first opera transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Humperdinck wrote six more operas in his lifetime, between 1895 and 1919, but none rose to the same level
as Hänsel und Gretel . One of these six, Königskinder, which premiered in New York in 1910, has been re-
mounted in recent decades by opera houses across Europe and North America. He died at the age of 67 of a
heart attack in Neustrelitz, Germany while attending his son Wolfram’s
Stage Director debut, but left behind an opera that has been enjoyed the
world over ever since.
The Librettist, Adelheid Wette
A Librettist is the person who writes the words for an opera.
Adelheid Wette was Engelbert Humperdinck’s sister and a German writer.
She was born in 1858 and grew up in Siegberg, Germany as the youngest
sister of Engelbert and eventually married the doctor Hermann Wette.
8The stories behind the Story
T h e B ro t h e r s G r i m m
Librettist Continued
She had an interest in folktales and had written two folktale-inspired librettos for the composer Arnold Men-
delssohn, but it was her libretto for Hänsel und Gretel that was her greatest and longest-lasting success.
Engelbert and Adelheid originally conceived of Hänsel und Gretel as a piece for her children to perform, but
then expanded it to the full length opera it is today. She also worked with Engelbert on another of his fairy
tale pieces based on a Brothers Grimm story, Die Sieben Geisslein (The Seven Young Kids), which was released
in 1895. Independently she wrote the children’s play Froschkönig (The Frog King), released in 1896 and a col-
lection of children’s songs called Kinderliederbuch, released in 1903. She
The Brothers Grimm
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm were German brothers who collected some of
the Western world’s most popular stories. They worked together to cre-
ate a famous book of folktales that was first published in German in 1812
and has since been published in at least 70 languages around the world.
The tales include such classics as “Snow White,” “Rumpelstiltskin,”
“Rapunzel,” “Cinderella,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.”
Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm was born on January 4, 1785, in the German
village of Hanau. Wilhelm Carl, his younger brother, was born in Hanau on
February 24, 1786. The brothers both studied law, thinking they would
become lawyers but decided against it and in their 20s began collecting folktales for a friend who wanted to
publish a collection of tales. They wrote down songs, poetry and folktales that they heard singers and story-
tellers tell out loud. The friend never used the tales, so the Grimms decided to publish them as a book
called Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales).
The Grimms sometimes changed the tales they heard by combining several stories or putting in their own
religious, political, or moral views into the tales. They recorded stories from many different cultural tradi-
tions.
Today the collection is commonly known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, even though they didn’t create them! The
Grimms kept adding to the collection for many years until it eventually contained more than 200 tales.
Aside from collecting folktales, the Grimm brothers wrote books about the German language. They also
worked for the government and as university professors and librarians. Wilhelm Grimm died on December
16, 1859, in Berlin, Germany. Jacob Grimm died there on September 20, 1863.
9Story, Characters, Performers
T h e S t o r y a ka T h e S y n o p s i s
In opera and theatre, the storyline of the entire production is presented in short from. This is called the syn-
opsis. The synopsis is printed in the program you receive at the theatre, or is available online if you are
watching the program virtually. The synopsis covers all the main characters and events in the story so that
you understand what you are seeing. Opera is often sung in Italian, French, German, Czech, or another lan-
guage, and is difficult to understand if you don’t speak those languages so the synopsis helps explain what’s
going on.
Another way of understanding the onstage action is through supertitles. These are the words of the opera,
translated into English and projected onto a small screen above the stage. As an audience member you can
read what is being said in English as it is sung in a different language.
Hansel + Gretel—Synopsis
Hansel and Gretel are at home in their apartment, decorating the living room for their father’s birthday. The
family is very poor, and they are both hungry. To distract themselves they begin to dance and accidentally
knock a birthday cake onto the floor. They feel like this will spoil the party, so they head out through the park
to pick up a cake from a convenience store. Their father returns home, sees a note they left, and is scared
that they will fall into the hands of an evil witch who has been recently spotted in the park. He runs out to
save them.
Meanwhile, Hansel and Gretel have bought their cake and are on their way back home. They get distracted
with building a snowman and don’t notice the time. The forest grows dark and they lose their way. Fright-
ened by noises and shadows, they run into a building and hide out in a boiler room. The Sandman reveals
himself, cares for them, and gently puts them to sleep.
