Hansel and Gretel : an opera in three acts
Abstract
"Englebert Humperdinck (1854-1921), pupil of the great German composer Richard Wagner, received much acclaim for his most successful work, Hansel and Gretel. In a time when an opera composer was either Wagnerian or anti-Wagnerian, Humperdinck made a monumental step in the development of the German Romantic opera at the time. Although his music greatly calls to memory the orchestral devices of his "teacher and master," his approach to mythology is truly unique. While Wagner's libretti deal with overly-serious superhuman heroes and heroines, Humperdinck's use of fairy tale and folklore give a lighter, more simple air to the operatic stage. As Bruno Bettelheim, a child psychologist at the time, stated: "[The fairy tale] makes no demands on the listener ... and never awakens a feeling of inferiority. Rather, the fairy tale conveys faith, hope in the future, and trust in a happy ending." With the help of his librettist and sister, Adelheid Wette, Bettelheim began to put together some music for the story of Hansel and Gretel. What was originally intended to be a small musical play for Wette's children became months later a spark of ambition in Humperdinck's mind to make of it a genuine opera. The combination of the fairy tale and the folk-like melodies that weave the work together have made Hansel and Gretel one of the most acclaimed and accessible of the German-Romantic operas ever written."
Table of Contents
ACT ONE: At home -- ACT TWO: In the forest -- INTERMISSION -- ACT THREE: The Witch's house