Accessibility Tools

  • Content scaling 100%
  • Font size 100%
  • Line height 100%
  • Letter spacing 100%

Hansel and Gretel

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
by
ABR Arts 29 November 2019

Hansel and Gretel

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
by
ABR Arts 29 November 2019

This charming, persuasive, and glowing concert performance of Hansel and Gretel, part of Andrew Davis’s final Melbourne Symphony Orchestra season before he steps down as chief conductor, more than proved (if proof is required) what an outstanding opera conductor he is. Maybe, in future seasons, when Davis returns as the orchestra’s conductor laureate, there will be more: perhaps Berg’s Lulu, another of the maestro’s favourite operas, which the MSO would perform magnificently.

Meanwhile, though, there was magnificence galore in the Hansel performance. Davis’s love of the work shone through in almost every bar. From the opening horn melody to the refulgent choral conclusion, this gently sustained performance never lost focus and, just as important, never strayed into sentimentality. Engelbert Humperdinck may well have called Hansel a Märchenspiel, or fairytale work, but, as we know from our Brothers Grimm, this is not synonymous with saccharine. There is light, to be sure, but it is never far away from the inner darkness.

Leave a comment

If you are an ABR subscriber, you will need to sign in to post a comment.

If you have forgotten your sign in details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to ABR Comments. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.

Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.