Humperdinck : Hänsel und Gretel
19th December 2026, 1pm and 4pm, West Road Concert Hall, Cambridge
Programme: Humperdinck Hänsel und Gretel
Duration: 1300 Matinee 45 minutes, no interval
Cambridge Philharmonic Chorus
Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra
Hansel – Clover Kayne
Gretel – Ellie Neate
Father – Sam Young
Mother/Witch – Lowri Probert
Sandman/Dew Fairy – Esther Mallett
Conductor – Harry Sever
On the weekend before Christmas, we bring you a concert performance of Humperdinck’s festive favourite Hansel and Gretel. For young audiences, we recommend the abridged matinée (45 minutes) – a perfect introduction to this sparkling score and a great Christmas day out for the family. And for the full opera, join us for the complete performance at 4pm.
From the enchanting Evening Prayer to the thrilling Witch’s Ride and the magical Dream Pantomime, this is the perfect operatic fairy tale, and promises to be Cambridge’s poshest panto alternative.
Tickets
Tickets:
4pm full concert : £33.00, £28.00, £22.00 , £15.00
1pm abridged, shorter concert: £20.00, £18.00, £15.00, £12.00
(student concessions for 4pm concert only and free essential companions tickets available)
Pre-bookable programme £2
TicketSource 0333 666 3366
Please note that tickets are purchased on a non-refundable basis. Aside from babies in arms, all children require a ticket for these performances.
Access: The building is fully accessible to wheelchair users, with wheelchair / companion seating ramps and accessible toilet facilities. Click HERE to find out more.
If you require a free carer’s ticket or have additional access requirements, please get in touch tickets@cam-phil.org.uk
Guest Performers
Lowri is a Welsh soprano from the Brecon Beacons. Her recent performances include Nella from Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (Mid Wales Opera) and Second Lady in The Magic Flute by Mozart (West Green House Opera).
Lowri is a recent graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she studied with Janice Chapman and Marie Vassiliou. During her time there, she performed the roles of Mrs Johannes Zegner in Proving Up by Mazzoli, Miss Wingrave in Britten’s Owen Wingrave and the title role in the UK premiere of Respighi’s Lucrezia.
Last April, she made her Barbican Hall debut with the London Schools Symphony Orchestra performing Vier Lieder by Strauss. She also competed in the semi-final of the 2026 Kathleen Ferrier Awards at Wigmore Hall alongside pianist, Alexander Arenare.
Prior to her studies at the Guildhall School, Lowri graduated with First Class Honours from the Royal Northern College of Music where she studied with Jane Irwin.
Alongside performance, Lowri is highly passionate about the power of music in education and outreach work. She holds a PGCE in Secondary Music from Manchester Metropolitan University.
Next season, Lowri will be joining the Merry Opera Company in their touring production of The Barber of Seville by Rossini where she will be playing the role of Berta.
Soprano Esther Mallett is a graduate of The Guildhall School of Music and Drama where her studies were supported by a scholarship and the VEC Acorn Trust. Prior to this she trained with English National Opera on their Opera Works programme. She also holds an undergraduate degree in Music from Oxford University.
In recent seasons she has covered multiple roles for The Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden, including Rene in the world premiere of Mark Anthony Turnage’s Festen, Karolka Jenůfa, Blumenmädchen Parsifal, and 5th Maid Elektra. Other recent operatic roles have included Midinette Il Tabarro and Suor Osmina (cover) Suor Angelica as part of Scottish Opera’s critically acclaimed 2023 production of Il Trittico; Giannetta L’elisir d’amore with CHROMA; Barbarina Le Nozze di Figaro (Grimeborn Festival); Coridon Acis and Galatea and First Witch Dido and Aeneas (Vache Baroque Festival); and First Bridesmaid Le Nozze di Figaro, Georgette La Rondine and Johanna (cover) Sweeney Todd, all for West Green House Opera.
Recent concert engagements have included Bach B Minor Mass, Cantata No. 51 and Magnificat, Brahms Requiem, Britten Les Illuminations, Dvořák Stabat Mater, Handel Messiah, Haydn The Creation, Mozart Exsultate Jubilate and Mass in C Minor, Poulenc Gloria, and Strauss Vier Letzte Lieder. She also participated in in a filmed recording of Handel Dixit Dominus with The English Concert and Harry Bicket, and appeared in Season 4 of the acclaimed Netflix series The Crown.
