Organization

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Antigone Papoulkas

Hansel

Anke Vondung

Stephanie Atanasov

Soprano

Anna Gabler

Gretel

Lydia Teuscher

Christiane Hossfeld

Baritone

Hans-Joachim Ketelsen

Peter

Markus Marquardt

Irmgard Vilsmaier

Gertrude

Sabine Brohm

Leandra Overmann

The Gingerbread Witch

Conductor

Michael Hofstetter

Hans Zimmer

Stage director

Katharina Thalbach

Costume designer

Ezio Toffolutti

Set designer

Iris Vermillion

Dewman

Sandman

Chorus master

Andreas Heinze

Lighting designer

Jan Seeger

Choreographer

Erica Trivett

Dramaturge

Hans-Georg Wegner

Semperoper Dresden

Others

Kinderchor der Semperoper Dresden

Orchestra

Staatskapelle Dresden

German

Hänsel und Gretel -  (Hansel and Gretel)

Dresden

Germany

Semperoper

Antigone Papoulkas - Hänsel
Anna Gabler - Greten
Hans-Joachim Ketelsen - Father
Irmgard Vilsmaier - Mother
Iris Vermillion - Witch
Lydia Teuscher - Sandman / Dew Fairy

State Opera Choir
Michael Hofstetter - conductor

Katharina Thalbach - stage director

Engelbert Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel
0:00 Ouverture
8:24 Daheim / At home
34:49 Hexenritt / Witch's Ride
39:05 Im Walde / In the woods
55:01 Traum / Dream
1:01:26 Am Ilsenstein / At Ilsenstein

The composer of Hansel and Gretel, Engelbert Humperdinck, was born in Germany in 1854. In the 1890s, his sister, Adelheid Wette, had written a libretto based on the Grimm fairy tale, and asked her brother to set it to music as a Christmas entertainment for her children. Later, Engelbert and Adelheid decided to turn this modest home project into a full-scale opera. Hansel and Gretel, premiered on December 23, 1893 at Weimar, was an instant hit and remains an everlasting masterpiece. The composer Richard Strauss, who was the assistant conductor for the premiere, called it "a masterwork of the first rank."

Recorded at the Semperoper Dresden in 2006, the orchestra of the Sächsische Staatskapelle is directed by Michael Hofstetter in a production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel. Soloists are Irmgard, Vilsmaier, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Antigone Papoulkas and Iris Vermillion. The composer of Hansel and Gretel, Engelbert Humperdinck, wrote was born in Germany in 1854. In the 1890s, his sister, Adelheid Wette, had written a libretto based on the Grimm fairy tale, and asked her brother to set it to music as a Christmas entertainment for her children. Later, Engelbert and Adelheid decided to turn this modest home project into a full-scale opera. Hansel and Gretel, premiered on December 23, 1893 at Weimar, was an instant hit and remains an everlasting masterpiece. The composer Richard Strauss, who was the assistant conductor for the premiere, called it "a masterwork of the first rank."

Hänsel und Gretel Humperdinck

Public

Hansel and Gretel

English

Approved

E.Humperdinck - "Hansel and Gretel" // Semperoper Dresden

E.Humperdinck - »Hänsel und Gretel« // Semperoper Dresden

In the fairytale forest, familiar characters meet with the poor siblings who get lost in the forest and the evil Knusperwitch. The story comes to a head in the famous gingerbread house, which may be cute on the outside but is a deathtrap on the inside. In 1893 Engelbert Humperdinck created what is probably the most famous fairy tale opera in the musical theater repertoire based on the Brothers Grimm. In Katharina Thalbach's staging, this model is enriched by further characters from Grimm's fairy tales, making it a festival for the whole family. Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and the Big Bad Wolf take children and adults alike on a musical journey, at the end of which the fall of the witches' kingdom and thus the victory of goodness stand - proclaimed by the disenchanted gingerbread children: »Redeemed, freed, for all time.
Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" is one of the most popular and best-selling operas, captivating children and adults alike. Dramaturg Bianca Heitzer provides an insight into the imaginative and fairytale-like production by director Katharina Thalbach and explains the literary models, the musical features and the context in which the work came into being.

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble