The annual Bonneville Chamber Music Festival starts Tuesday and runs through April 19. There will four concerts, all of which take place at 7:30 p.m. in the Allred Theatre in the Val A. Browning Center for the Performing Arts on the Weber State University campus.

Tickets are $8 for general; $6 for seniors and member of the military with ID; and $4 for students with valid ID. They can be purchased by calling 800-978-8457 or by going online to www.weberstatetickets.com.

The brainchild of WSU cellist Viktor Uzur, the Bonneville Chamber Music Festival presents a wide ranging repertoire, from standard favorites to unconventional crossover pieces.

Joining Uzur this year will be a number of renowned chamber musicians from around the world, many of whom have played at the festival in the past.

Below is a schedule of concerts along with each program and a list of performers.

• April 14 — Opening Night. Performers: Begic/Martinovic Duo; Miran Begic, violin; Bojan Martinovic, piano. Program: Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor; Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir d’un lieu cher op. 42; Pugnani-Kreisler’s Praeludium und Allegro.
• April 16 — Family Night, “Harry Potter Meets Paganini.” Performers: Carmelo de los Santos, violin; Brad Richter, guitar; Marcos Machado, bass; Guigla Katsarava, piano; Viktor Uzur, cello.
• April 18 — “Eclectic Evening.” Performers: Carmelo de los Santos, violin; Brad Richter, guitar; Marcos Machado, bass; Guigla Katsarava, piano; Viktor Uzur, cello; Mikhail Bereznitsky, viola. Program: Beethoven’s Seven Variations on Bei Männern, welche Liebe fühlen; I am the Walrus; Kolo Fugato; Rhapsody in Blue Mashup;  Bottesini’s Grand Quintet for Strings in C minor,
• April 19 — Festival Finale. Performers: WSU Chamber Choir, Mark Henderson, director; Carmelo de los Santos, violin; Guigla Katsarava, piano; Viktor Uzur, cello; Mikhail Bereznitsky, viola. Program: Brahms’ Three German Part-Songs; Ravel’s Three Chansons; de Falla’s Popular Spanish Songs; Fauré’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor.

Coming off last year’s large scale production of Falstaff and after several years of big operatic projects, Robert Breault realized he should give the singers in his Lyric Opera Ensemble at the University of Utah a bit of a breather. “I decided we needed to take a break and not be so ambitious this year,” he told Reichel Recommends.

So this year, the group will be doing Engelbert Humperdinck’s delightful fairy tale opera Hansel and Gretel. There will be two performances in Kingsbury Hall on April 18-19.

From left: Amber Stachitus (Gretel), Olivia Custodio (Witch), Demaree Brown (Hansel); from a recent rehearsal.

Even though it’s always been described as a children’s opera, Hansel and Gretel is anything but easy to do. It’s still a fairly large undertaking. “Besides the singers, you have a children’s choir and dancers. There’s a lot of work involved in staging Hansel.”

Nor is the score a breeze to play. Humperdinck was a devoted follower of Richard Wagner, and the music is rich in late romantic harmonies. “It’s so Wagnerian and so beautifully orchestrated,” Breault said. (Incidentally, it was Richard Strauss who conducted the premiere in Weimar in 1893.)

One of the reasons Breault wanted to do Hansel was to reach out to young people. “Students under 18 can attend for free. We want them to see what real opera is like, and hopefully parents will come along.”

To make it more appealing to a younger audience, the opera will be sung in English.

Without giving too much away, Breault said the staging will be imaginative. “For example, we’re going to bring the witch in through the audience and have her hand out candy.”

Breault is co-directing the production with Michael Scarola, who has been coming to the U. for several years. “Michael is actually doing the lion’s share of the work and I’m just tweaking,” Breault said. “It’s been a great collaboration.”

The biggest challenge in Breault’s opinion is keeping the children interested in what’s going on onstage. “We have to get their attention, or they’ll just check out,” he said. But he feels this production is going to keep everyone’s interest. “We’re trying to create magic,” with the staging, lighting and other elements.

Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Humperdinck’s opera, with a libretto by his sister Adelheid Wette, tones down the darker, more gruesome aspects of the original story and makes it more accessible and not as frightening for younger audience members. “I think we would get a PG rating,” Breault said.

From left: Gretchen Windt (Hansel) and Shana Osterloh (Gretel).

The opera will be double cast. Among the singers are baritone Tyler Oliphant and mezzo-soprano Gretchen Windt. “Tyler is working on his doctorate. Gretchen has been a Utah Opera young artist, and has sung several roles for us and elsewhere,”  Breault said. Recently she sang the role of Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro for Opera Idaho.

Some of the other singers in principal roles include Shana Osterloh, Demaree Brown, Erin McOmber and Amber Stachitus.

“This is a golden age for us,” Breault said. “We have some big voices who are doctoral students right now.”

Also taking part are the International Children’s Choir and member of the Utah Philharmonia. Conducting will be Robert Baldwin.

The costumes and sets have been rented from Utah Opera, and member of the company’s artistic staff are helping out. “I’m so grateful for this collaboration with Utah Opera,” Breault said. “It means a lot to us.”

Gretchen Windt and members of the International Children's Choir; from a recent rehearsal.

• PERFORMANCE DETAILS
• What: Utah Lyric Opera Ensemble, Hansel and Gretel
• Venue: Kingsbury Hall
• Time and Date: 7:30 p.m. April 18-19
• Tickets: $20 general, $10 non-U. students/U. faculty and staff, free for U. students and children under 18
• Phone: 801-581-7100
• Web: www.kingtix.com