Hänsel und Gretel

In the organizer's words:

by Engelbert Humperdinck / semi-staged performance

Engelbert Humperdinck was actually only supposed to set a few passages from the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, which his sister Adelheid Wette had written for a family performance, to music. On the enthusiastic advice of relatives, however, the small project subsequently developed first into a singspiel and finally into a full-length opera about the story of the siblings Hansel and Gretel. Growing up in poor circumstances, they are sent by their mother into the forest to pick berries out of necessity. There, however, they encounter not only sand and dew men, but also the witch, who has already sent shivers down the spines of countless children.

Engelbert Humperdinck composes his fairy-tale opera in a late Romantic style with a colorful pen. Carried by an enchanting richness of sound, he lets the Taumännchen float onto the stage, encourages the brother and sister to dance with folk songs, lets the wind rustle through the leaves of the forest and lets the children find sleep with the famous evening blessing on their lips, only to then drive them into the witch's arms with enticing music. In the semi-staged production, music and scene enter into a new connection, merging the reality of the orchestra playing music on stage with set design elements, fabulously opulent costumes and elaborate make-up and extending a warm invitation to young and old alike: to immerse themselves in a world full of magic and fantasy, in which a happy ending is guaranteed.