Hansel and Gretel

We are excited to give teachers and students a glimpse into the story, music and images of Lyric’s 2023 production of Hansel and Gretel. The presentation below serves to prepare classes for the performance experience. It can be used as a quick reference or a longer study guide with prompts for deeper consideration both before and after coming to the theater.

Overview

This slide deck contains:

• A list of characters
• A summary of the story
• Literary themes and prompts
• Listening examples and prompts
• About the writers
• Additional prompts

You may also elect to use the “speaker notes,” which contain additional information. Simply click on the three dots next to the slide number to gain access to them.

Prompts

Prompts are included as questions throughout the slide deck. They are designed to be flexible for your classroom needs, but here are some ways you might use them:

• Small group discussions
• Think-Pair-Share
• Writing exercises
• Quick ways to break up a lecture-style class, calling on 1 or 2 students to answer questions

Assessment

Using the prompts allows for a variety of ways to assess student learning and engagement. Here are some ways to do this:

• Informal, verbal responses to quickly assess comprehension and interest
• Written or presented responses for more formal, graded assessment

Header photo: Elizabeth DeShong as Hansel (left), Jill Grove as the Witch (center), and Maria Kanyova as Gretel (right) in Lyric's 2012/13 production of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel.
Credit: Dan Rest

All other photos: Dan Rest, Kyle Flubacker, and Darris Lee Harris

Listening examples are generously provided by EMI label -- von Otter, Bonney, Lipovšek, cond. Tate