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UT Tyler to Present Classic Opera ‘Hansel and Gretel’ Oct. 30 – 31

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October 10, 2014

Media Contact:  Hannah Buchanan
Editor/Writer–Strategic Communications & Media Relations
Marketing and Communications
The University of Texas at Tyler
903.539.7196 (cell)

October 10, 2014

The University of Texas at Tyler School of Performing Arts’ music department will present three performances of the classic children’s opera, “Hansel and Gretel” in the UT Tyler Braithwaite Recital Hall, Dr. Sooah Park, director of opera and musical theater, announced.

Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30 as well as 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 31. General admission tickets are $1 each. There is no admission charge for UT Tyler students, faculty and staff with valid identification. All tickets are at the door.

“This lively 45-minute production is geared towards children with imaginative sets and costumes,’” said Maria Ogburn, UT Tyler professor and opera assistant, who also stars as the witch, Rosina Daintymouth. “Tickets are going fast. The 9 a.m. show already is sold out.”

For tickets, email Ogburn, mogburn@uttyler.edu or call 903.566.7490.

Once upon a time, a poor broom-maker and his wife lived in a little cottage with their son, Hansel, and daughter, Gretel. When the story opens, the father and mother have gone away to sell brooms in the neighboring villages, leaving the children at work in the house. When their mother returns home, she is tired from her long trip and unhappy because she has been unable to sell her wares. She scolds the children for their nonsense, and accidentally knocks over the jug of precious milk. In her frustration, she sends the children out into the forest to pick wild strawberries for supper.

Later, the father returns, happy because he has made a good sale. He brings home food and goodies for the family, but realizes the children are gone. The mother tells him she has sent the children into the woods, and the father becomes worried about them being in the forest alone at nightfall. They leave in search of their children.

Meanwhile, as darkness falls, the children are lost and begin to hear unfamiliar sounds in the forest. They spot a cottage made of gingerbread and candy. It is the house of the Rosina Daintymouth, a witch who traps small boys and girls with her spells, then pops them in the oven to become gingerbread children. The children are clever and figure out how to use the witch’s wand to break her spell.

For more information, contact Park, 903.566.7088 or spark@uttyler.edu or call 903.566.7490.

One of the 15 campuses of the UT System, UT Tyler features excellence in teaching, research, artistic performance and community service. More than 80 undergraduate and graduate degrees are available at UT Tyler, which has an enrollment of more than 8,000 high-ability students. UT Tyler offers courses at its campuses in Tyler, Longview and Palestine as well as a location in Houston.