A 28 piece orchestra including harp and lots of percussion is tuning up. Yes, we’re in the lush world of 19th century opera of which Englebert Humperdinck’s rich and melodious score is a fine example.

The opening of the overture to Hansel and Gretel, however, s not usually comic with chuckles coming from all corners of the audience. Opera Holland Park is open at the sides and very close to the paths through the park. On this occasion no sooner than had the horns and trombones begun their familiar entry bars than a dog began barking loudly nearby. Either he wanted to join in or he hated the sound and was trying to raise the alarm. It would have ceased to be a joke and become an irritant had it lasted long. Fortunately it didn’t. During the rest of the overture director Neil Irish gives us the cast in a sort of dance drama which neatly reflects the mood changes in the music.

It’s a piece with a lot of charm and this production reflects that in spades. Charlotte Badham as Hansel and Laura Lolita Peresivana as Gretel work seamlessly together with child like gestures and affection. Their duet work is a delight and, although I grew up with the Kathleen Ferrier and Isabel Bailey version against which I can’t help measuring all others, I must say these two sing the famous prayer with real delicacy and beauty.

The musical balance in this production is splendid. When the children hear the cuckoo in the wood it comes initially from one of the percussionists. It is then picked up by the singers. Gradually it develops through the orchestra until the whole texture is full of descending major thirds or variations of them and conductor Karin Hendrickson makes sure that we hear every detail and really notice what is happening.

Paul Carey Jones brings bass gravitas to Peter, the children’s father and Meeta Ravel is warm voiced as their mother. In this version of the story they are, of course, not cruel parents who abandon their children. Eleanor Dennis does well as the witch too although I’m puzzled about why she sheds her glitzy frock to reveal a quasi military outfit with epaulettes and medals.

Opera Holland Park is configured, as last year, with a narrow, sloped stage extension in front of the orchestra so that the musicians are in the centre of the action. And Hansel and Gretel sits well on it. When the children fall asleep in the wood and sing the prayer, for example, they are right at the front a few feet from the audience. The cottage which reverses to become the witch’s gingerbread house is at the back. It’s an imaginative and effective use of the space.

Susan Elkin