"Hansel and Gretel (opera) Hansel and Gretel (German: ) is an opera by nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a """" (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 """" (""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""."
"Stahnsdorf near Berlin. For a list of Humperdinck's pupils, see . In 1965, British singer Arnold Dorsey named himself after the composer. The main belt asteroid 9913 Humperdinck, discovered in 1977, was named after the composer. Engelbert Humperdinck (composer) Engelbert Humperdinck (; 1 September 1854 – 27 September 1921) was a German composer, best known for his opera ""Hansel and Gretel"". Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province in 1854. After receiving piano lessons, he produced his first composition at the age of seven. His first attempts at works for the stage were two singspiele written when he"
"Engelbert Humperdinck (composer) Engelbert Humperdinck (; 1 September 1854 – 27 September 1921) was a German composer, best known for his opera ""Hansel and Gretel"". Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province in 1854. After receiving piano lessons, he produced his first composition at the age of seven. His first attempts at works for the stage were two singspiele written when he was 13. His parents disapproved of his plans for a career in music and encouraged him to study architecture. Nevertheless, he began taking music classes under Ferdinand Hiller and Isidor Seiss at the Cologne Conservatory in"
"Hansel and Gretel ""Hansel and Gretel"" (; also known as ""Hansel and Grettel"", ""Hansel and Grethel"", or ""Little Brother and Little Sister""; ) is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister kidnapped by a cannibalistic witch living in a forest, in a house constructed of cake, confectionery, candy, and many more treats than are imaginable. The two children escape with their lives by outwitting her. The tale has been adapted to various media, most notably the opera ""Hänsel und Gretel"" (1893) by"
"Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the New York Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra to name just a few. Henschel can be heard on more than a dozen recordings, including Isaac Albéniz’s ""Merlin"" with Plácido Domingo, which won a 2001 Grammy Award, and Engelbert Humperdinck's ""Hänsel und Gretel"", which won a 2008 Grammy Award. Henschel sang the role of Brangaene in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. The opera originally cited, Die Walkuere, does not have the role of Brangaene, which is scored for mezzo-soprano. Reference: New Grove Dictionary of Opera, 1952, chapter on Wagner's operas with"
"Trudeliese Schmidt Trudeliese Schmidt (7 November 1942 − 24 June 2004) was a German operatic mezzo-soprano who had an international career, performing at major opera houses and festivals in Europe. The singer with a remarkable stage presence excelled in trouser roles such as Cherubino, Idamante, Hänsel, Octavian and the composer in ""Ariadne auf Naxos"". She performed in premieres of operas by Isang Yun and Manfred Trojahn. Born in Saarbrücken, Schmidt studied voice and made her debut at the Saarbrücken Opera as Hänsel in Humperdinck's ""Hänsel und Gretel"". She became a member of the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and in 1969 of"
"Matthias Hues Matthias Hues (born 14 February 1959) is a German-born, naturalized American actor and martial artist. He was born in Waltrop, Germany, to Dr. Josef Hues and Maria Humperdinck Hues who still resides in Germany. Maria is the niece of Engelbert Humperdinck, composer of the opera ""Hansel and Gretel"". After graduating from school, Hues moved to Paris to enter hotel management. Once there he joined a health club in Paris, which had just been bombarded with the new Jane Fonda aerobic exercise program from the United States. Hues recognized an opportunity and after returning to Germany opened two health"
"Anja Kampe Anja Kampe is a German-Italian operatic soprano, born 1968 in the GDR. She is notable for her performances in major opera houses of the works of Richard Wagner and other German and Austrian composers. Kampe was born in Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia, and studied in Dresden and then, having moved to Italy, in Turin, where she studied with Elio Battaglia and made her professional debut in 1991 in a production of ""Hänsel und Gretel"". She sang the roles of Freia in ""Das Rheingold"" and Gerhilde (""Die Walküre"") at the Bayreuth Festival in 2002, Leonore in ""Fidelio"" with Glyndebourne Festival Opera"
"Christian Heinrich Postel Christian Heinrich Postel (11 October 1658 – 22 March 1705) was a German jurist, epic poet and opera librettist, who wrote 28 libretti for the Oper am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg: set by composers such as Johann Philipp Förtsch, Reinhard Keiser and Georg Philipp Telemann. His texts for a ""St John Passion"" were set by composers Christian Ritter, Johann Mattheson and Johann Sebastian Bach in their respective ""St John Passion"". Postel was born in , the son of the theologian Lorenz Postel and his wife Dorothea, née Isentrut. His father was a minister at the """" in Hamburg."
"several theatre productions and wrote the children's opera ""Hansel and Gretel"" (2001). Gerard Beljon Gerard Beljon (16 April 1952, Utrecht) is a musician and composer from the Netherlands, specialising in chamber and choral music with contemporary resonances. His works have been performed in Austria, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Russia and the United States. Beljon studied both lute and guitar at the Utrechts Conservatorium and the Royal Conservatory of The Hague. He studied composition under Carlos Michans and Daan Manneke. Beljon's musical career has been primarily devoted to composition, which he studied with Daan Manneke at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. According"
"general in """" (1991). Hues is one of the few foreign actors who has lost his accent to the extent that many people in his own country are unaware he is from Germany. Matthias Hues Matthias Hues (born 14 February 1959) is a German-born, naturalized American actor and martial artist. He was born in Waltrop, Germany, to Dr. Josef Hues and Maria Humperdinck Hues who still resides in Germany. Maria is the niece of Engelbert Humperdinck, composer of the opera ""Hansel and Gretel"". After graduating from school, Hues moved to Paris to enter hotel management. Once there he joined a"
"Neidlinger, Hans Hopf, Hans Sotin, Franz Crass and Josef Greindl. Many of these interviews can now be viewed on YouTube, in German. Many of his classic productions are preserved on DVD, including ""Hänsel und Gretel"" (1981) (Deutsche Grammophon B000AXSKB8), and ""Die Zauberflöte"" (Deutsche Grammophon B000ASAEQW). He was one of the founder members of a society of the revolutionary thoughts on theaters and individual thinking and this was reflected in his works. August Everding August Everding () (31 October 1928; Bottrop, Germany – 26 January 1999; Munich) was a German opera director and administrator. He studied at the Universities of Bonn"
"In both 1969 and 1991 Marienberghausen won the German federal competition ""Unser Dorf soll schöner werden"" (""Our village shall become more beautiful""). It is also the birthplace of the opera ""Hänsel und Gretel"", composed here by Engelbert Humperdinck and also first performed here. The ""Oberbergische Postkutsche"", a mail coach, runs between Nümbrecht and Wiehl every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from May to the end of October. It is a reproduction of the mail coach of the Imperial Post Office around 1871. The column well fountain in the health resort park was created by sculptor Michael Schwarze. It was built for"
"Hänsel und Gretel, and has upcoming debuts with both the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. Stare's 2012 and 2013 season also features his continued involvement with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. On July 29, 2014 it was announced that Ward would become the Music Director for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra effective September 1, 2014. He is the RPO's youngest music director. Stare made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as a guest conductor in December 2017. He led all nine of their performances of ""The Merry Widow"", with Susan Graham performing the title role. Stare was the"
"Adelheid Wette rather loosely based on the version of the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, he composed a singspiel of 16 songs with piano accompaniment and connecting dialogue. By January 1891 he had begun working on a complete orchestration. The opera premiered in Weimar on 23 December 1893, under the baton of Richard Strauss. With its highly original synthesis of Wagnerian techniques and traditional German folk songs, ""Hansel and Gretel"" was an instant and overwhelming success. ""Hansel and Gretel"" has always been Humperdinck's most popular work. In 1923 the Royal Opera House (London) chose it for their first complete"
"Friederike Sophie Seyler Friederike Sophie Seyler or F.S. Seyler, formerly Friederike Sophie Hensel (1737 or 1738, Dresden – 22 November 1789, Schleswig, née Sparmann; also referred to as ""Sophie Friederike""), was a German actress, playwright and librettist. Alongside Friederike Caroline Neuber, she was widely considered Germany's greatest actress of the 18th century. Her libretto for the Singspiel ""Oberon"" (originally titled ""Huon and Amanda"") was a major inspiration for Emanuel Schikaneder's libretto for the opera ""The Magic Flute"". She was briefly married to the actor Johann Gottlieb Hensel and then married the famous theatre director Abel Seyler. As an actress, she"
"after a short illness on January 6, 1963, at Montefiore Hospital, in the Bronx, New York. Lina Abarbanell Lina Abarbanell (January 3, 1879 – January 6, 1963) was a German-American soprano singer who performed in grand and light opera and musical comedy. She made her debut at sixteen at the Neues Theatre, Berlin and was first introduced to American theatergoers in 1905 as the soubrette in the Josef Strauss operetta ""Frühlingsluft"" (""Spring Air""). Abarbanell made opera history later that year as Hänsel in The Met's debut production of Engelbert Humperdinck's ""Hänsel und Gretel."" Abarbanell spent the following near thirty years"
"Franziska Gottwald Franziska Gottwald (born in Marburg) is a German mezzo-soprano singer in opera and concert. Franziska Gottwald received her first voice training at the age of 16 with Eugen Rabine and studied voice at the Academies of Music in Saarbrücken, Hannover and Weimar. She has appeared at the Staatsoper Hannover as a guest artist and has been a member of the ensemble of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar from 1998 for four years, singing parts such as Hänsel in ""Hänsel und Gretel"", Cherubino in ""Le nozze di Figaro"" and Frau Reich in ""Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor"". In 2004, she"
"Heinrich Berté Heinrich Berté (), born Heinrich Bettelheim (8 May 1858 in Galgócz, Hungary (now Hlohovec, Slovakia) – 23 August 1924 in Perchtoldsdorf, Austria) was an Austria-Hungarian composer of operas and operettas. Heinrich Berté, at the beginning of his career, was a relatively unsuccessful composer of ballets and an opera. In 1911 he was offered a libretto by the writer Alfred Maria Willner for an opera about Franz Schubert, based on the novel, ""Schwammerl"" by Rudolf Hans Bartsch, but this was turned down and he was told to use Schubert's music in a pastiche instead. On 15 January 1916 his"
"years later he transferred as a student of composition to the master-class of Engelbert Humperdinck (best known as the creator of the opera ""Hänsel and Gretel""), who became a fatherly friend to him and arranged for him to obtain a position as conductor at the New Theatre in Berlin, where, among other works, he conducted Humperdinck's music for Shakespeare's ""The Tempest"". Soon after this Schmalstich won a whole range of Academy awards. In 1910 his friend Leo Blech summoned him to the Royal Opera in Berlin, where Schmalstich worked as Kapellmeister (orchestral conductor) until 1919 alongside Blech, Richard Strauss and"
"Uhland's ""Sonntag"" op. 226 and three settings of poems by Heinrich Heine, ""Die schönsten Augen"" op. 68, ""Wasserfahrt"" op. 73, and ""Meine Sehnsucht von H. Heine"" (""Mädchen mit dem roten Mündchen"") op. 32. Gustav Hölzel Gustav Hölzel (2 September 1813 – 3 December 1883) was an Austro-Hungarian bass-baritone and composer who sang in the opera-houses of Austria, Germany and elsewhere for nearly fifty years. He is principally remembered as the first Beckmesser in Richard Wagner's ""Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg"". He was born in Pest, Hungary, the son of the actor, singer and theatre director Nikolaus Alois Hölzel (1785–1848) who managed"
"Orpheus (Telemann) Orpheus (full title: Die wunderbare Beständigkeit der Liebe oder Orpheus, ""The Wonderful Constancy of Love, or Orpheus"") is an opera in three acts by the German composer Georg Philipp Telemann. It was first performed in a concert version at the Oper am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg on 9 March 1726. The anonymous libretto is based on ""Orphée"" by Michel du Boulay, originally set by the French composer Louis Lully. Most of the work is in German but it also contains passages in French and Italian drawn from famous operas by Handel and Jean-Baptiste Lully. The music to these words"
"Theodor Hell Theodor Hell (""Theodore Bright"") was the pseudonym of Karl Gottfried Theodor Winkler (9 February 1775, Waldenburg, Saxony – 24 September 1856, Dresden), a court councillor (""Hofrath"") in Dresden from 1824, who was the centre of literary life through his work as editor, translator and critic. He was the theatrical secretary from 1815. He is mostly remembered for his friendships with the composers Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer (and brief contact with Franz Schubert and Richard Wagner) — for example, he wrote the words to Schubert's ""Das Heimweh"" (D456) and the libretto for Weber's opera ""Die Drei"
"and the town where he grew up, by a memorial plaque and both Köslin and Stettin had streets bearing his surname. As composer, he achieved great success with his oratorio ""Winfried"" (1888), ""Otto der Grosse,"" (1890) ""Krösus,"" (1890) ""Die Jungfrau von Orleans,"" (1893) ""Golgatha,"" (1903) ""Das Licht"" (1907), and the opera ""Harald und Theano"" (Hanover, 1893). Karl Adolf Lorenz Karl Adolf Lorenz (13 August 1837 – 3 March 1923) was a German conductor, composer, and music pedagogue. Born in Köslin, his family moved to Stettin where he attended the Marienstiftsgymnasium (a school) for 16 years. During those 16 years, Lorenz"
"""Hänsel und Gretel"". The series came about as the Met, financially endangered in the early years of the Great Depression, sought to enlarge its audience and support through national exposure on network radio. Initially, those broadcasts featured only parts of operas, being limited to selected acts. Regular broadcasts of complete operas began March 11, 1933, with the transmission of ""Tristan und Isolde"" with Frida Leider and Lauritz Melchior. The live broadcasts were originally heard on NBC Radio's Blue Network and continued on the Blue Network's successor, ABC, into the 1960s. As network radio waned, the Met founded its own Metropolitan"
"Sutermeister; their grandfather was the folklorist Otto Sutermeister. Heinrich Sutermeister Heinrich Sutermeister (12 August 1910, Feuerthalen – 16 March 1995, Vaux-sur-Morges) was a Swiss composer, most famous for his opera ""Romeo und Julia"". During the early 1930s he was a student at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich where Carl Orff was his teacher and Orff remained a powerful influence on his music. Returning to Switzerland in the mid-1930s, he devoted his life to composition. He wrote some works for the radio, starting with ""Die schwarze Spinne"" in 1936, before turning later to television opera. His most successful stage work"
"Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include ""Der Rosenkavalier"", ""Elektra"", ""Die Frau ohne Schatten"" and ""Salome""; his Lieder, especially his ""Four Last Songs""; his tone poems, including ""Don Juan"", ""Death and Transfiguration"", ""Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks"", ""Also sprach Zarathustra"", ""Ein Heldenleben"", ""Symphonia Domestica"", and ""An Alpine Symphony""; and other instrumental works such as ""Metamorphosen"" and his Oboe Concerto. Strauss was also a prominent conductor in Western Europe and the Americas, enjoying quasi-celebrity status"
"of Music and Dramatic Art."" Battaglia's teaching was so influential that for the 1991–1992 opera season's opening night at Teatro Regio in Torino, conductor Maurizio Benini cast Humperdinck's ""Hansel and Gretel"" entirely from Battaglia's studio of singers. No event like this had ever happened before in Italy. In 1987, he was awarded the Hugo Wolf Medal from the International Hugo Wolf Society of Vienna for his artistic achievements. Elio Battaglia Elio Battaglia, is an Italian baritone, singing teacher, and author and lecturer in music. He was the founder and director of the course entitled, ""Il Lied Tedesco"" (""German Song""), which"
"Selective bibliography Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include ""Der Rosenkavalier"", ""Elektra"", ""Die Frau ohne Schatten"" and ""Salome""; his Lieder, especially his ""Four Last Songs""; his tone poems, including ""Don Juan"", ""Death and Transfiguration"", ""Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks"", ""Also sprach Zarathustra"", ""Ein Heldenleben"", ""Symphonia Domestica"", and ""An Alpine Symphony""; and other instrumental works such as ""Metamorphosen"" and his Oboe Concerto. Strauss was also a prominent conductor in Western Europe and the Americas, enjoying"
"role of the vain but ugly marsh nymph in Rameau's ""Platée"" is also for an haute-contre. Female roles in opera sung by men can still be found, although they are not common. The role of the witch in Humperdinck's 1890 opera ""Hänsel und Gretel"" was originally written for a mezzo-soprano, but was sung by the tenor Philip Langridge in the Metropolitan Opera's 2009 production directed by Richard Jones. Azio Corghi's 2005 opera ""Il dissoluto assolto"", which incorporates story elements from Mozart's ""Don Giovanni"", casts a counter-tenor in the role of the mannequin of Donna Elvira. The portrayal of women by"
"the Peri"" (1843) shows the older composer's influence. Marschner's Bagatelles for guitar (1814) have been taken up lately by some guitarists, and some of his chamber music is still very occasionally played. Among his operas, ""Hans Heiling"" and especially ""Der Vampyr"" have been adapted and revived in recent years with considerable success. Heinrich Marschner Heinrich August Marschner (16 August 1795 – 14 December 1861) was the most important composer of German opera between Weber and Wagner. Marschner was born in Zittau and was originally intended for a legal career. After a meeting with Beethoven around 1815–16, he decided to devote"
"Marie Te Hapuku Marie Te Hapuku (formerly Marie-Adele McArthur) is an operatic soprano from Gisborne, New Zealand, and is a direct descendant of the Māori chief, Te Hapuku. She made her professional debut with Utah Opera as Hänsel in Engelbert Humperdinck's ""Hänsel und Gretel"". She went on to sing in the San Francisco Opera's Merola Opera Program and gave notable performances in Western Opera Theater's national touring production of ""Die Fledermaus"". Te Hapuku has been the recipient of several awards and has won several major competitions including the Jay Darwin Memorial Award for the San Francisco Opera Auditions, the Sir"
"a guest as Hänsel in Humperdick's ""Hänsel und Gretel"" at the die Bavarian State Opera, as Schwertleite in Wagner's ""Die Walküre"" at the Opéra du Rhin and at the Salzburg Easter Festival. She performed Mozart's Third Lady at the Paris Opéra. In concert, she appeared as a soloist in Mozart's Requiem, conducted by Teodor Currentzis, at his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2017. She recorded songs on texts by Goethe with guitar accompaniment. Katharina Magiera Katharina Magiera is a German operatic contralto. A member of the Frankfurt Opera, she has appeared in major European opera houses. She is active"