When Colin Judson’s youngest son saw a production of Hansel And Gretel at The Metropolitan Opera it led to his first nightmare.

“He woke up terrified the witch was going to eat him,” giggles Judson.

So what will he think when he sees his father playing the witch at Glyndebourne, with his old man dressed in a prosthetic body suit and knock-off Dior twinset with matching pink wig?

“Well, strangely enough, I seem to dress up like a woman a lot,” Judson explains.

“My son came to see the Falstaff I was in at Glyndebourne earlier in the season and in the car on the way back I said, ‘Son, it is not just about the dress’. He said, ‘Yes it is’.”

Judson junior seems like a straight-talker. His dad is the same.

“During the same season I was offered two roles, one with Opera North and one with Glyndebourne, both wearing dresses.

“It’s just the way it happened. I’m not a part-time lady boy. I’m purely an opera singer.”

By the end of this revival of Glyndebourne’s 2008 Festival production, directed by Laurent Pelly, Judson will be in a lab coat and skirt, carrying knives.

“She is a fantastic character to play; she’s is incredibly evil and cooks children for kicks.

“When she sings it is beautiful in evil way. It’s quite seductive because to start with they are unaware she is an evil witch and she’s trying to woo them… ‘Come into my kitchen, look into the oven…’ “By the end she just wants to chuck them in there.”

Hansel And Gretel is the among best known of the German Grimm Brothers’ fairytales.

They are (as we have seen) literally the stuff of nightmares but, as with this production, there is often a lighter finish.

“The Germans have some terrifying folk tales, kids whose hands fall off if they steal.

“In this one there’s a comic edge. And it’s not like evil wins, the baddy gets done in.”

Hansel And Gretel can be interpreted in many ways.

For Glyndebourne Tour, the action has been moved forward to the 21st century, with Judson’s witch running a supermarket stocking Moams and Tunnock’s tea cakes.

The two impoverished children, living in a cardboard box and driven by hunger, are tempted by the gooey treats.

German composer Engelbert Humperdinck wrote the opera, which Judson believes is a perfect introduction to the medium for children.

“It’s beautiful music, very approachable, not difficult to listen to at all. It’s very lilting and almost like operetta.”

  • Glyndebourne Tour returns from November 24-30 with Encore Week, a special week of events and performances. Find out more in a future edition of The Guide or go to www.glyndebourne.com