They wake up the next morning, head out onto the street, and discover a food truck made out of candy and
cupcakes. They start to eat parts of the truck, but don’t realize they are being watched. The Witch captures
them and brings them into her secret lair inside the truck. Hansel and Gretel figure out a way to outsmart the
witch and push her into her own oven. The witch disappears in a cloud of smoke and is baked into a cupcake!
Their father tracks them down and they celebrate their good fortune and ingenuity.
10Story, Characters, Performers
C h a ra c t e r s a n d Q u e s t io n s
a b o u t t h e C h a ra ct e r s
Characters in the Opera
Gretel– Soprano voice type—sung by Kallie Clayton and Eden Tremayne
Hansel—Mezzo-Soprano voice type—sung by Lillian Brooks and Alanna Fraize
Witch—Tenor voice type—sung by Scott Rumble and Jeffrey Strand
Father/Sandman—Baritone voice type—sung by Jeremy Dubé and Dominic Veilleux
Several questions come to mind after looking at the Character list such as:
Why are there two people singing in each role?
Every year Calgary Opera organizes a school tour performance. Normally we take the performance to differ-
ent schools all over southern Alberta for four weeks straight, performing twice every day. This can be a very
tiring schedule for a performer, especially when they are singing the entire time. To solve this we create two
casts—two complete sets of singers to perform the show that take turns every day—this is called Double
Casting. This also means that if one singer is unable to perform, there is another who knows the part to take
thier place. When you watch Hansel + Gretel you will not see all eight of our Emerging Artists, you will only
see four of them. Which four you see will depend upon when your teacher, principal or parent received the
video link to Hansel + Gretel.
Why is it that characters that would traditionally be sung by a male are sung by a female and the other
way around as well?
Opera has a long history of men playing women and women playing men. Many years ago in Italy where
opera began, young men with high voices would sing the part of women. This was because originally women
were not permitted onstage, so men had to play all of the parts.
These young men, who were called castrati, were surgically altered so their voices would never deepen.
This practice became unpopular at a certain point in time as women were allowed on stage, and it was seen
as inhumane to operate on young men. Castrati were the beginning of gender-defying roles in opera. Fol-
lowing, women mezzo-sopranos began singing parts that would have been written for men. This is called a
Pants Role, meaning that a woman wears a pants costume instead of a dress costume because she is por-
traying a male character. The role of Hansel in Hansel + Gretel is a pants role and is always sung by a wom-
an, if they are performing our version of the story which was adapted for opera many years ago by Engelbert
Humperdinck and his sister Adelheid Wette (see Stories behind the Story section: Composer and Librettist).
11Story, Characters, Performers
P erf o r me r s a k a T h e C a s t
The Cast—Emerging Artist Ensemble
In a theatre, opera or film production the performers are called the Cast. Our Cast is made up of eight pro-
fessional opera singers called the Emerging Artist Ensemble. Since 2007 Calgary Opera has selected eight
young singers from across the country to work with us on career and voice development for 1-2 years. This
year we also have an American and an Australian in our ensemble.
2020-21 Calgary Opera Emerging Artist Ensemble: (clockwise from top left) Alanna Fraize, Eden Tremayne, Domi-
nic Veilleux, Lillian Brooks, Jeremy Dubé, Jeffrey Strand, Kallie Clayton and Scott Rumble
Alanna Fraize, Mezzo-Soprano: Originally from St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador, she has been de-
scribed by Opera News as having an “ample and robust ” voice. Notable performances have included being
the Mezzo Soprano soloist in The Lord Nelson Mass and the Mozart Requiem with the Newfoundland Sym-
phony Orchestra. A student of Joan Patenaude Yarnell, Alanna holds Bachelor and Master degrees (Voice)
and a Professional Studies Certificate (Voice) from The Manhattan School of Music.
Eden Tremayne, Soprano: Recognized for her heartfelt singing and dynamic stage portrayals, Eden has been
featured as an Apprentice Artist with the San Diego Opera and the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program
with Vancouver Opera. Recent engagements include with San Diego Opera, The La Jolla Symphony and Cho-
rus, Jeunesses Musicales du Canada, Vancouver Opera and Bodhi Tree Concerts.
