Hansel and Gretel (opera) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Hänsel und Gretel
by Engelbert Humperdinck
Scene at the Vienna State Opera, 2015
Librettist	Adelheid Wette
Language	German
Premiere	23 December 1893 (1893-12-23): Hoftheater in Weimar

Set design by Mario Sala in 1902

Hansel and Gretel (German: Hänsel und Gretel) is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a Märchenoper (fairy-tale opera). The libretto was written by Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel". It is much admired for its folk music-inspired themes, one of the most famous being the "Abendsegen" ("Evening Benediction") from act 2.

The idea for the opera was proposed to Humperdinck by his sister, who approached him about writing music for songs that she had written for her children for Christmas based on "Hansel and Gretel". After several revisions, the musical sketches and the songs were turned into a full-scale opera.

Humperdinck composed Hansel and Gretel in Frankfurt in 1891 and 1892. The opera was first performed in the Hoftheater in Weimar on 23 December 1893, conducted by Richard Strauss. It has been associated with Christmas since its earliest performances and today it is still most often performed at Christmas time.

Roles

Strauss in 1894

Recordings

Audio

• 1929: The Manchester (England) Children's Choir with the Hallé Orchestra recorded the "Evening Benediction" from Hansel and Gretel for Columbia Records on 24 June. It was the B-side to "Nymphs and Shepherds" by Henry Purcell which was a very successful record on radio in the UK for over 30 years and was awarded a Gold Disc by EMI in 1989.
• 1947: First complete recording in English by the Metropolitan Opera, starring Risë Stevens and Nadine Conner in the title roles. The album was first issued as a 78-RPM multi-record set by Columbia Masterworks Records and issued on LP a year later. It has never appeared on CD.
• 1953: A recording featuring Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Elisabeth Grümmer, sung in German with Herbert von Karajan conducting, was issued by EMI. It is currently available on CD.
• 1964: André Cluytens and the Vienna Philharmonic, in German on EMI with Irmgard Seefried as Hansel, Anneliese Rothenberger as Gretel, Elisabeth Höngen as the witch, Grace Hoffman as the mother, Walter Berry as the father, Liselotte Maikl as the Sandman/Dew man, and the Vienna Boys' Choir.
• 1971: Kurt Eichhorn and the Munich Radio Orchestra recorded the work for release on Eurodisc; subsequently this recording was more widely released by RCA. Anna Moffo sang Hansel and Helen Donath was Gretel. The cast also included Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Christa Ludwig As the witch.
• 1978: Sir Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic made a studio recording for Decca Records with Lucia Popp as Gretel and Brigitte Fassbaender as Hansel. This recording also featured Walter Berry as the Father and the Vienna Boys' Choir as the gingerbread children.
• 1979: John Pritchard conducted the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne for CBS Masterworks. The studio recording received mixed reviews in Gramophone and Stereo Review, mainly regarding the conducting; the cast of Frederica von Stade (Hänsel), Ileana Cotrubaș (Gretel), Christa Ludwig (Mother), Siegmund Nimsgern (Peter), and Elisabeth Söderström (Witch) was well regarded, with high praise for Kiri Te Kanawa's Little Sandman. For further details, see Hänsel und Gretel (John Pritchard recording).
• 1990: Jeffrey Tate conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on EMI with Anne-Sofie von Otter as Hansel and Barbara Bonney as Gretel.
• 1993: Sir Colin Davis and the Staatskapelle Dresden recorded the opera for Philips Classics with Edita Gruberová and Ann Murray as the children. Dame Gwyneth Jones portrays Gertrud.
• 2007: Sir Charles Mackerras conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra in an English-language recording for the Opera in English series on Chandos Records. This recording featured Jennifer Larmore as Hansel and Rebecca Evans as Gretel.
• 2017: Marek Janowski conducted the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, with Katrin Wundsam as Hänsel and Alexandra Steiner as Gretel. It was released under Pentatone.

Film

• 1981: August Everding made a television film of the opera, which was first shown in the United States on Great Performances, and is now available on DVD. Conducted by Sir Georg Solti, the cast features Brigitte Fassbaender as Hansel, Edita Gruberová as Gretel, Sena Jurinac as The Witch (in her last role before her retirement), Hermann Prey as The Father and Helga Dernesch as The Mother.

Film, television and radio

• 1931: Hansel and Gretel was the first complete Metropolitan Opera radio broadcast performance, on Christmas Day in 1931.
• 1943, December 23: Hansel and Gretel was the first opera to be broadcast in its entirety on television, on WRGB, a local Schenectady, New York, TV station.
• 1954: The opera was made into a Technicolor film in English (Hansel & Gretel), with so-called "electronic" puppets (actually, a version of stop motion puppets). The screenplay was by Irish author Padraic Colum. Anna Russell provided the voice of Rosina Rubylips, the Witch. Not all of the score was used; the opera was, instead, presented as a sort of operetta, with spoken dialogue between the main numbers. Baritone Frank Rogier sang the role of the Father. Soprano Constance Brigham sang both Hansel and Gretel, but actress Mildred Dunnock, who did not sing her role, provided the voice of the Mother. Franz Allers conducted.
• 1970: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation produced a version of the opera directed by Norman Campbell with Maureen Forrester as the Witch.
• 1981: Again on Christmas Day, the opera was telecast live on the PBS Live from the Met series and sung once again in English. Frederica von Stade and Judith Blegen sang the title roles, with Thomas Fulton conducting. Michael Devlin sang Peter. The performance is available on DVD.
• 1998: Maurice Sendak's production of the opera, which deliberately strips away all the spectacular fantasy elements in the "Children's Prayer" scene, was shown on television, and was directed by Frank Corsaro.
• 2008: The Royal Opera House in London recorded a German-language version in association with opera DVD specialist Opus Arte, the BBC and NHK. It was directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier and had Diana Damrau as Gretel, Angelika Kirchschlager as Hansel, Thomas Allen as Peter and Anja Silja as Witch.

For other film versions, see: Hansel and Gretel (film)

See also

In Spanish: Hansel y Gretel (ópera) para niños