Last Saturday’s matinee performance of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel by the Cleveland Institute of Music Opera Theater at Kulas Hall sparkled. An excellent cast, David Bamberger’s fine direction and blocking, David Brooks’ beautiful sets and effective scene changes, Harry Davidson’s expeditious control of the full orchestra and balance with the singers, and Inda Blatch-Geib’s imaginative costumes, all combined to create a beautifully flowing production whose energy never flagged.
Though filicide is one of the more distasteful varieties of murder, the story of Medea, who slew her children in revenge for the deceit of her husband Jason, has attracted the attention of numerous playwrights, authors, filmmakers, and composers since ancient times. Luigi Cherubini’s opera on the subject, regarded as his masterpiece, received a strong and confident production by the Cleveland Institute of Music Opera Theater in Kulas Hall on Friday, November 10. [Read more…]