Engelbert Humperdinck’s
Hansel & Gretel
Boise Contemporary Theater
854 Fulton Street
Boise, ID 83702
Friday, December 28, 2012 • 2:30pm & 7:00pm
Saturday, December 29, 2012 • 2:30pm & 7:00pm
Sunday, December 30, 2012 • 2:30pm
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to purchase tickets to Hansel & Gretel. |
Synopsis
In Hansel and Gretel’s house. Hansel complains he is hungry. Gretel shows him some milk that a neighbor has given for the family’s supper. The children dance. Their mother returns and wants to know why they have gotten so little work done. She accidentally spills the milk and chases the children out into the woods to pick strawberries.
Their father, a broom-maker, returns home drunk. He brings out the food he has bought, then asks where the children have gone. The mother tells him that she has sent them into the woods. He tells her about the Witch who lives there and says that the children are in danger. They go out into the woods to look for them.
Hansel picks strawberries. The children hear a cuckoo singing and eat the strawberries. Soon they have eaten every one. In the sudden silence of the wood, Hansel admits to Gretel that he has lost the way. The children grow frightened. The Sandman comes to bring them sleep, sprinkling sand over their eyes. The children say their evening prayer. In a dream, they see 14 angels.
The Dew Fairy comes to waken the children. Gretel wakes Hansel, and they see the gingerbread house. They end up in the Witch’s kitchen. The Witch decides to fatten Hansel up and casts a spell on him. The oven is hot. Gretel breaks the Witch’s spell and sets Hansel free. When the Witch asks her to look in the oven, she pretends she doesn’t know how to: the Witch must show her. When the Witch peers into the oven, the children shove her inside and shut the door. The oven explodes. The gingerbread children come back to life. The mother and father find the children, and all express gratitude for their salvation.
courtesy of Welsh National Opera
Cast
Hansel – Melina Pyron
Gretel – Amanda Gardner-Porter
The Witch – Suzanne Hansen
Peter (Father) – Jason Detwiler
Gertrud (Mother) – Michele Detwiler
Sandman & Dewman – Victoria Arriero
Ginger Bread Children – Opera Idaho Children’s Choruses
Creative Team
Music Director & Accompanist – Sean Rogers
Director – Mark Junkert
Set Design – Joshua Frachiseur
Melina Pyron [Hansel]
Mezzo-soprano Melina Pyron is a graduate of the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, training center of the prestigious Lyric Opera of Chicago. Melina has performed several roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago, including the Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Karolka in Jenufa, and Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto. With the Lyric Opera Center, she created the role of Lucy Cross in the world premiere of Michael John LaChiusa’s Chatauqua Variations in 2001. She also delighted audiences and critics alike as Rosina in excerpts from The Barber of Seville at the Grant Park Music Festival
Melina has worked extensively in the Northwest, singing Rosina in The Barber of Seville and Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro with Tacoma Opera, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Washington East Opera and Nicklaus in The Tales of Hoffman with Uptown Opera of Spokane, as well as performing comprimario roles with Seattle Opera. Other opera credits include Federica in Luisa Miller and Mercédès in Carmen with the Sarasota Opera in Florida, and L’innocente in L’Arlesiana at Alice Tully Hall with Teatro Grattacielo.
Melina’s concert performances include the Mozart Grand Mass with Sir Andrew Davis at the Blossom Festival in Cleveland, the Beethoven Choral Fantasy with James Conlon at the Ravinia Festival, Bernstein’s Songfest with Andreas Delfs and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and, most recently, the Brahms German Requiem with the Missoula Symphony Orchestra. Also with the Missoula Symphony, she has sung the Mahler Eighth Symphony. She has appeared with the Illinois Symphony, Austria’s Brück an der Mur Orchestra, Orchestra Seattle, the Northwest Sinfonietta, the Bellevue Philharmonic, the Thalia Symphony and the Everett Symphony Orchestra. She has previously been a guest soloist for the Dame Myra Hess Recital Series in Chicago, the Exhibition of Catalan Masters at the Tacoma Art Museum, the Ladies’ Musical Club Recital Series in Western Washington, and the Musician’s Club of Women in Chicago. Melina currently lives in the Bitterroot Valley, Montana, where she also keeps a voice studio.