12Story, Characters, Performers
P erf o r me r s a k a T h e C a s t
Dominic Veilleux, Bass-Baritone: Praised for his rich and powerful voice, as well as his strong comic and dra-
matic skills, Dominic has performed numerous roles on tour with Jeunesses Musicales Canada, Papageno
(Die Zauberflöte) with Prague Summer Nights Festival, Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) with Accademia europa
dell’opera, and many with Opéra de Québec. Dominic holds an Artist Diploma from the Music Conservatory
of Quebec City, and a Masters degree from Université de Montréal.
Lillian Brooks, Mezzo-Soprano: Praised for her “legato, lyric sound” (Ludwig von Toronto), and “easy han-
dling of coloratura” (Schmopera), Lillian has appeared in many operatic roles and as an oratorio soloist
throughout Ontario, most recently as the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors - part of Calgary Opera’s
Christmas at the Opera. She has sung as a soloist in many prestigious venues in Ontario, including Koerner
Hall, Roy Thomson Hall, and the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. Lillian is next looking forward to a re-
cital in May as part of St. Paul’s Concert Series in Alliston, ON.
Jeremy Dubé, Baritone: Canadian- Australian baritone completed a Bachelor of Music (Performance) and
Master of Music Studies (Opera Performance) at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Jeremy most recently
performed the role of Figaro and Count Almaviva in Opera Australia's NSW Schools Tour production of The
Barber of Seville. He has performed many operatic roles at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, as well as
Elder Ott (Carlisle Floyd, Susannah) for Opera New England.
Jeffrey Strand, Tenor: American-Canadian tenor currently in his second season at Calgary Opera as an
Emerging Artist. Jeffrey has sung multiple roles with Calgary Opera, Mercury Opera, Sarasota opera Central
City opera and sings frequently with Phoenix Opera. Jeffrey previously won First Prize in the Southwest Vocal
Competition and was a Young Artist at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa and with Tulsa Opera. He regularly
performs oratorio and concert music with Phoenix Opera Orchestra, Westchester Oratorio Society, Chandler
Symphony, Canyon Symphony Orchestra, and others.
Kallie Clayton, Soprano: Holds a Master of Music in Opera from UBC where she studied under tenor J. Pat-
rick Raftery and performed several roles. Kallie’s 2019 season included her role debut as Adina in Burnaby
Lyric Opera’s production of L’elisir d’amore and originating the role of Marianne in Paola Prestini and Royce
Vavrek’s opera Silent Light at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Most recently, Kallie made two company
debuts singing Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and Messiah with the
Okanagan Symphony Orchestra.
Scott Rumble, Tenor: Participated in the Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program at Vancouver Opera. Scott
holds a Master of Music in Opera Performance from the University of British Columbia, and an Artist Diplo-
ma and Bachelor of Music (Honours) in Voice Performance from the University of Western Ontario. Recent
credits include Flavio in Norma for Calgary Opera as well as roles for Vancouver Opera, Highlands Opera Stu-
dio, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and University of British Columbia.
13Who’s who at the Opera
A rt i s t i c a n d Pro d u ct i o n C r ew
Every opera from the smallest performance to the largest Grand Opera at La Scala in Milan requires the work
of countless people to create, perform and produce it. These are the people that made this production possi-
ble: Stage Director: Aaron Coates
Aaron is a director, writer, actor, and was the Associate Artistic Director of Cow-
town Opera. He studied acting at Mount Royal University and at École Philippe
Gaulier in Paris. Directing credits include: Cinderella, The Magic Flute, The Scorpi-
ons’ Sting, Hansel and Gretel, Hannaraptor (Calgary Opera), The Bat, Figaro’s Wed-
ding, NYC Meets YYC, Prison Divas, Archibaldo, The Bachelor, La Bohème, The
Phantom of the Opera Sing-Along, The Sound of Music Sing-Along (Cowtown
Opera), The After Party, The Way of All Fish (Lunchbox Theatre), Dying City
(Pangloss), The Old Neighborhood (Rogues Theatre), Iraq and Back (Ghost River
Theatre), and The End of the Rope (Vertigo Theatre). Aaron spent nine seasons as
Co-Artistic Producer of Dirty Laundry, Calgary’s live improvised soap opera, where
he directed over 150 episodes.
