Cast of “Hansel and Gretel” has old friends and a big surprise
Angela Mortellaro
Weston Hurt
Rachel Hauge
Heather Johnson
Robert Brubaker
Maria Zifchak
Emily MurdockPORTopera’s 2010 mainstage production reintroduces us to mezzo-soprano Heather Johnson, who was one of our Young Artists in 2001 and since carved out a nice career for herself at New York City Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and elsewhere. She will sing the role of Hansel. Gretel will be sung by Angela Mortellaro. Heather and Angela recently performed these roles together at Sarasota Opera. But the real surprise is the role of the Witch, which will be sung by one of PORTopera’s early stars who has made a career of singing unusual roles.
He is Robert Brubaker, a tenor, who long-time PORTopera patrons will remember as Lt. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in our second season and Cavaridossi in Tosca in our third. Robert has sung most of the great tenor roles, but has made something of a specialty of singing unusual ones. He made a huge hit at the Metropolitan Opera last year singing the role of Mime, the evil dwarf in Wagner's Siegfried, and he is scheduled to sing Chairman Mao in John Adams' Nixon in China next year at the Met. As a male witch, he follows in the footsteps of the late Philip Landridge who sang the role in the most recent Met production.
The opera's cast includes by Baritone Weston Hurt in the role of Peter, the Father. Mr. Hurt has appeared at New York City Opera, Seattle Opera and Dallas Opera. Mezzo-soprano Maria Zifchak will sing Gertrude, the Mother. Ms. Zifchak sings regularly at the Metropolitan Opera, Dallas Opera and Cincinatti Opera. The cast is filled out with mezzo-soprano Rachel Hauge as The Sandman and Emily Murdock as The Dew Fairy. Both Ms. Hauge and Ms. Murdock are performing in PORTopera’s Young Artist Program this summer.
