Hansel and Gretel

About

San Diego Opera’s 2020 production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel is defined by large-scale, bunraku-inspired puppetry designed by the Old Trout Puppet Workshop, originally created for Vancouver Opera. To make adult singers convincingly appear as children, the production enlarges the surrounding world with oversized props, platform shoes, and elaborate puppet creatures. The forest features giant trees with blinking eyes, mossy woodland animals, floating jellyfish-like angels, and a Sandman with detached eyes and ears. At the center is an eight-foot-tall, four-handed red Witch puppet, operated in full view by a dedicated puppeteer and the tenor singing the role, who controls the arms and facial expressions. The visual style evokes a pop-up storybook, drawing on classic 19th‑century illustration. The staging is led by Canadian director Brenna Corner, who also helmed the original Vancouver production.