Engekbert Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel

Soloists:

Sabine Noack, Ludmil Kuntschew, Alexandra Petersamer

Orchestra, choir:

Anhaltische Philharmonie Dessau, Kinderchor des Anhaltischen Theaters Dessau

Conductor:

Markus L. Frank

Director:

Johannes Felsenstein

Hansel and Gretel is a fairy tale opera (Märchenspiel) by Engelbert Humperdinck, with a libretto written by his sister Adelheid Wette. The idea for the opera came about when his sister asked Humperdinck to compose music for songs she had written for her children for Christmas, based on Hansel and Gretel. After several revisions, the musical sketches and songs were transformed into a full-length opera. Since its first performances, Hänsel und Gretel has been associated with Christmas and is often performed during the holiday season. It is highly regarded for its folk music-inspired themes, one of the best known of which is the prayer in Act II. The opera, which has become a family classic, was born out of incidental music and was written between 1890 and 1893. It was first performed on December 23, 1893, in Weimar, conducted by Richard Strauss. The opera's story is based on a collection by Ludwig Bechstein. A desperate mother, Gertrud, sends her hungry children into the forest to pick strawberries, unaware of the danger she is exposing them to, until the bone-setter Peter returns and is shocked by the mother's actions. Both worried parents immediately set out to find their children. The completely happy ending brings a new and significant variation to the familiar version by the Brothers Grimm.