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Amanda Gardner-Porter [Gretel]
Acclaimed soloist Amanda Gardner-Porter has been lauded as having a “powerful mezzo-soprano voice, with richness, agility, and great range” (Classical Voice of North Carolina). Her operatic repertoire includes Stephano (Romeo et Juliette); Hansel (Hansel and Gretel); Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro); Mercedes (Carmen); Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus); the Third Lady and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte); Proserpina and La Musica (L’ Orfeo); Hermia (A Midsummers Night’s Dream). In addition, her performance as Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas was hailed as “emotionally moving and musically thrilling” (CVNC.org).
As an oratorio soloist, Amanda has been featured as the alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria; Beethoven’s Fantasy in C Minor; Bach’s Cantatas BWV 11, 80, and 213; Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai and Missa in tempore belli; Mozart’s Vespers solemnes de confessore and Requiem; Durufle’s Requiem; and Honegger’s King David.
An advocate of modern music, Amanda has sung and premiered works for both internationally known and up-and-coming composers in venues such as the World Harp Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, and the 2003 Midwest Composers Symposium in Oberlin, Ohio. Amanda earned her MM in voice performance from the IU Jacobs School of Music.
Suzanne Hansen [The Witch]
Suzanne Hansen, mezzo soprano, went on to finish a MM from University of California, Santa Barbara, after having completed her undergraduate degree in Voice from Florida State University. Singing comic works such as The Music Shop and Pizza con Funghi as well has the more dramatic La Traviata, Marriage of Figaro, and Trouble in Tahiti. Suzanne enjoys a wide range of operatic repertoire and has performed with such opera companies as Opera Illinois, Great Lake Lyric Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, and the South Georgia Opera. She also enjoys orchestral and chamber works, especially the Durufle and Verdi Requiems; as well as touring in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Suzanne moved to Boise three years ago with her family. She and her husband have five children.
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Jason Detwiler [Peter (Father)]
With nearly forty roles to his credit, baritone Jason Detwiler is becoming well-known for his magnetic and energizing stage performances. His voice and acting have been described as “emotionally fervid”, “richly expressive” and “commanding”, as he possesses a diverse repertoire ranging from the comedic Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) and Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte) to the dramatic Germont (La Traviata) and Escamillo (Carmen). Among his most widely acclaimed roles are the title roles of Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Eugene Onegin, as well as Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Zurga (Les Pechêurs de Perles), and John Proctor (The Crucible). His concert credits include: Bach’s St. John’s Passion, Haydn’s Creation, Mozart’s Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Dvorak’s Te Deum, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Mollicone’s Beatitude Mass, Ahabin Bernard Herrmann’s Moby Dick and Einhorn’s Voices of Light.
The 2011-12 season was full of reprises and debuts as Jason returned to Opera Coeur d’Alene as Valentin (Faust), to Opera San Jose for his first Tonio in I Pagliacci, to Opera Idaho reprising Melchior (Amahl & the Night Visitors), to Stockton Opera for a double bill of I Pagliacci (Tonio) and Gianni Schicchi, to Ensemble Parallèle as St. Plan (Four Saints in Three Acts) and Nick Carraway (The Great Gatsby), and to Opera Santa Barbara as Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro). In his first European appearance, Jason sang the Ambassador in Michael Dellaira’s new opera The Secret Agent, co-produced with L’Opéra-théâtre d’Avignon in Avignon, France. He has recently returned to Seattle’s Sunset Club for a gala concert of The King and I.