Videographer and Video Editor: Jody Lund, New Jack Films
Jody Lund is a videographer who hopes to expand and enhance viewers' perspec-
tives through visual storytelling. As a graduate of the SAIT Film and Video Produc-
tion program, he founded New Jack Films in 2020. His plans for the company are to
bring together quality story, cinematography and sound design to create meaning-
ful videos for both his clients and audiences. Jody is eager to develop New Jack
Films as an active contributor to Alberta’s film industry.
Video Production: New Jack Films
Musical Director and Emerging Artist Manager: Mel Kirby
Costume Designer and Head of Wardrobe: Heather Moore
Set Décor, props: Aaron Coates, Jody Lund, Cody Stadel
Stage Manager: Kennedy Greene
Makeup Consultant: Rose Gurevitch Technical Director: Cody Stadel
Hair/Wig Consultant: Franca Vaccaro Director of Production: Bonni Baynton
Head of Props: Kevin Corey Production Assistant: Brett Johnson
14Who’s who at the Opera
C o s t ume S t u dy
Every performance you’ve ever seen whether it was a movie, tv show or live performance in a performance
hall, had costumes in it. There is usually one person in charge of deciding what those costumes will look like
and this person is called the Costume Designer.
At Calgary Opera our Costume Designer is Heather Moore. She has been working in movies, television, thea-
tre and opera for many years and is a talented Costume Designer and Costume Supervisor who is capable of
designing, finding and making costumes for any character you can imagine.
At the start of work on a production most or all of the artistic and production crew listed on the previous
page come together to discuss how the performance will come together. In the case of our production of
Hansel + Gretel, our Director Aaron Coates knew that he wanted to story to take place now, in our modern
times. This decision affected everything from how the characters would speak, to how it was filmed, to what
the costumes would look like. Heather Moore read the story many times over to familiarize herself with the
mood and characters and then began pulling together ideas of what each character would wear and how
that would express who they are.
Costume Designers put their ideas on something called Costume Boards. These are illustrations or photos
pulled from many different places that describe each element of a characters costume. Here are some of the
Costume Boards for Hansel + Gretel:
15Who’s who at the Opera
Costume Study
16Who’s who at the Opera
C o s t ume S t u dy
As you can see in these Costume Boards, Heather, our Costume Designer, had a lot of fun coming up with
unique costumes for each character. She also put multiple pictures of the same thing, for example in the
Board above for The Witch there are several pairs of pants and multiple necklace ideas. Heather doesn’t
know for sure when she is putting these together if she will be able to find the exact costume pieces she
wants, so she gives several options that would all give the character the same overall feeling and effect.
IDEA: Now that you’ve seen these costume boards you will have no problem knowing who is who in the vid-
eo performance. Look at the characters in the opera, do you recognize pieces of their costume from these
boards?
Class Exercises
Coming up on the following pages are the class exercises. Several exercises are provided for each age group
but feel free to read across them all to pull inspiration where you like.
17Class exercises
Grades K-3
Responding to Texts (and videos)
Working with various aspects of the “Responding to Texts” unit from Alberta Curriculum in English Language
Arts for students in grades K-3, read the students the synopsis from page 10, then have them watch the pro-
duction of Hansel + Gretel.
After the performance ask about their impressions:
-What did they like about the opera? What didn’t they like? Did they recognize the story? Did it remind them
of another fairy tale or story they have read or seen? Maybe of a different version of Hansel and Gretel?
-What feelings did they have during the opera? Were they worried, nervous, hopeful, excited? Did those
feelings change as they watched the opera?
-What were their favourite parts? Why? What were their least favourite parts? Have them retell these parts
in as much detail as possible.
-Who was their favourite character? Why? Did their favourite character remind them of someone they
know? Of themselves?
-The witch is a scary character. Why does the witch behave that way? Why is it important to know about
people like this?
-Use the template on the next page to have them illustrate their favourite scene or character or have them
act it out for the class.
