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music · Monday 24 August 2026 · 7:00pm 
Hansel und Gretel at Cork Opera House
At Cork Opera House · Emmet Place, Cork
At Cork Opera House · Emmet Place, Cork
Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel is the opera that generations of families have used as their first visit to an opera house, and this Cork Opera House production on 24 August 2026 is a fine opportunity to see why. It forms part of the venue’s 170th anniversary celebrations. The cast is Irish: mezzo-soprano Niamh O’Sullivan takes the trouser role of Hansel, and Wexford soprano Kelli-Ann Masterson sings Gretel. The Cork Opera House Concert Orchestra is conducted by Elaine Kelly, with direction by Davey Kelleher. The opera is sung in German with English surtitles displayed above the stage. The venue recommends it for children aged 9 and over.
Humperdinck completed the opera in 1893, setting the Brothers Grimm fairy tale to music that draws on German folk song and Wagnerian orchestral weight. The familiar story - two children lost in a forest, a gingerbread house, a witch with a taste for roast boy - carries enough drama and colour to hold a young audience, while the music rewards adult ears. The famous “Evening Benediction” duet in Act 2 is one of those operatic moments that stays with you long after the house lights come up.
This semi-staged production keeps the focus on the singers and the orchestra. Running time is approximately 2 hours including one interval of around 20 minutes, so plan your evening accordingly. Cork Opera House is a well-equipped 1,000-seat venue with good sightlines throughout; sound and acoustics are the result of a major renovation that brought the hall up to modern standard while keeping its mid-century character.
Cork Opera House sits on Emmet Place in the city centre, beside the River Lee and directly behind the Crawford Art Gallery. It is walkable from Cork Kent railway station in about 15 minutes. Bus Eireann services connect the city to most of Munster; Cork city buses stop nearby on St. Patrick’s Street and South Mall. If you are driving, the Grand Parade and Lavitt’s Quay multi-storey car parks are the closest options, both a short walk from the venue. Street parking in the immediate area is very limited on weekend evenings.
Cork city rewards an early arrival - the English Market is a five-minute walk, and the Crawford Art Gallery shares the same square as the opera house and is free to enter. There is more to see in Cork and across Co. Cork.
Heading to Cork Opera House in Cork? Cork has plenty more to see. Read the Cork area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.