Search - Humperdinck, Douglas, Johnston :: Hansel & Gretel

In a catalog full of all-star recordings of this opera, the main attraction of this 1992 live outing is the language: it's in English, which might be an enticement for those interested in making new recruits to this children's opera that adults secretly love. However, Humperdinck's already tuneful score and candy-coated harmonies gain little from linguistic familiarity, partly because its narrative and characters are so straightforward, and would be so even if sung in Arabic. Judging from some odd static- like noises, the recording has been taken from a high-quality radio broadcast, and it has all the pluses and minuses one would associate with such enterprises: occasionally obtrusive stage noise but a lot of good stage energy from the singers. The cast of unknowns is quite good, though rather generic. In fact, the female singers all sound so similar, you wonder if all roles are performed by the same person. Could this be a surreptitious appearance by the versatile, once-ubiquitous soprano Cheryl Studer? Doubtful, but it's fun to think about. --David Patrick Stearns