Folk Tales and Culture:
Hansel and Gretel is a German folk tale. Our version is updated with some modern day ideas so it also tells
us something about the culture we live in right now, here in Canada. Hansel and Gretel was collected by the
Brothers Grimm from stories they heard told by the people around them. Folk tales give us clues about a
culture. They tell us about how the people of a certain area or group lived and what was important to them.
Every culture on earth has its own folk and fairy tales. It is interesting to hear the folk tales from a different
culture and to think about the ones you might have heard in your own family, from your grandparents or
aunts and uncles or a storyteller in your community. Many folk tales and fairy tales deal with a character
who has a problem, like the witch, and somehow has to resolve it through a series of adventures or tasks.
Often something or someone fantastical comes to help the main character, like the Sandman. Folk tales
often try to teach us a lesson. What is the lesson in Hansel + Gretel?
Share some folk tales from other cultures represented among your students in the class. How do they com-
pare with Hansel + Gretel?
18Hansel + Gretel - Calgary Opera Virtual School Tour
March/April 2021
NAME: ____________________________________
My favourite part of the opera was:____________________________________________
Original worksheet provided by Tylene Malkin
19Class Exercises
Grades4-6
A) On the left is a poster for a Federal Theatre Project
presentation of Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hänsel
and Gretel at the Beaux Arts Theatre in Los Angeles, from
sometime between the years 1936–1941.
Exercise: Make a poster for the performance you are
about to watch. Have the teacher read you the synopsis
from page 10 and think about how you would advertise
the performance. OR Watch the performance and make a
poster afterwards that you think would make other peo-
ple interested in watching this opera.
This is a marketing poster. It is designed in a way that
would be appealing or interesting to people who had not
seen the performance yet. It should contain all of the
elements of What, When, Where and a little bit of the
Who. How much should the tickets be? What is the most
important image to show on the poster so that people
understand what the performance is about? Also, what’s
the best kind of lettering to write the title and to list the
information?
TEACHERS/PARENTS: this poster can be found online at
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hansel-and-Gretel-
opera-by-Humperdinck#/media/1/254568/187759
B) Take a look at the Costume Boards from pages 15-17. Imagine a different costume for one of the charac-
ters. How would your costume change how we perceive the character? Put together your own new cos-
tume board for one of the characters, or chose a character from a different story. Explain your choices and
how each piece of the costume helps the audience to understand the character.
More questions: Does the costume for the Witch make them seem scary? Funny? What about the Sandman?
Does he remind you of someone kind? Why or why not? Every costume choice that a costume designer
makes is for a reason. Why do you think our Costume Designer Heather Moore made the choices she did?
20Class Exercises
Grades 4-6
C) Listen to the musical excerpts from the Listening Excerpts on Page 22. Have the students listen to them
before they watch the opera. Please keep in mind that our opera has been shortened from the original and
updated so some of the words and musical passages will not be the same. Our version was newly adapted
by our Stage Director Aaron Coates and Musical Director Mel Kirby so no copy of the music exists to share
with your students.
1. Be a Poet: listen, write down a list of creative words and images that come to mind as you hear the mu-
sic; write down abstract descriptions of what the music is depicting in your head.
2. Be an Artist: listen, draw what ever you imagine the music to be depicting. What do the characters look
like? Where are they?
3. Identifying leitmotifs: A leitmotif is a recurring bit of music associated with particular characters or
moods. When you hear a particular leitmotif throughout the opera, it is a hint that the story is returning
to that character or mood. Listen to the first musical excerpt, the overture, and see if you can identify the
leitmotifs presented there throughout the rest of the opera. Why does a composer do this?
4. The words you will hear in the excerpts are different in our opera. How does this change the feeling?
D) Write a Review: Critics are people whose job it is to see theatre, concerts and opera performances and to
write about or make a video about what they saw and thought. What they write is called a review.
These are some of the questions that get answered in a review:
-What did you like about the opera? What did you dislike?
-What did you think of the set, costumes, music and lighting? Were these different elements helpful in telling
the story or did they take away from the story because they didn’t fit the action or the characters?
-Would you have done something differently? Why?
