Hansel and Gretel at the Opera

Discover the rich world of opera through Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel!

Immerse yourself in the world of the voice: make vocalisations, explore the registers and find your own. Even learn a tune and choreography to sing and dance like Hansel and Gretel. As you demystify the wonderful job of a lyric singer, you’ll see that opera is not rocket science!

• Running time (prerecorded videos): Four workshop segments of 8-10 minutes each
• Two versions offered (sold separately): ages 4-6 (Kindergarten and grade 1) OR ages 7-12 (grades 2-6)
• Available in English or French

Associated virtual concert: Opera Candy: The Gourmet Adventure of Hansel and Gretel

Workshop segments

Concept: Aurélie Négrier
Original idea: Myriam Laroche
Host/Workshop Leader/Teaching Artist: Gabriela Iznardo (English) / Aurélie Négrier (French)
Musican Contributors : Cécile Muhire, Charlotte Gagnon, Guillaume Rodrigue, Carl Matthieu Neher

What is Opera?

In this first segment, we discover that opera is a mixture of theater, music and voice. We explore the Brothers Grimm’ story of Hansel and Gretel. We also look at the opera Hansel and Gretel and its music by composer Humperdinck. In this segment, you will meet Carl Mathieu Neher, a professional pianist who encourages us to experience the emotions conveyed by music.

Opera Voices and Characters

What is the singer’s role in the opera? The human voice is a musical instrument not quite like the others as when we sing, our whole body becomes the instrument. Singing with an operatic voice takes a lot of practice! In this segment we meet Charlotte Gagnon who tells us more about the different voice registers and who makes us sing in different languages.

Feelings and Music

In an opera, the singer must be able to play different characters. The singer must also be able to modulate his/her acting according to the emotion that needs to be conveyed. This time, we meet Guillaume Rodrigue, actor and singer, who invites us to play with our voice to elicit different reactions from the audience!

Find Your Voice

The opera singer is like an athlete and needs to be well trained. In this last segment, we vocalize with soprano Cécile Muhire and we sing with all of the artists from Opera-Candy: The Gourmet Adventure of Hansel and Gretel!

Virtual Musical Adventures: concerts and workshops for students and teachers

In collaboration with Jeunesses Musicales Canada, the NAC Orchestra presents a series of fun and engaging music-making activities and pedagogical resources geared towards students aged 4-12, all offered in a virtual format.

Educators can purchase a user license that enables digital access to a pre-recorded concert for up to 30 days, or for a series of pre-recorded workshops for up to 50 days, and the license is valid for an entire school (not just one classroom)!

Concerts can be presented following the associated virtual workshop series, or can be presented independently.