So far the coming season shows a number of local appearances in his hometown. With a return to the Boise Philharmonic to take part in their first Picnic at the Pops: the music of Gerschwin, Jason then expands his repertoire with his debut as Ford in Opera Idaho’s first Falstaff. Next winter, also through Opera Idaho, he will collaborate with Laura Edson, a dance choreographer and former dancer with The Trey McIntyre Project, to bring a unique, semi-staged concert of Schubert’s Winterreise in the intimate Egyptian Theater.
Jason has performed nationally with San Diego Opera, Virginia Opera, Syracuse Opera, Sacramento Opera, Spokane Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Shreveport Opera, Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, Opera Coeur d’Alene, Rimrock Opera, Sonoma City Opera, West Bay Opera, Trinity Lyric Opera, Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, the American Philharmonic Sonoma County, the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, the Boise Master Chorale, the Masterworks Chorale of San Mateo and the Auburn Symphony. From 2002-2006, he was part of Irene Dalis’ Opera San Jose as a Principal Resident Artist. While there, he sang Dandini (La Cenerentola), Falke (Die Fledermaus),Papageno, Valentin, Silvio (I Pagliacci), Escamillo, Marcello (La bohème), John Proctor, and the title roles of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Figaro among others. In 2009-2010, Jason became Opera Idaho’s first Artist-in-Residence, singing lead roles, giving concerts, and leading master classes for the Resident Company. Other major roles include: Yeletsky (Pikovaya Dama), Mr. Gobineau (The Medium), Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Mr. Webb in Ned Rorem’s Our Town, Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), the title role in Vaughan Williams’ Pilgrim’s Progress, and Billy Bigelow (Carousel).
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Michele Detwiler [Gertrud (Mother)]
Since 2000, Michele has sung nearly two dozen roles with regional companies on the West Coast, favoring Mahler, Strauss, Bel Canto and French repertoire. Critics have described her instrument as “amber-voiced”, “a velvety mezzo soprano voice with excellent range”, with performances being cited as “riveting” and holding “center stage commandingly”.
This past season found her debuting with Opera Coeur d’Alene as Siebel (Faust), with Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra as Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), with Stockton Opera as Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, and with Seattle’s Sunset Club for a King and I Gala. Recently, the mezzo returned to Opera Idaho for her first Augusta (The Ballad of Baby Doe), where she was Artist-in-Residence for the 11-12 season, and to the Boise Philharmonic for Mahler’s Second Symphony and Gerschwin: Picnic at the Pops. So far in the 2012-2013 season, she will sing with the Boise Baroque and Boise Philharmonic in Bach’s Magnificat and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.
From 2001-2007, she was a Principal Artist and Guest Artist with Opera San Jose where she sang in eighteen productions ranging from lyric to dramatic repertoire. While there she garnered much praise for her portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor (The Crucible), and took on the roles of Carmen, Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Rosina, the title role of La Cenerentola, Dorabella (Cosí fan tutte), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Stephano (Romeo et Juliette), Siebel, Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), and Flora (La Traviata) among others. In addition, the mezzo has sung with Sacramento Opera, Opera Idaho, Livermoor Valley Opera, West Bay Opera, Trinity Lyric Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Mission City Opera, the Boise Philharmonic,the Boise Master Chorale, Auburn Symphony, and Symphony Silicon Valley. Her concert credits include soloist in Bernstein’s Candide Suite, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, Herzogenberg’s Die Geburt Christi, and Einhorn’s Voices of Light.
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Victoria Arriero [Sandman & Dewman]
Victoria Arriero is a classically trained coloratura soprano from Weiser, Idaho. She has been training for four years under the tutelage of DeNice Jensen and has performed throughout the Treasure Valley. Victoria loves many genres of music, and her repertoire reflects that devotion. She also loves to learn new and challenging pieces, from English love songs to operettas in many different languages. Her stage roles have included Maria in Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, Mable in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, and the chorus of Donizetti’s La Fille du Règiment and Verdi’s Falstaff.
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