Hansel and Gretel

The forest resounds with secretive, mystical and dangerous sounds in Humperdinck’s »Hansel and Gretel« fairy tale opera in which the brothers and sisters –sent off by their mother to pick grapes after some boisterous fooling around—land up, despite the breadcrumb trail, in the wicked witch’s gingerbread house. The staging in the Salzburg State Theatre could not have been better chosen. Where could the might of Nature be felt to be more apparent than in the ancient stone arcades of the Felsenreitschule?

The Grimm Brothers’ Christmas fairy story still enthralls both children and grown-ups to the present day. Originally it was considered to be just a theatrical piece for families. Adelheid Wette asked her brother Engelbert Humperdinck to set some of it to music. In fact, the private performance was so enthusiastically received that brother and sister decided to make a Musical. What finally developed was the creation of a Hansel and Gretel opera of Wagnerian style, encompassing folk and musical elements. The first performance under the baton of Richard Strauss on 23rd December 1893 in the Weimar Hoftheater was an extraordinary success. 

Out of Humperdincks’ (1854-1921) stage creations emerged six operas, notably »Hansel and Gretel« and »Die Königskinder«. His style of composition was considerably influenced by Wagner. Engelbert Humperdinck met his idol in 1880 during a stay in Italy and personally assisted him in the preparation and rehearsal of »Parsifal«.

Johannes Reitmeyer, Director of the Tirol Landestheater, directs the fairy tale production against the spectacular backdrop of the Felsenreitschule, with all its costumes, décor and theatrical regalia for the whole family. The Salzburg Mozarteum orchestra gives a stunning musical performance under the baton of Adrian Kelly.

Duration: approx. 2 hours 15 mins / one intermission

programma

Hänsel und Gretel
Engelbert Humperdinck
In deutscher Sprache mit deutschen und englischen Übertiteln
Märchenoper in drei Bildern nach der Dichtung von Adelheid Wette