I don’t usually talk much about favourites but if I were to compile a list of my top 100 favourite operas, German composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel would be somewhere in the broad mix. The effervescent melodies and folk tunes, evocative musical landscapes and darker interjections that characterise Humperdinck’s three-act work, loosely based on the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale, tell the story with immeasurable appeal. It premiered in Weimar on December 23, 1893, under the baton of Richard Strauss no less, and was an instant success. Often staged in the holiday seasons at Christmas time, it remains one of the great joys of opera.

Even without a cottage in the woods and a witch’s mouth-watering gingerbread house, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra took to the stage on Thursday night as a formidable musical force, engaging the imagination with vivid storytelling. Under the direction of outgoing Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis, they were the stars of the night.

From its opening, with the plaintive brass notes that give way to warm strings resonating like wind in the trees, the overture moved forward with inspired handling. It signalled what was to come as Davis emphasised the romantic score’s emotionalism while taking great care not to overegg...