"It was funny 'cause the girl pushed the witch into the oven and I thought that was really funny" - Beth, age 5

"They ate a gingerbread man and went to pick some strawberries." - Austin, age 5

"The singing was good and the witch was scary" - Syd, age 5

"We had this brilliant play without any speaking, but they sang the story.  It was really good. I liked the bit when the witch came on because she really was funny. When she did her spells it made Hansel & Gretel look funny & wonky." - Martha, age 5

"I liked it when they were singing in the woods and when they ate all the gingerbread and the dancing!!"

Eloise, age 6

"It was awesome because they made you think at the end that the witch was an enormous gingerbread man, and they danced through the trees with the gingerbread man.  It was funny and they sang all the time, they didn't speak much, that's why it's opera"

Megan, age 6

"Pretend crying made me feel sad, witch was scary but would like to watch it again."

Alfie, age 5

"The best part was when they ate the house.  I liked the singing too."

 Louis, age 5

"It was exciting having real opera in our school. I liked the story and the witch - it made me laugh. I would like to do it again!"

 Leo, age 6

Going to school

Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel: An introduction to Opera

"Instead of talking, you sing!" - Lucy, age 7

Would your pupils enjoy joining in by singing and/or being clog dancers, angels and gingerbread men?

Are you keen to introduce them to live opera but prefer not to take them off site?

Tessitoura will bring a fully staged production of traditional folk tale Hansel and Gretel to your school, featuring professional young singers and a live pianist, helping your pupils explore first-hand what it is like to put on an opera.

This accessible, interactive performance of Hansel and Gretel lasts one hour and will be sung in English. Tessitoura can also provide accompanying movement and music workshops before the opera.

"We had this brilliant play without any speaking, but they sang the story.  It was really good. I liked the bit when the witch came on because she really was funny. When she did her spells it made Hansel & Gretel look funny & wonky."

Martha, age 5

Resources and workshops

Tailored to the needs of your school, Tessitoura will provide a pre-event pack with information and resources to use in the classroom, make a pre-event visit and encourage pupils to take part in a movement workshop (Yrs 1-2) and / or music workshop (Yrs 3-6) before the performance.

"The pitch and length of the performance was just right for infant age children and it certainly held their attention. The opera fitted in with the work the children were doing on traditional tales and provided an opportunity for the children to experience a live musical performance."

Mrs Long, Headteacher, Bromley Heath Infant School

Find out more

You can download our pre-event pack here.

Listen in to one of our rehearsals:

For more information please send an email to our schools programme manager Katharine Billington: school@tessitoura.co.uk.

The Witch

Hansel and Gretel