Steampunk-style mechanical elements, dreamy scenes created by crystal balls and bubble machines, colorful lollipops... On the evening of July 6th and 7th, the Central Opera House opera "Hansel and Gretel" ( Also known as "Candy House") was staged in Beijing. Yuan Ding, chief permanent conductor of the Central Opera House, led the opera troupe, choir, symphony orchestra, and stage art design and production center of the Central Opera House to lead the audience with beautiful melodies and imaginative stage presentations. We entered the wonderful fairy tale world. This is also the Chinese premiere of the stage version of the play.
Stills from the premiere on July 6 Photography/Fei Bin
At the beginning of the summer vacation, the Central Opera House carefully prepared the opera "Hansel and Gretel" for children of all ages. This work was written by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck and was first performed in 1893. The play is adapted from the fairy tale of the same name, telling the story of two children who get lost in the forest and battle with an evil witch in the forest. Featuring beautiful melodies, unforgettable scenes and a bright, humorous narrative style, the work is considered one of the most popular children's operas in the world.
stills from the premiere on July 6 Photography/Fei Bin
"This play is performed around the world every year. Although it is a children's opera, it actually promotes justice, bravery, wit, and the attitude of good defeating evil, especially It is in line with the value cultivation of our young people in the new era. "Yuan Ding said, "What is particularly coincidental is that 2024 happens to be the 170th anniversary of the birth of composer Humperdinck. We are launching a complete stage version of this opera this year, which is also a particularly unique event. A matter of meaning. "
Premiere stills on July 6 Photography/Fei Bin
As a contemporary work of Wagner, the opera "Hansel and Gretel" is an extremely difficult work to perform, Yuan Ding said, " Just like when musicians hear the mention of Wagner, this work by Wagner from the same period is no exception. Although it is a children's opera, the writing is not simple. Its creation logic is very rigorous, and the orchestra's The coordination between music, stage and actors is very close. "
July 6 premiere stills Photography/Fei Bin
Gretel in the Central Opera House opera "Hansel and Gretel" is performed by soprano Li Jingjing. and Li Haoyuan, Hansel is played by mezzo-sopranos Li Nan and Yang Guang, the witch is played by mezzo-sopranos Yang Li and Yang Jinxia, the mother is played by soprano Wang Ye, and the father is played by baritone singer Played by Geng Zhe and Wang Yiqing. Every character in the play is very distinctive: the naughty brother and sister Gretel and Hansel, the hard-working mother, the alcoholic father, the hateful and greedy witch... Even supporting characters such as sleep elves, dew elves, angels, etc. The fairy-like appearance left a deep impression on people.
July 7 performance stills Photography/Fei Bin
In order to give children of all ages a more immersive experience in the performance, in addition to the actors’ lively and interesting singing, the play’s director Shi Jingfu also designed many interactive sessions between the actors and the audience. Bubble machines were designed on both sides of the stage. While blowing bubbles, multimedia images of bubbles rising into the sky were also designed. The glowing dew elves waved their magic wands to interact with the children. After the witch was baked into cookies, she was also played by an actor. They went to the auditorium to distribute the opera to the children. These interactions that were in line with the plot and full of fun allowed the actors and the young audience to spend a wonderful "wonderful night of opera" together.
July 7 performance stills Photography/Fei Bin
In addition to beautiful music and immersive interactive design, the imaginative stage design of the play restores the warm and fantastic atmosphere of Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" Awesome feature. “When designing, I tried to construct a brand new scene and create a novel steampunk world.” Stage designer Chang Wei said.In the main scenes, a large number of steampunk-style mechanical elements, such as gears, pipes and machine parts, are used as part of the stage scenery, which are integrated with the dreamy elements of "Candy House". The shapes are distorted and deformed to create a fantasy and Mechanized scene. Bronze retro tones coupled with a small amount of bright colors add an ancient and mysterious atmosphere to the stage, forming an interesting contrast with the dreamy elements of the dream scene.
Stage design courtesy of Chang Wei
In addition, projection technology is combined with the scene to further enrich the mechanical scene of steampunk, making the audience feel like they are in a dreamy mechanical city. "I designed some stage devices, cars, chemical experiment props, etc. that can be moved and changed so that the scenes of "Candy House" can change with the development of the plot, adding drama and visual surprises. In order to give the audience a better experience For an immersive experience, we have set up some interactive mechanical devices in the audience area so that they can not only watch the performance, but also participate in this fantasy world personally," Chang Wei said.
Stage design provided by Chang Wei
Judging from the on-site performance, both children and adults enjoyed watching it, and they exclaimed "wow" from time to time when encountering some fantastic scene changes. Although there were many interactive sessions, the scene was well organized. Director Shi Jingfu said, "At the beginning of the summer vacation, it is very meaningful for the Central Opera House to open its doors through this opera and attract more young people to come to the Central Opera House to enjoy the opera."
text/ Beijing Youth Daily reporter Tian Wanting
editor/Cui Wei
