Past Production Reviews
2Every theater deserves respect if it takes a work that is so often underestimated and neglected like Engelbert Humperdinck's fairytale opera Hansel and Gretel seriously and still approaches it imaginatively and with a light hand. The conductor of the Hagen new production, Rodrigo Tomillo, deserves a lot of praise. He stylistically captures both the songfulness and the Wagner-like opulence of the brilliantly instrumented score and avoids any naive reduction and pathetic exaggeration with fresh verve. But the Hagen production can also score scenically. Not an easy task, as every director is faced with the task of having to bring a thematically extremely complex play to the stage in a way that is appropriate to the work and balanced. […] Although director Holger Potocki does not place the religious aspect, which has been overtaken by the zeitgeist, at the center of his production in Hagen, he does hint at it when the motto adorns a puzzle that little Gretel is working on in her modern living room next to an empty refrigerator passes the time and lets herself be carried away to a better world. For linking the real situation of one in precarious circumstances, Potocki uses Hans-Joachim Köster's video skills in a way that is so skilful and dramaturgically stringent in a way that has rarely been seen before, even in technically more complex productions. [...] The production can also be heard vocally. Angela Davis as the mother, Hanna Larissa Naujoks as Hansel and Penny Sofroniadou as Gretel set particularly strong accents. An all-round successful new production of the popular piece for young and old. The audience's applause is correspondingly enthusiastic.
In Hagen, director Holger Potocki, in collaboration with Hans-Joachim Köster, is responsible for light and video, much more consistently [in the implementation of his concept]. All orchestral interludes are illustrated with video sequences, so that the idea runs through the entire piece, and these interludes are very impressive in terms of both aesthetics and content. Kept in black and white, they become increasingly surreal. […] In addition, the film interludes are cut precisely to the music, which also means that the conducting has to match the picture change exactly. Rodrigo Tomillo, the first Kapellmeister at the house, succeeds very well, he chooses brisk tempos and hits the tone between Singspiel and grand opera very well, with echoes of Wagner, but with great ease and some wit. […] The Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra does it excellently. [...] It is well known that children need fairy tales, and Holger Potocki and Hans-Joachim Köster show this conclusively in the interlacing of everyday images and dream worlds. […] The sophisticated production offers a great deal for viewers of all ages. Also conducted great