-What were you expecting? Did it live up to your expectations?
-What did you think of the singers’ portrayal of their characters?
Have the students write a review individually OR put them in groups to discuss these questions and any oth-
ers they think of. Have each group put together a 1-2 paragraph critique or make a short video and then put
them up around the classroom or share them in class or online. Have all the groups watch all reviews or
take a tour of all reviews (if they are up on the walls) and then discuss what surprised them about other
groups/students reviews. Do they agree? Disagree? Was there something they didn’t notice that was really
important to another group?
21Class Exercises
Grades 7-9
A) Be a Critic.
“The reviews are in! The school tour production of Hansel + Gretel was a smashing success!! Or “What a flop!
Hansel + Gretel fails to deliver.” Be a critic and write a review about the production.
These are some of the questions that get answered in a review:
-What did you like about the opera? What did you dislike?
-What did you think of the set, costumes, music and lighting? Were these different elements helpful in telling
the story or did they take away from the story because they didn’t fit the action or the characters?
-Would you have done something differently? Why?
-What were you expecting? Did it live up to your expectations?
-What did you think of the singers’ portrayal of their characters?
Have the students write a review individually OR put them in groups to discuss these questions and any oth-
ers they think of. Have each group put together a 1-2 paragraph critique or make a short video and then put
them up around the classroom or share them in class or online. Have all the groups watch all reviews or
take a tour of all reviews (if they are up on the walls) and then discuss what surprised them about other
groups/students reviews. Do they agree? Disagree? Was there something that they didn’t notice that was
really important to another group? Does reading the other reviews change opinion or just inform it?
**If you’d like, send the written or video review in to CALGARY OPERA. We’d LOVE to see them, whether
they are about things you liked or disliked about the opera.**
This exercise works with the Alberta Curriculum English Language Arts outcomes for Grades 7, 8 & 9 of
• Considering the Ideas of others
• Combining Ideas
• Extending Understanding
B) The Hero’s Journey
American professor Joseph Campbell created a framework for understanding stories and folktales from
around the world called “The Hero’s Journey” after having studied hundreds of different tales from different
cultures and seeing their similarities. It is a 12-part process that he felt many stories fit. He was a big believer
in stories and said this, “People forget facts, but they remember stories.” Cont. on next page
22Class Exercises
Grades 7-9
The Hero’s Journey continued
The parts to The Hero’s Journey are:
-Begins in the hero’s Ordinary World
-Call to Adventure, an invitation, a challenge
-Assistance, the hero needs some help
-Departure, crosses the threshold into a different world
-Trials—all the problems the hero faces
-Approach—arriving at the biggest ordeal, the hero’s greatest fear or toughest challenge
-Crisis—the most difficult moment where the hero is in the greatest danger
-Treasure—claims a treasure or a great outcome from the crisis
-Result—what happens?
-Return to the ordinary world
-Resolution– everything is resolved, all the problems are solved
-Ordinary world, but the hero is changed
How does Hansel + Gretel fit this model of “The Hero’s Journey”? Are all the parts represented in the story?
What have Hansel and Gretel learned from their ordeal and how will it change how they live their lives? Why
do we find the final outcome of good rising up over evil in so many stories around the world? Why is this
important in a story?
Can you think of other stories and folk tales that you know that follow this format?
To watch a short video on the steps of the Hero’s Journey look here: https://youtu.be/d1Zxt28ff-E
This is a video by Matthew Winkler and Kirill Yeretsky.
On a final note, another quote by Joseph Campbell, “The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.” A
good reminder for all of us.
23Listening
L i s t e n i n g Ex c e r p t s
Here is a list of musical highlights from the opera. These are taken from the full original version of Hansel and
Gretel. At Calgary Opera we adapted the full version to a shorter school tour version because the original is
and hour and a half long! While we’ve changed some of the lyrics in order to modernize the script and to
make our shortened story line make sense, the meaning and feeling of each of these parts is the same.
