OPERA San Antonio Announces Historic Collaboration for Hansel and Gretel

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (August 31, 2023): Today OPERA San Antonio is pleased to announce that Hansel and Gretel will be presented this fall in collaboration with Classical Music Institute (CMI), Children’s Chorus of San Antonio (CCSA), Youth Orchestras of San Antonio (YOSA), and Ballet San Antonio (BSA). For the first time in the Tobin Center’s history all of the Resident Companies are united and performing together.

CMI will be the orchestra under the direction of OSA’s Music Director, Francesco Milioto; twelve young singers from CCSA will appear as the chorus; six dancers from BSA will be featured; and up to five student musicians from YOSA will take part in a professional orchestral experience alongside CMI musicians.

"We are filled with excitement as we unite with our fellow Resident Companies for a remarkable and historic collaboration on this production," said E. Loren Meeker, the Tobin Endowment General & Artistic Director of OPERA San Antonio. In the previous season, OSA worked with two Resident Companies of the Tobin Center, Classical Music Institute and Ballet San Antonio, for Romeo and Juliet. The show forged a new bond between OSA, CMI, and BSA resulting in palpable excitement from the audience. The success of Romeo and Juliet encouraged OSA to build upon that experience. "Opera is an inherently collaborative art form which places OSA in the unique position of continually looking for ways to bring not only companies, but communities together. The decision to invite all five Resident Companies to perform in Hansel & Gretel will elevate the audience experience along with the impact we can make by working together to create an accessible, family-friendly, and magical production.”

Each company, along with the Tobin Center, is thrilled for this landmark achievement.

About Hansel and Gretel

Composer & Librettist: Engelbert Humperdinck

Thursday, October 5th at 7:00 PM & Saturday, October 7th at 7:30 PM

H-E-B Performance Hall

Tobin Center for the Performing Arts

Two siblings get lost in the woods and stumble upon a candy house where they almost bite off more than they can chew. You'll be rooting for Hansel and Gretel every step of the way as this whimsical masterpiece by Engelbert Humperdinck surrounds you with lush, fairy tale-like music. The show will be performed in English with English translations.

The Tobin Endowment General & Artistic Director E. Loren Meeker is the Production Director for Hansel and Gretel. The opera features Meechot Marrero as Gretel and Emily Fons as Hansel. Supporting cast includes Katharine Goeldner as the Witch, Deborah Nansteel as the Mother, and Levi Hernandez as the Father. OSA is proud to feature two local artists in the supporting cast who have previously been part of OSA’s Summer Apprentice Artist Program, Bronwyn White as the Sandman and Michelle Ravitsky as the Dew Fairy. 

Marrero, Fons, and Nansteel will be reprising the respective roles they’ve performed all over the country, most recently with the New Orleans Opera in the fall of 2022, which Meeker also directed.

In an effort to make the production more accessible, OPERA San Antonio will open the Final Dress Rehearsal Performance to over 1,000 students and teachers, many of whom will experience an opera for the first time. Thanks to continued support from the Ewing Halsell Foundation, and in partnership with the Tobin Heroes and Tobin Teachers programs, OSA is also able to offer 500 sponsored tickets to students, teachers, and veterans to each of the two performances.

One hour prior to each performance, audience members are encouraged to attend a free lecture that is open to all ticket holders. These lectures, held in the Tobin Center’s Feik Rotunda, are designed to be educational for opera-goers of all ages and are offered to help the audience gain a better understanding of the production they are about to experience.

OSA will also bring Hansel and Gretel into the community. OSA will continue to collaborate with the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico - San Antonio (UNAM) to present a two day, Spanish language workshop lead by guest lecturer Gerardo Kleinburg. San Antonians of all ages can also join us for a magical immersive experience as we explore the story of Hansel & Gretel in partnership with San Antonio Public Library on September 30 from 11am-1pm at the Central Library.

Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased online at tobincenter.org, via phone at 210-223-8624 or in person at The Tobin Center Box Office, located at 100 Auditorium Circle. Box Office hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.