Hansel and Gretel is full of ‘hocus pocus’ the spellbinding Engelbert Humperdinck opera which had its premiere at Garsington last evening is a magical mystery trip, not just by the two main characters, but throughout.

It’s a weave of childhood fantasy, scary ghost-like figures and harmonic complexity so good that you can’t take your eyes off the performers or the beautifully simple yet feature-full modernistically designed scenery with puffs of gingerbread tradition.

And it is spoiling to tell about the way the tale unfolds, but it must be said that the giant book through which the story literally unfolds is magical. The house where Hansel and his sister start out with their songs of unquenched hunger pops up like a child’s book while menacing figures haunt the spindly wood shaking and blowing in ill wind. It’s good. The stars, mezzo soprano Claudia Huckle as Hansel and soprano Anna Devin as Gretel are mesmeric, tossing recriminations and fun at each other which you can follow in English on the digital board above.

Mum comes home to the children, spies they have not done as they were told and is threatening, pushing them away to look for strawberries in the woods; dad makes things worse when he rolls in ‘drunk’ and, told that the children have been sent off, warns of the bad witch waiting . It is the story just as thousands of children know the Grimm tale and for children who love to be scared this would be an absolute treat. A girl seated in front of me aged about ten was enthralled and at the end joined in the chorus of clapping and foot stamping, which went on for a several minutes, with obvious glee.

But back to the action: the opera split as usual into two to allow a leisurely picnic dinner and stroll about the grounds gets under way again with a stark scene of cage, oven and gingerbread house. Finally we get to see her – an extravagantly made up and pastel decorated witch with evil on her mind. She tries to feed an uncooperative Hansel having cajoled the children into false security with her promises of fancy clothes and sweets. Gretel is spellbound, lurching about, but at last managing to trick the witch as she falls headfirst into the woodburning fire, her wretched face raising laughs as it appears behind the oven door in an orange glow. Susan Bickley as the witch is so expressive in her singing and facial expressions that she had a special jeer, panto-like in the final bows.

And the second scene where the witch’s group of captured children sung and played by children from Trinity Boys Choir based in Croydon and girls from the Old palace School Choir also in Croydon is terrific. The children obviously delight in the music and it is not an easy feat to be singing in German which they do with great verve.

Anyone with an interest in music should try and get along to watch this opera which is an enormous treat. And look out for the liqourice allsorts.