Cast & Characters

The Cast

Conductor: Fabio Luisi
Gretel: Miah Persson
Hansel: Angelika Kirchschlager
Gertrude: Rosalind Plowright
Witch: Philip Langridge
Peter: Dwayne Croft

The Characters

Hansel (mezzo-soprano; trouser role) – A young boy who lives with his sister and parents in a cottage in the woods. He cleverly figures out how to escape from the witch.

Gretel (soprano) – Hansel’s sister. She follows Hansel’s advice to free them both from the evil witch.

The Witch (tenor/mezzo-soprano) – An evil old woman who lives deep in the forest. She captures Hansel and Gretel, puts a spell on them, and intends to bake them in her magic oven.

Mother (Gertrude) (soprano) – Hansel and Gretel’s mother. She sends them out of the forest to collect berries for dinner, and is frantic when she realizes that they might be lost.

Father (Peter) (baritone) – Hansel and Gretel’s father, a maker and seller of brooms. He is distraught when he learns that his wife sent the children off alone into the strange forest.

Sandman (soprano; trouser role) – A mysterious old man who sprinkles Hansel and Gretel with a magic dust, making them sleepy.

Dew Fairy (soprano) – She sprinkles the children with dew to wake them after a night of refreshing sleep.