Passionate about community music-making, Esther has also worked extensively with ENO Opera Squad, taking high quality opera into schools. For more information please see www.esthermallett.com
Ellie Neate trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama opera course. She recently performed Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Wild Arts, directed (in her directorial debut) by Danielle de Niese. Ellie’s other operatic roles include First Daughter Akhnaten, Celia Iolanthe, cover Mabel The Pirates of Penzance, cover Elsie Maynard The Yeomen of the Guard (ENO), cover Masha Four Sisters at The Royal Ballet and Opera, Papagena The Magic Flute Lite, cover Tytania A Midsummer Night’s Dream, (Opera North), Sylviane The Merry Widow (Scottish Opera and Opera Holland Park), Zerlina Don Giovanni (Teatro Lorenzo da Ponte, Vittorio Veneto), Lisa La sonnambula, Elisa Il re pastore, Cleopatra Marc’Antonio e Cleopatra (Buxton International Festival), Rosmene Imeneo with Julian Perkins and the Cambridge Handel Opera Company, Galatea Acis and Galatea, Zerlina Don Giovanni, Milica Svadba, Maria Bertram Mansfield Park (Waterperry Opera Festival), Cunegonde Candide (Blackheath Halls) and Gretel Hansel and Gretel (British Youth Opera).
In concert she has performed in recital with Florent Mourier (‘Donizetti and Friends’) for Opera Rara, Lisette La Rondine with Opera Rara in Barbican Hall, Tom Adès’ ‘Five Eliot Landscapes’ with Thomas Eeckhout at Oxford Lieder Festival, was broadcast live from the Wigmore Hall for the BBC, new works with Thomas Eeckhout and Iain Burnside at the Ludlow Song Festival, appeared on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune performing Pauline Viardot, Carmina Burana with the London Symphony Chorus at Barbican Hall, for ENO Does Eurovision, and recorded the soundtracks for the Disney+ television series Rivals.
Ellie recently made her studio opera recording debut as Lisette in La Rondine with Opera Rara and The BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Carlo Rizzi, which will be released in October 2026. Upcoming projects include ‘Dinner with Handel’ with Julian Perkins at the London Handel Festival, Mahler 4 and Handel’s Messiah with Wild Arts, Hansel und Gretel with Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra, and covering Zerlina for Opera North.
Ellie’s studies at the Guildhall were generously supported by The Fishmongers’ Company and Help Musicians UK.
getting to west road concert hall
West Road Travel Arrangements
During the development of the Sigwick site there is some disruption to parking arrangements for our audience and performers. Please see the notes below and allow extra time to park should you be traveling by car, or use public transport where possible.
Parking in front of West Road Concert Hall
There is limited parking in front of the concert hall and this is reserved for guest performers. Please do not double park in this area as it is frequented by pedestrians and cyclists as well as drivers, so needs to be accessible and safe.
Cycling – there are bike racks right outside the entrance to the concert hall
Sigwick site parking
The barrier to the Sidgwick Avenue car park will be raised about half an hour before the hall hire begins (from about 5pm). The barrier will remain open until shortly after the concert starts, and will then open automatically for vehicles exiting. This parking is free of charge.
Blue Badge Holders
There are six disabled parking spaces on the Sidgwick Site.
Other parking
The nearest free designated parking location is at Madingley Road Park & Ride, which is approximately a 35 minute walk, or 18 minute journey via the Busway. The Route U bus departs from Eddington Avenue next to the Park & Ride site.
There is limited metered parking on West Road and Sidgwick Avenue, near to the site.
Limited non-metered, on-street parking may be found on Adams Road, Herschel Road and Sylvester Road.
Patrons are reminded that on-street parking is free on West Road and Sidgwick Avenue after 5pm
Pay & display parking on West Road costs £1.40 per 30mins Monday-Sunday from 9am-5pm, max 4hr stay. Please be aware that payment is via cash or app.
The nearest unregulated streets are Herschel, Sylvester and Cranmer Roads, a c.10 minute walk away on the other side of Grange Road. Please note Adams Road currently is closed until June 2026
Public Transport
Busway Route U
The Route U bus departs from Eddintgton Avenue (5 minutes’ walk from Madingley Park & Ride, which has free parking) every 15 – 20 minutes.
Take the bus from Eddington Avenue departing for Addenbrooke’s and alight after 11 stops for the Sidgwick Site, on West Road outside the University Library.
From Cambridge station you can catch the Universal/Route U bus to the University Library stop on West Road approximately 50 metres from the front door.
Here’s a useful site map with bus stops
The Concert Hall is a 10 to 15 minute taxi ride from the main Cambridge railway station.
Park & Ride
Cambridge’s Park & Ride network includes sites at five locations around the city. Please see the Park & Ride website for full details of routes, timetables and prices.
Photo Credits throughout: Bill Hiskett Photography