‘Civilisation changes but fairy tales remain the same’. And there are few as familiar as the Grimm brothers’ ‘Hansel and Gretel’. It has all the themes that run through not only fairy tales but through Romantic opera – childhood, the supernatural, nature ( especially the forest) and the triumph of good over evil.

Here, despite its many comedic and magical moments, it was the darker elements that dominated, emphasised by John MacFarlane’s claustrophobic set and bleak absence of colour.

Engelbert Humperdinck 's ‘Hansel and Gretel’ is an interesting creation. The music combines folk elements (it is highly reminiscent of ‘Der Freischutz’ in its depiction of the forest) with much that showed the obvious influence of the composer's mentor, Richard Wagner. This is particularly so in the often glorious orchestral writing and the vocal declamation.

Detractors of opera often point to the fact that the acting is substandard. Not so here. All six roles demand praise. Adrian Thompson’s witch ,with her Norah Batty stockings and imposing girth, exuded comic evil until she(he) was thrust into the oven by the eponymous leads. Hansel (Jurgita Adamonyte) and Gretel (Ailish Tynan) complemented one another perfectly,especially vocally(most movingly in the evening prayer in Act II), and their juvenile depiction was a revelation, as were outsized parents : Miriam Murphy and the impressive baritone of Ashley Holland.