The word 'ravishing' comes to mind when listening to Sir Charles Mackerras' new recording of Hansel and Gretel. The sound he conjures up from the Philharmonia Orchestra during the overture is glowing, while the immaculate sound of the strings in the Pantomime at the end of the second act is nothing short of entrancing. Together with a cast of consistently excellent singers performing in David Pountney's English translation, Mackerras draws out all the darkness of Humperdinck's rendition of the classic fairytale while retaining its sparkle and charm.
Indeed, this duality of innocence and terror is what makes this recording so special - not since Karajan's famous account with Schwarzkopf and Grümmer has the balance between the two been so well captured by a cast on record. Mackerras does not shy from the strident nightmarishness of the brass, percussion and woodwind writing during the scenes with the witch in Act Three, yet the music in the woodland is sensual and the final resolution is simple and joyful. The result is ideal, because there is enough danger about the performance to make the journey worthwhile, but ultimately one feels elated by the triumphant return of the children to safety at the last-act curtain.
In the title roles, Jennifer Larmore and especially Rebecca Evans are ideally cast. Along with Jane Henschel's witch, they starred in a memorable semi-staged Proms performance of the opera a couple of years ago, and the recording benefits from the dramatic focus these three artists bring after their previous outing in the work together.
Stealing the limelight, Evans (who we recently interviewed and who excelled in Covent Garden's revival of Cosi fan tutte) is staggering as Gretel. There is a sensuousness about her voice that gives this music a magical gloss, especially where the score requires a smooth, floating quality. The freshness and purity of her voice aid her characterisation of the child Gretel, while it luxuriates in the sumptuous, post-Wagnerian orchestrations, and she depicts the dread of the forest with unusual clarity.
Larmore and Henschel are almost her equal. Larmore is a very boyish Hansel, and excels particularly in the gorgeous duets with Evans in the second and third acts. Henschel is a sinister witch indeed, uncommonly feasible as an evildoer in disguise thanks to the coaxing expression in her voice when addressing the children. It's a gem of a portrayal that marks a highpoint in this underrated artist's career.
As the parents, Robert Hayward and Rosalind Plowright are also very vivid, Plowright especially communicating the family's desperation in poverty. They transform the two characters from mere ciphers to two rather complex psychological portraits. Praise is due to Sarah Tynan's sweet-voiced Dew Fairy, which could not be more lovely, and Diana Montague is typically revelatory as the Sandman.
At times, some of the voices are captured a little too close on the recording, revealing a little strain on occasion. But the performances are so persuasive, and Mackerras is so authoritative in this music, that it scarcely matters.