Utah Opera's Hansel and Gretel

Last night I went to see Utah Opera's production of Hansel and Gretel because it is an opera that I had never seen before.  Everything about this production is extremely well done but it just wasn't for me.  Hansel (Sarah Coit) and Gretel (Maureen McKay) are left alone in their cottage in the woods to make brooms and darn socks, respectively, but Hansel complains that he is hungry and there is nothing to eat so Gretel distracts him by getting him to dance with her.  Mother (Aubrey Adams-McMillan) comes home and is angry that they have not completed their work and, when she attempts to spank them, she breaks the jug containing the cream she was going to use to make rice pudding for their dinner.  She sends them out into the woods to gather strawberries as punishment and then despairs that she cannot feed her children.  Father (Gabriel Preisser) returns with a feast because he was able to sell his brooms to the wealthy who are cleaning for an upcoming festival.  They celebrate but Father becomes worried when he hears that the children are in the woods and tells Mother about the evil witch who turns children into gingerbread and then eats them.  After Hansel and Gretel encounter woodland creatures, they begin picking strawberries but, when they eat all of them, they realize that they can't go home without picking more but it gets dark and they get lost.  The Sandman (Sarah Scofield) visits them to help them go to sleep and, after saying a prayer, fourteen angels gather to protect them through the night.  In the morning a Dew Fairy (Stephanie Chee) wakes them up and they soon find a large house made of gingerbread.  Hansel is so hungry he begins nibbling on it and is caught by a witch (Freddie Ballentine).  She tries to lure them into her oven but they trick her and push her inside, instead.  They also rescue all of the gingerbread children who were trapped by the witch and bring them back to life before being reunited with their Mother and Father.  Coit and McKay have amazing voices, especially in the incredibly beautiful "Evening Benediction" before Hansel and Gretel go to sleep in the woods (it gave me goosebumps), and I really enjoyed their physical performances during the folk dances in Act 1 and when the witch controls their movements in Act 3.  Ballentine steals the show with his over the top comedic performance (but I would really love to see him in a dramatic role because I loved his voice) and the children (the dancers from Children's Ballet Theatre who portray the woodland animals and the angels and the Choristers of The Madeleine Choir School who portray the gingerbread children) are wonderful.  The sets and costumes are magical and the special effects are a lot of fun, particularly the broom that chases the witch across the stage.  The score by Engelbert Humperdinck, which incorporates folk music into its themes, is lovely.  However, with the exception of "Evening Benediction," I didn't find any of the songs particularly memorable and the story feels like a simple fairy tale that has been extended and embellished to make a full-length opera and it really drags in some places (I kept waiting for the witch to appear).  To be fair, I definitely prefer tragic operas to comedic ones so others may appreciate this more than I did.  It runs through January 26 and tickets may be purchased here.