1.“Hansel und Gretel : Overture”
The complete overture from the beginning of the opera played by the Dresden Staatskapelle, conducted by
Otmar Suitner. In this overture we are introduced to many of the leitmotifs (repetitive musical pieces that
represent characters or a mood) of the opera. The first few minutes is the Children’s Prayer, which you can
listen to below, then comes the Fanfare of the trumpets and percussion that is associated with the witch,
when she thinks she will succeed in capturing Hansel and Gretel. Then comes the Song of triumph – Gretel’s
song at the end of the opera, when they’ve defeated the witch and escaped.
https://youtu.be/zkqtBpSsBnE
2.“Little Brother Dance with me”
The duet in scene 1 of the opera in which Hansel and Gretel try to distract themselves from their hunger:
https://youtu.be/fX-qQh__PQ0
Sung by Lisette Oropesa as Gretel and Tara Erraught as Hansel at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, 2017-
2018 season.
3. Sandman's Aria and “Children’s Prayer: Where each child lays down its head”, Dream Pantomime
The Sandman sings a lullaby over Hansel and Gretel giving them restful sleep followed by a duet in which
Hansel and Gretel sing an evening prayer together to soothe themselves.
https://youtu.be/yTDqP-K3uS0?t=450
Sung by Christine Schäfer as Gretel, Alice Coote as Hansel and Sasha Cooke as the Sandman at the Metropoli-
tan Opera, 2008. The clip continues with a dream sequence in which a banquet is set with many interesting
cooks and a particularly interesting maître d'.
4. “The Witch's Ride”
The witch is celebrating success, having captured the children.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf7ieZzy2-g
Robert Brubaker as the witch, the Metropolitan Opera in their 2011-2012 season.
24References
Adleheid Wette Librettist Biography, http://www.roh.org.uk/people/adelheid-wette, accessed February 23,
2021.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Castrato". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 May. 2013, https://
www.britannica.com/art/castrato. Accessed 25 February 2021.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Engelbert Humperdinck". Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Sep. 2020,
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Engelbert-Humperdinck. Accessed 23 February 2021
Encyclopaedia Britannica,image. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hansel-and-Gretel-opera-by-
Humperdinck#/media/1/254568/187759, accessed February 23, 2021
Engelbert Humperdinck: Biography, http://www.browsebiography.com/bio-engelbert_humperdinck.html,
accessed February 23, 2021
Jack Kelly (2008) Hansel & Gretel. November 15, 2015, Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
app=desktop&t=450&v=yTDqP-K3uS0&feature=youtu.be, accessed February 25, 2021
Joseph Campbell Quotes. https://www.azquotes.com/author/2387-Joseph_Campbell. Accessed 25 February
2021.
Metropolitan Opera (2017-2018) Hansel and Gretel: Act I Duet. December 15, 2017, Available at: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TstW0w3xFc, accessed February 25, 2021
Metropolitan Opera (2011-2012) Hansel and Gretel: The Witch’s Ride (Robert Brubaker). September 3, 2014,
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HR6EmxZYMJQ, accessed February 25, 2021
Staatskapelle Dresden—Topic.(2009) Hansel und Gretel: Overture. January 28, 2015, Available at: https://
www.youtube.comwatchapp=desktop&v=zkqtBpSsBnE&feature=youtu.be (Accessed 25 February 2021)
Teachers Resource Guide. http://www.philharmonicsociety.org/Education/1718/TR_Fifth_Hansel&Gretel.pdf.
Accessed 25 February 2021.
Ueber-Brands The Hero's Journey according to Joseph Campbell . August 22, 2016, Available at: https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Zxt28ff-E (Accessed 27 February 2021)
25A Note on Filming & Special Thanks
A Note on Filming
This special production of Hansel + Gretel has been brought to you by the hard-working staff, crew and
Emerging Artist singers at Calgary Opera. The entire production was adapted, rehearsed and recorded during
the COVID 19 pandemic. All health guidelines were followed at all steps of the process, even when this
meant totally changing the plan at the last moment because only one person could be in a scene at one time.
Everyone involved had to stay nimble to adapt to changes as they came up, especially the singers and the vid-
eographer Jody Lund of New Jack Films. We are all so grateful for everyone’s hard work and effort to bring
this piece to all schools and students in Alberta.
Special Thank You
A very special thank you to our corporate sponsor for this Virtual School Tour, AECON. Without them, there
would not be a performance to share.
26You can also read
