Engelbert
Humperdinck
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engelbert_Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck, 1 September 1854 – 27 September 1921.
was a German composer, best known for his opera Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck
was born at Siegburg in the Rhine
Province and died at the
age of 67 in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
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His reputation rests chiefly on his opera Hänsel and Gretel,
which he began work on in Frankfurt in 1890.
He first composed four songs to accompany a puppet show his nieces were giving
at home. Then, using a libretto by his sister Adelheid Wette rather loosely
based on the version of the fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, he composed a
Singspiel of 16 songs with piano accompaniment and connecting dialogue. By
January 1891 he had begun working on a complete orchestration.
The opera premiered in Weimar
on 23 December 1893, under the baton of Richard Strauss, who called it "a
masterpiece of the highest quality... all of it original, new, and so
authentically German." With its highly original synthesis of Wagnerian
techniques and traditional German folk songs, Hänsel und Gretel was an instant
and overwhelming success.
Hänsel und Gretel has always been Humperdinck's most popular
work. In 1923 the Royal Opera House,London
chose it for their first complete radio opera broadcast. Eight years later, it
was the first opera transmitted live from the Metropolitan Opera,New York. It remains a
worldwide favorite.
"Hansel und Gretel" - "The Overture"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fm60b0X51c
Humperdinck - Hänsel und Gretel (Solti)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p34sqXklje0
Humperdinck: Hänsel und Gretel - Sir Colin Davis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTgntcpbaR0
Engelbert
Humperdinck (1854-1921): Hänsel und Gretel
Hänsel --
Angelika Kirchschlager
Gretel -- Diana Damrau
Gertrud -- Elizabeth Connell
Peter -- Sir Thomas Allen
Witch -- Anja Silja
Sandman -- Pumeza Matshikiza
Dew Fairy -- Anita Watson
Soloists, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Sir Colin
Davis (conductor). Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London.
Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier (directors)
Christian Fenouillat (set designer)
Agostino Cavalca (designs)
Christophe Forey (lighting)
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on 12th and 16th
December 2008.
photos
https://www.google.hr/search?q=h%C3%A4nsel+und+gretel&client=opera&hs=t7l&channel=suggest&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=aahZUrKVGoWI4gSjh4HQDw&ved=0CFwQsAQ&biw=1024&bih=651&dpr=1