Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Media are invited to attend and cover special youth performances of the beloved fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, which will be presented to second and third graders from the New Hanover County Schools Thursday and Friday, March 18 and 19, at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Presented by the UNCW Opera Outreach Project, or UNC-WOOP!, the production will be performed at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. March 18 and at 11 a.m. only March 19. Performances are reserved for school groups and are not open to the public. About 3,000 children are expected to attend. UNC-WOOP! also will present Hansel and Gretel to about 1800 students in April 9 performances at Burgaw Elementary in Brunswick County.

A public performance of Hansel and Gretel will be offered at 8 p.m. ,Saturday, March 20, at Kenan Auditorium. Tickets to that public performance are available through the Kenan Auditorium box office, 910.962.3500. Adults $10; children ages 5-17 $5; children under 5 free.

Based on the opera by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck, this updated translation is specifically tailored to young audiences. Folk-inspired music, lively characters, dynamic costumes and opportunities for audience participation engage second and third grade students in the familiar tale of two children lost in a forest. These same elements will provide excellent visual ops for photo and video coverage.

The UNCW Opera Outreach Project promotes opera through live performances, community engagement and educational outreach. The ensemble is directed by Nancy King, coordinator of vocal performance in UNCW’s Department of Music, and is comprised of university students, alumni and special guest artists.

This program is an ARTworks initiative, presented by the UNCW Arts in Education Alliance, a partnership of the UNCW Office of Cultural Arts, UNCW Watson School of Education and the Watson School Professional Development System (PDS).

MEDIA: Please contact Courtney Reilly with the UNCW Office of Cultural Arts IN ADVANCE if you plan to attend and cover one of the performances at Kenan Auditorium. She is available by cell at 910.200.1193.