Dane Lam, Artistic Director of State Opera South Australia, has injected sharp creative tension into his curation of the Golden Jubilee Season. “I wanted to showcase everything we can build, make and imagine right here in South Australia,” Lam notes. “At the centre of that ambition sits the pairing before you: Hansel and Gretel and Into the Woods, on alternating nights at Her Majesty’s. Two works written almost a century apart, complementary yet contrasting, sharing the same fairytale DNA.”
Composer Engelbert Humperdinck originally created the piece for his sister’s children before expanding it into a full opera designed to soften the grim reality of the source material—specifically, the horrific abandonment of children by an evil stepmother. Visually, this production cleverly avoids Hollywood or textbook storybook clichés. Instead, director Constantine Costi brings together a seemingly faultless cast and pairs them with a production team that delivers a remarkably fresh aesthetic.
Jonathon Oxlade’s set and costume designs establish a striking sense of originality; they harken toward familiar shapes but whimsically distort proportions. Complemented by a unique colour palette, the staging completely subverts the predictable imagery that usually floods the mind when thinking of the Brothers Grimm and the deadly house of candy.
Adding a layer of magical softness to this world is Lucy Stoddart, an outstanding talent from the SOSA Resident and Emerging Artist Program. Pulling double duty as both the Dew Fairy and the Sandman, Stoddart delivers beautiful vocal clarity and immense character flair to these relatively brief roles, aided by lavish, eye-catching costuming.
At the heart of the production is the extraordinary countertenor Kangmin Justin Kim as Hansel. Kim does a brilliant job portraying a young, somewhat obnoxious boy whose brave instincts eventually surface. He is perfectly matched with Sofia Troncoso as Gretel, the slightly older, more mature sister who employs the vital quick thinking needed to save the day.
The duo maintains a highly entertaining, evolving rapport on stage, and their three key duets are delivered with superb vocal harmony.
As the father, baritone Morgan Pearse delivers a robust and vital performance, his strong voice shining effortlessly through the orchestration. However, it is Catherine Carby in the dual roles of the Mother and the Witch who absolutely takes the cake. Both are fairly wrought characters—the Mother ultimately having a softer side that emerges.
Doubling the roles is a deliberate directorial ploy to mirror the complex ways children often perceive their mothers. Backed by clever design choices, Carby executes this beautifully, presenting two splendidly distinct characters. Under the baton of Dane Lam, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra does a wonderful job tackling the lush score with precision. Yet, perhaps the most irresistible moments belong to the State Opera Children’s Chorus. While always a treat to see and hear, their presence here is particularly impactful; their physical size juxtaposed against the two adults playing Hansel and Gretel serves as a poignant reminder of the engaging, genuine magic driving this excellently rendered production.
5 Stars!
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