VCU Opera Presents Spring Production of 'Hansel & Gretel'

By Tom Gresham

VCU Opera, the longest-running opera program in Virginia, will present “Hansel & Gretel” this weekend in collaboration with the VCU Symphony and the Greater Richmond Children’s Choir.

VCU Opera, which has been in continuous operation for 60 years since it was founded at Richmond Professional Institute, will present performances of “Hansel & Gretel” on April 30 and May 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall of the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, 922 Park Avenue. Tickets may be purchased in advance at http://www.showclix.com/events/1320 or by calling the VCU Music Box Office at (804) 828-6776.

“Hansel & Gretel,” which was first performed in 1893, is a masterpiece of the opera, combining superior music with the compelling elements of fantasy that marked the classic Grimm Brothers fairy tale, including witches, fairies, gingerbread children and a house made of candy.

VCU Opera and the VCU Symphony are part of the Department of Music in the VCU School of the Arts. “Hansel & Gretel” is co-directed by Melanie Kohn Day and Kenneth Wood.