'The Lion, the Unicorn and Me' and the quest for the childlike in children's opera

When I was a child, I scorned children's operas. I looked down on people who went to them. I had attended a few operas, and I felt I was ready for the big stuff. I therefore disdained Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel," and listened earnestly to my Callas recording of "The Barber of Seville." I didn't realize for years and years that of the two, "Hansel and Gretel" is far more musically sophisticated.