HÄNSEL AND GRETEL 

An opera by Engelbert Humperdinck

A special collaboration with Bainbridge Dance Center

Directed & Translated by Lisa Mandelkorn

Conductor Kim Allen Kluge 

Musical Direction by Victoria Whitlow

It's "Kid-tastic!" - a holiday show for the WHOLE family!   

Performances: December 7 – 23, 2012
Fridays @ 7:30 p.m. +
DOUBLE-MATINEE WEEKENDS: Saturdays & Sundays @ 3:00 p.m.

Mandelkorn’s brilliant new English translation of Engelbert Humperdinck’s wildly popular fairy tale opera is based on the classic Brothers Grimm folk tale. It’s a wickedly funny and magical holiday feast of dancing, beautiful music, delicious sets, and charming costumes that families will “eat up” with relish!

“Hansel and Gretel translator does the beloved opera her way.” – Michael Moore, Kitsap Sun 

Join us in support of Helpline House and PAWS this holiday season! Helpline House gratefully accepts donations of food items and cash donations daily, Monday through Friday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.  Special food treats and grocery gift cards especially appreciated during the holidays.  See www.helplinehouse.org for an online donation option and other details.

PAWS of Bainbridge Island and North Kitsap believes in “people helping pets and pets helping people.” It advocates, educates, and provides direct services to nurture the bond of companionship between people and their pets. PAWS is always grateful for donations of cash or of needed items, which include pet food and other supplies. Cash contributions can be made anytime at www.northkitsappaws.org. During the holidays, pet food and other items can be dropped off at a number of collection centers, including BPA. PAWS' “wish list” can be found at the website for Happy Dogs Pet Services (www.happydogswalk.com), which is sponsoring the PAWS holiday drive. 

Please join us in thanking our generous Corporate Sponsors: Columbia Bank, and the Family of Jack Clements 

 Act I 

In Hansel and Gretel’s house. Hansel complains he is hungry. Gretel shows him some milk that a neighbor has given for the family’s supper. The children dance. Their mother returns and wants to know why they have gotten so little work done. She accidentally spills the milk and chases the children out into the woods to pick strawberries.

Their father, a broom-maker, returns home drunk. He brings out the food he has bought, then asks where the children have gone. The mother tells him that she has sent them into the woods. He tells her about the Witch who lives there and says that the children are in danger. They go out into the woods to look for them.

Act II 
Hansel picks strawberries. The children hear a cuckoo singing and eat the strawberries. Soon they have eaten every one. In the sudden silence of the wood, Hansel admits to Gretel that he has lost the way. The children grow frightened. The Sandman comes to bring them sleep, sprinkling sand over their eyes. The children say their evening prayer. In a dream, they see 14 angels.

Act III 
The Dew Fairy comes to waken the children. Gretel wakes Hansel, and they see the gingerbread house. They end up in the Witch’s kitchen. The Witch decides to fatten Hansel up and casts a spell on him. The oven is hot. Gretel breaks the Witch’s spell and sets Hansel free. When the Witch asks her to look in the oven, she pretends she doesn’t know how to: the Witch must show her. When the Witch peers into the oven, the children shove her inside and shut the door. The oven explodes. The gingerbread children come back to life. The mother and father find the children, and all express gratitude for their salvation. 
—Courtesy Welsh National Opera