WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Richard Jones’s family-friendly production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” comes to the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute on Wednesday, December 28, at 2 pm, live in HD from the Metropolitan Opera. This wickedly funny English-language program will run two hours and 25 minutes, including intermission. The Clark will serve complimentary cocoa and cookies at intermission. Tickets are $12.50 or $10 for members and students and may be ordered online or by calling (413) 458-0638. The box office will also be open one hour before the performance, and the doors will open at 1:30 pm.

In Humperdinck’s interpretation of the classic Grimm’s fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel get lost in the woods while picking strawberries and are visited by the Sandman, who lulls them to sleep. They spend the night in the forest, guarded by angels, only to awaken and stumble into the clutches of Rosina Dainty-mouth, an evil witch who lives in a gingerbread house and plans to gobble them up. Of Richard Jones’s 2009 production, The New York Times raved, “This Hansel and Gretel is serious opera, if by serious we mean a story with depth, world-class performances, and glorious music. A joy for all ages, it would make a fine introduction for any opera neophyte, child or adult.” Aleksandra Kurzak plays Gretel, with Kate Lindsey and Alice Coote alternating as Hansel. Robert Brubaker plays the witch who plots to bake them into gingerbread.

Set amidst 140 acres in the Berkshires, the Clark is one of the few major art museums that also serves as a leading international center for research and scholarship. The Clark presents public and education programs and organizes groundbreaking exhibitions that advance new scholarship. The Clark’s research and academic programs include an international fellowship program and conferences. Together with Williams College, the Clark sponsors one of the nation’s leading master’s programs in art history.

The Clark is located at 225 South Street. The galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm (daily in July and August). Admission is free November through May. For more information call (413) 458-2303 or visit clarkart.edu.