The well-known Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel becomes an absurd opera in the hands of producer Richard Jones. In a special English-language Met Live In HD presentation, the doomed siblings wander from their home into the dark forest and end up at the Witch’s gingerbread house. With food at its dramatic center, each act of the opera is set in a different kind of kitchen and informed by a different theatrical style.
John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice—artistic collaborations are special relationships with a dynamism that brings out the best in two people. Lesser-known in the mainstream, but just as prolific as the greats, conductor James Levine and singer Plácido Domingo recently surpassed 325 opera performances together. Despite previous skepticism from fans and critics, the New York Times called the Met’s current production of Nabucco “a measure of shared defiance…effortlessly in sync the whole evening, two men with both a foundation of vast experience and the fire of something to prove.” Levine and Domingo appear by virtual broadcast as part of The Met: HD Live series.
Saturday, January 7. $18-24, 12:55pm. The Paramount Theater, 215 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. 979-1333.