Opera in three acts by Humperdinck to a libretto by Adelheid Wette after the brothers Grimm (1893, Weimar).
Hänsel und Gretel
| Music Encyclopedia: Hänsel und Gretel |
| Who's Who in Opera: Hänsel und Gretel |
Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck). Libretto by Adelheid Wette (Humperdinck's sister); 3 acts; first performance Weimar 1893, conducted by by Richard Strauss.
Germany, medieval times: Their family is poor and Hänsel helps his father, Peter, make brooms and Gretel knits. Their mother, Gertrud, sends the children to pick strawberries, as there is no food in the house. Peter is shocked to hear the children are in the Ilsenstein forest - this is where the Witch lives, and she catches children and bakes them into gingerbread. They set out to find their children. In the forest the children are lost and frightened. A Sandman throws sand in their eyes. They say their prayers, then fall asleep. Angels guard them. In the morning the Dew Fairy wakes them. They see a gingerbread house and fence and take a bite. The Witch catches them, putting Hänsel in a cage. Gretel pushes the Witch into the oven. As the oven explodes, the gingerbread fence becomes a row of children who had been baked by the Witch.
| German Literature Companion: Hänsel und Gretel |
Hänsel und Gretel, a fairy-tale opera (Märchenspiel) by E. Humperdinck to a libretto by his sister Adelheid Wette. A family classic, it grew out of a set of incidental music and, written between 1890 and 1893, was first performed on 23 December 1893 under Richard Strauss in Weimar. The form in which the story is used in the opera derives from the collection of Ludwig Bechstein. Gertrud, the desperate mother, sends her hungry children into the wood to pick strawberries, unaware of the danger to which she exposes them until Peter, the broombinder, returns and is shocked at what she has done; both anxious parents immediately set out to find them. The thoroughly happy ending introduces another significant variation to the familiar version of the brothers J. and W. Grimm.
| Classical Work: Hänsel und Gretel, opera |
- Date: 1893
- Composer: Engelbert Humperdinck
- Period: Romantic (1820-1869)
Review
The genesis of this opera was unusual and more than a little fortuitous. Humperdinck's sister wanted to put on a show for a family children's party and hit on the idea of dramatizing the Grimm Brothers' tale of Hänsel and Gretel. She asked her brother if he would write a little music for her project, and he happily provided some musical numbers. The entertainment went off so well that the composer decided to expand what he had written into a three-act opera.He was fortunate also that he sent the completed score to Richard Strauss, who immediately recognized its excellence. Strauss conducted the work's premiere, and it vaulted instantly into fame; within a year there was scarcely an opera house in the entire German-speaking world that had not performed it. The opera was also produced in English in London, and the English company took their production across the Atlantic to New York as early as October 1895.
Technically, the work is an intriguing construction according to Wagnerian music drama principles. There are plenty of harmonic and orchestral devices inspired by Wagner, yet Hänsel und Gretel does not make an impression of being at all Wagnerian in terms of solemnity, seriousness, or excessive length. The familiar tale fits well with the musical universe originally developed by the colossus of the Ring cycle to represent a supernatural world. Though the story is elaborated with a few additional characters, it is clearly comprehensible even to young people with no prior exposure to opera. Hänsel und Gretel is regarded as the leading children's opera in the repertoire. ~ All Music Guide
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| Best of the Web: Hänsel und Gretel |
Some good "Hänsel und Gretel" pages on the web:
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Learn More
 | Peter (character) |
| 'Ein Männlein steht im Walde' |
| Dew Fairy (character) |
 | What is the witches name in Hansel and Gretel? Read answer... |
| Is Hansel and Gretel a fairytale? Read answer... |
| What is the point of view of Hansel and Gretel? Read answer... |
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Copyrights:
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 | Music Encyclopedia. The Concise Grove Dictionary of Music. Copyright © 1994 by Oxford University Press, Inc.. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Who's Who in Opera. Who's Who in Opera. Copyright © 1998, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| German Literature Companion. The Oxford Companion to German Literature. Copyright © 1976, 1986, 1997, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Classical Work. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved. Read more |
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Mentioned in
- Peter (character)
- 'Ein Männlein steht im Walde'
- Dew Fairy (character)
- Gertrud (character)
- Sandman (character)
- Engelbert Humperdinck (German composer & educator)
- British National Opera Company (music)
- Carrie Tubb
- Sarah Kirsch (person)
- Gretel (character)
- Percy Pitt
- Kinder- und Hausmärchen (work)
- Franz von Pocci (person)
- Hänsel (character)
