A production of Hansel and Gretel has recently been put on by the Northern Ireland Opera at the Belfast Grand Opera House. The opera had a contemporary setting but the themes of the production date back as far as the story itself.
The story was written in the late 19th Century and has been remade for a modern audience, and this one is a pantomime production. The cast were very well-balanced and the translation work for the singing was perfect. The audience were instantly drawn into the whole production and it was immediately very effective. The audience wanted action and they got it from the very first moment.
Saving money is a big part of the production and many items on the stage transformed simply by the dreams of the characters. The details in the production are also excellent and you can see that the fridge magnets have been rearranged to spell “Satan gender hell.” Hansel and Gretel are played by Niamh Kelly and Aoife O’Sullivan respectively and they are seduced in the performance by dreams of gob stoppers, cream cakes and licorice.
This production of Hansel and Gretel suggests that the parents of the children are not very good, and this is a move away from the original story where was left unclear whether they were bad parents or if they had simply fallen on hard times. Whether this production is an opera, a pantomime or a Freudian essay it does not matter and the Northern Ireland Opera continue with a run of excellent performances.
Elsewhere, the Australian chamber Orchestra recently performed at the Queen Elizabeth Hall being led by conductor Richard Tognetti. The orchestra is currently on a European tour and this is the second stop they have made in the UK. The production of the music is excellent and there is a real liveliness to the musicians performances. Some might regard the music as a little brash but it is certainly gripping and you will find yourself rather excited by the performance.
The first concert in 50 Years of Minimalism is a performance of the 1960s work by Terry Riley. The concert sold out and is a long production and the music is excellent, in fact many people might find that the concert just goes on for too long and it is almost a musical assault on the senses. The theme of the performance is minimalism and this is rather well done although at some points the entire thing seems a bit mystifying.
One of the earliest examples of proper minimalism was the Balinese Ceremonial Music for Two Pianos and was written in the mid-1930s. This was another excellent production put on by the orchestra and despite a minor slip-up in the performance recently it was altogether a very good production.
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