Artist profiles Revolutionary Snake Ensemble Odaiko New England Liber UnUsualis Julie Kaufmann Dancin' Trent Arterberry Tony V Janice Allen Airborne Comedians Opera UnMet William Tremblay and Rob Gonsalves Excelsior Artie Barsamian Weepin' Willie Karen Aqua and Jane Gillooly Harriet Casdin-Silver and Kevin Brown Through the Looking Glass Artists Mitch Ryerson Babaloo Angry Salad Leeny Del Seamonds and Gideon Freudmann Program guide Events by category Friday's schedule Saturday's schedule Sunday's schedule More information The basics; tips; highlights Last-minute ideas Return to the main feature Official First Night site Weekly Health | Science (Mon.) Food (Wed.) Calendar (Thu.) At Home (Thu.) Picture This (Fri.) Sunday Automotive Focus Learning Magazine New England Real Estate Travel City Weekly South Weekly West Weekly North Weekly NorthWest Weekly NH Weekly Features Archives Book Reviews Columns Comics Crossword Horoscopes Death Notices Lottery Movie Reviews Music Reviews Obituaries Special Reports Today's stories A-Z TV & Radio Weather Classifieds Autos Classifieds Help Wanted Real Estate Help Contact the Globe Send us feedback Alternative views Low-graphics version Acrobat version (.pdf)

COVER STORY First Night 2000: A sampler Don't step in the oven!     MORE INFORMATION Fri. 8-8:50 p.m., 9:30-10:20 p.m. St. Paul's Cathedral UnMet's "Hansel and Gretel" It's not the Metropolitan Opera, but Opera UnMet has its own charms. For one, instead of putting a full-grown alto and soprano in the roles of Hansel and Gretel in Humperdinck's opera about the brother and sister who find themselves in the clutches of a wicked witch, Opera UnMet has enlisted 11- and 12-year-old brother and sister Anthony and Marta Robartes-Rymer to sing the parts. And the witch? "He's a guy," says Opera UnMet director Marshall Hughes. "A countertenor. And he's a stitch. He'll look the part of a witch, but I told him not to shave." Alan Rias will play that role in the opera, which has been pared down to 45 minutes. Despite its young stars (and its young set designers - 5-year-old Ruby Lou and 8-year-old Kerby Pendergast), this "Hansel and Gretel" is a professional-quality performance, intended for adults. Most of the cast is made up of adults, and a good many of them are pros. "There's so much talent in Boston, and the Lyric Opera doesn't always take advantage of it," says Hughes of the area's best-known opera company. "We have soloists do chorus work alongside nonprofessionals who love to sing." A piano will provide most of the accompaniment, with a recorder and other instruments occasionally pitching in. This is Opera UnMet's third year at First Night; in the past, it has put on "Porgy and Bess" and "The Magic Flute." Another distinction from the traditional opera: The shows are narrated in English. "Hansel and Gretel," in fact, will be sung in English. "We try to have user-friendly opera so novices won't be bored," says Hughes, "but neither will the intellectuals." - Cate McQuaid Previous page | Next page

	© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company	Extending our newspaper services to the web	Return to the home page of The Globe Online