Meet The Trouts: Pete Balkwill in Hansel and Gretel
If you’re been lucky enough to catch any of the imaginative, puppet-based theatre by Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop, then you know puppeteer Pete Balkwill. Co-Artistic Director and founding member, Balkwill joins Calgary Opera’s upcoming Hansel and Gretel (Jan. 31-Feb. 6), the production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s 1892 opera designed and brought to life by The Trouts. If you look closely, you can spot Balkwill as the Kookoo bird, the mysterious Bog Swamp Mouse, and more.
In our exclusive chat, Balkwill offers unique insight on Hansel and Gretel — from his favourite onstage puppet, to the unique beauty of mixing opera and puppetry:
What are your three words to describe The Old Trout Puppet Workshop's Hansel and Gretel puppets?
“Inventive, physical, ubiquitous.”
Who is your favourite puppet character from this show? Why?
“The Sandman. This puppet first presented its possibility in an outdoor sculpture garden that the Old Trouts created at Camp Chief Hector in the Bow Valley Corridor — where the Old Trouts all met back in 1991 working as camp counsellors. Originally it was components of the face — ears, nose, eyes — that were affixed to trees and you had to line yourself up in the forest in just the right way to see the face: the face of the Sandman upon the land.”
Why do opera and puppetry go well together?
“Puppets are remarkable creatures, and we speak of them as living things for a myriad of reasons. One of the more remarkable abilities of puppets is serving epic and magnificent themes, stories of myth and legend, and they bring us as close to humanity as the human vessel can. But in this case the puppet cannot do it alone; it requires the double attention of the puppeteer and the audience.
“In this way, we can see how puppets are the perfect accompaniment to the world of opera. Hansel and Gretel offers all of the qualities that puppets thrive upon: it has grand characters that come from the imagination and live in a dream-like world where danger lurks at every turn.
What are you most excited about for Hansel and Gretel in Calgary?
“The Trouts are most excited to have this show land in Calgary. It has been so many places, and we are glad that our home-folks will get a chance to see it. It builds upon our previous journey with Calgary Opera [— Ghost Opera, 2019] — and we look forward to more kicks at that can.”
Hansel and Gretel runs from Jan. 31-Feb. 6, 2026, at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium. Tickets are available here — and they’re always half-price for under-18!
Images: The Sandman in Hansel and Gretel at Vancouver Opera, designed by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, photo by Tim Matheson; initial design sketches for Hansel and Gretel by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop.