Grimms Hansel and Gretel to Music
Humperdinck's Fairytale Opera Hänsel und Gretel in Three Acts
Opera Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck: plot synopsis, character list, and other Humperdinck opera information.
The fairy tale opera in three acts Hänsel und Gretel by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921) is based on a German folk tales by the Grimm Brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
- First Performance: December 23, 1893 at Weimar (Hoftheater) under the direction of the 29 year-old Richard Strauss.
- Libretto: Adelheid Wette, after the fairy tale of the same name by the Brothers Grimm.
- Place and Time: That of a fairy tale
Cast of Characters
- Peter, a broom maker (Baritone)
- Gertrud, his wife (Mezzo-Soprano)
- Hansel and Gretel, their children (Mezzo-Soprano and Soprano)
- Sandman, (Soprano)
- Dew Fairy, (Soprano)
- Gingerbread Witch, (Mezzo-Soprano or Tenor)
- 14 Angels, (ballet)
Plot Synopsis:
Act I.
A small, humble room in the house of a broom maker.
The mother and father are out searching for money and food. The children are supposed to make themselves useful by darning stockings and making new brooms. While their parents are out, they sing and dance, and forget their work. The mother returns home tired and sees the work undone. She scolds the children and sends them into the forest to pick strawberries for supper. The father is more fortunate and returns drunk but with groceries in hand. In the forest, the children are in danger from the Gingerbread Witch. The parents rush out to find them.
Act II.
A forest in the background.
While looking for berries the children wander close to the witch's lair. Hansel's basket is full, and Gretel makes a wreath of flowers. Time passes, it becomes dark. The children are lost. All of a sudden the beautiful forest seems scary and full of danger. The Sandman brings them sleep, but before they fall completely asleep they sing together their evening prayer. In the opera's beautiful scene, 14 angels of their prayer gather silently and dance around them while they sleep.
Act III.
The Dew Fairy wakes the children.
When Hansel and Gretel awake they see a little house made entirely of gingerbread. The house is surrounded by a hedge composed of figures of children made out of gingerbread, on either side are a large oven and a cage. Hansel and Gretel are captured by the witch who imprisons them. When the witch tells Gretel to look in the oven to see how the gingerbread is doing, Gretel pretends not to understand. The witch shows her how to do it and crawls inside the oven. Gretel slams the over door consuming the wicked witch as the oven explodes. Gingerbread children appear, stiff and mute, begging to be set free. Gretel caresses them and they come alive. The gingerbread children thank Hansel and Gretel who in turn thank their guardian angels. The parents arrive and joyfully embrace the children. All join together in song and thanking the angels.
Humperdinck's Other Operas:
- Hänsel und Gretel, (Hansel and Gretel) 1893
- Die Sieben Geisslein, (The Seven Little Kids) 1895
- Dornröschen, (Sleeping Beauty) 1902
- Die Heirat wieder Willen, (The Reluctant Marriage) comic opera 1905
- Königskinder, (The King's Children) 1910
- Die Marketenderin, light opera 1914
Background of Humperdinck's Fairytale Opera Hänsel und Gretel
Adelheid Wette, Humperdinck's younger sister, wanted to surprise her husband on his birthday with a "nursery play." She asked her brother to provide the songs. The play was enthusiastically received by the family. Some months later, Wette developed her idea by writing the libretto for Hänsel und Gretel. In adapting the Grimm brothers' version, Adelheid Wette reinterpreted some aspects, omitted others, and added some elements of her own.
Sources:
Opera. András Batta, Editor-in-Chief. Könemann (2000)
The Golden Encyclopedia of Music by Norman Lloyd. (1968)
