Engelbert Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel(2008)

Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel gets a darkly comedic treatment in this 2008 London performance directed by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser. The staging balances enchantment with menace, infusing the classic German composer's score with black humor that unsettles as much as it delights. Angelika Kirchschlager and Diana Damrau star as the titular siblings, while British baritone Thomas Allen plays their father. Maestro Colin Davis conducts an outstanding production that transforms the familiar children's story into something altogether more sinister and psychologically complex.