Diary of a Madwoman

Metalhead mezzo Jennifer Roderer on the primal savagery of Hansel and Gretel.

by David Shengold

If you ask dramatic mezzo Jennifer Roderer, opera and heavy metal are blood brothers. If you've every seen Ozzy take stage in a swirl of smoke to the tune of "O Fortuna," you know what she's talking about. This month Valley Girl Roderer makes her local debut with the Opera Company of Philadelphia in the legendary Maurice Sendak-designed production of Hansel and Gretel. It's not quite "Crazy Train," but this wonderful opera — the masterpiece by the original Engelbert Humperdinck (Richard Wagner's prize student, not the '60s crooner) — is musically gorgeous and enough fun to hook adults and kids alike. Plus Roderer plays a witch who eats children, and that is so metal.

City Paper: What's all this about you being a metalhead?

Jennifer Roderer: When I was 12, my parents got me a stereo and Ozzy Osbourne's first solo album; I don't think they had any idea what they were buying. That started my love of heavy metal. I'm the youngest of five, so there was always rock music blaring in the house. One brother was lead singer in a very glam rock band, which another managed. Their musical tastes were pretty much godlike: Led Zepplin, Aerosmith, Rush, Van Halen. I found the more intense metal bands on my own later. When I started taking voice lessons, my parents bought me recordings by singers like Beverly Sills and Leontyne Price — they asked the guy at the record store, his choices were great and I began my journey.

CP: What do opera and metal have in common?

JR: So much. There's a great 2005 documentary called Metal: A Headbanger's Journey addressing this — especially the similarities between heavy metal and Wagner's music, which has large orchestration, percussion, darkness, moodiness and dissonance. Because Humperdinck knew and was heavily influenced by Wagner, Hansel and Gretel contains some nice, headbanging sections, especially the "Witch's Ride." Also, the "heroic" singing required to soar over such mighty operatic orchestrations is similar to classic heavy-metal vocal stylings. Rob Halford of Judas Priest coulda been a Wagnerian contender. It's also just the intensity and darkness of the music that can be "metallic." Besides Wagner, there's Richard Strauss' Elektra and Salome, Hindemith's Sancta Susanna — just a few examples of operas that rock. I don't have a "rock 'n' roll" voice or a "jazz" sound, so I'm not going to sing crossover — it's not fair to the music or the listener. But if a piece calls for my kind of vocal sound and my particular stage assets, then I'm game, whether it's opera, musical theater or avant-garde circus cabaret in leather.

CP: What should audiences expect from Hansel and Gretel?

JR: First of all, great music. It has everything — sweetness, scariness, gorgeous melodies, rich harmonies and orchestration — and in this production, great voices and acting. You'll laugh and remember what it's like to be a silly little kid. You'll relate to the desperate, overworked parents. The plight of the children when they're so vulnerably lost in the forest is extremely moving. Gleefully anticipating the demise of the witch is totally primal and savage. It's a hopeful story that doesn't skimp on reality. Don't let the title fool you. It is not a "kiddie opera" — no matter what anyone tells you. It is a dark, intense representation of an ancient tale that was used not only to scare children, but to express primal feelings of terror, hunger, familial rage and hope. It addresses poverty, physical and substance abuse, and fear of the dark and paranormal.

(d_shengold@citypaper.net)

Hansel and Gretel Nov. 14-25, Opera Company of Philadelphia at the Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., $7-$205, 215-893-1018, www.operaphilly.com.