Hansel and Gretel (Wednesday Theatre)

"Hansel and Gretel" is a 1963 Australian TV adaptation of the opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck.[2]

"Hansel and Gretel"
Wednesday Theatre episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 52
Directed byPeter Page
Based onHansel and Gretel
by Engelbert Humperdinck
Original air date13 October 1963 (1963-10-13)
Running time60 mins[1]

It screened as an episode of Wednesday Theatre in 1966.[3] It aired on 13 October 1963 in Sydney,[4] and on 20 October 1963 in Melbourne.[5]

Cast
  • Brian Gilbert as Hansel (to the voice of Marilyn Richardson)
  • Jacki Weaver as Gretel (to the voice of Janet Rutledge)
  • Justine Rettick as the Witch
  • Nita Maughan as the mother
  • Russell Smith as the father
  • Margaret Moray as the dew fairy (sung by Chesne Ryman)
  • Ngaire Thomson as the Sandman (sung by Diane Holmes)

Production

It was an early role for Jacki Weaver who played Gretel and was aged 16; she had just appeared as Cinderella in a pantomime at Philip Street. Brian Gilbert, who played Hansel, was 13. The show was recorded during the visit to Australia of Australian conductor Charles Mackerras. He conducted the Sydney Symphony Orchestra while the opera was videotaped.[1]

It was taped in September.[6]

Reception

Sydney Morning Herald commented on the limitations of the sets but nevertheless called it "an extremely agreeable 90 minutes of tuneful make-believe"[7]

References
  1. "Two Teenagers in Opera". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 October 1963. p. 20.
  2. "WEDNESDAY". The Canberra Times. Vol. 41, no. 11, 569. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 26 December 1966. p. 12. Retrieved 23 March 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 26 December 1966. p. 9.
  4. "TV Guide". Sydney Morning Herald. 7 October 1963. p. 21.
  5. "Advertisement". The Age. 19 October 1963. p. 4.
  6. "HANSEL AND GRETEL". The Canberra Times. Vol. 38, no. 10, 665. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 12 October 1963. p. 20. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Opera Review: TV Hansel and Gretel". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 October 1963. p. 5 – via Google News Archive.


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