Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Monday, December 07, 2009

Should the witch really get thrown in the oven each Christmas?


Or is it finally Hansel’s turn?
Tell the truth. How many of you are secretly fans of the witch?
Those singing children, nibbling on her house each year - I would be annoyed too. Wouldn’t you? As with so many operas - ‘Romeo, she’s only asleep!, Rigoletto, it’s your daughter!, Siegmund, don’t kiss her – it’s your sister! Witch, don’t peer into the oven - it’s a plot!’- our favorite characters never seem to hear us and are doomed each performance to suffer the same fate. Although there is much to say for reliability – especially in today’s turbulent world - I will go and cheer for the witch this year, glaring at any little kids in the audience who dare to challenge me. Hansel und Gretel at the Vienna Volksoper this December - Go Witch!!