Kate Lindsey and Heidi Stober (making her debut with The Royal Opera) star as Hansel and Gretel in Engelbert Humperdinck’s enchanting opera. Drawing out the magic of the score is conductor Giedrė Šlekytė, who also makes her debut. Antony McDonald’s witty and imaginative production is the perfect treat for families and operatic newcomers alike. 

A Grimm history 

Brothers Jacob Ludwig and Wilhelm Carl Grimm were distinguished academics and folklorists. Through their work, preserving and transcribing the oral tradition of folk tales, they preserved much precious material from being lost. Their first publication, in 1812, of Kind und Hausmärchen (Child and Household Tales), featured the story of Hansel and Gretel, and was such a success that they produced several more collections, inspiring similar story-gathering efforts across Europe.

Catchy tunes throughout

Humperdinck's music combines the rustic charm of folksong with majestic orchestral scoring, with highlights including the 'Evening Prayer', the Witch's aria, and the Dew Fairy's song. The opera dates from a time in history when many composers were seeking an ‘authentically German’ form of opera. In Hansel and Gretel, Humperdinck uses real folk songs, and transforms them in a similar way to the ‘leitmotifs’ (or recurring musical fragments) to those found in Richard Wagner’s operas. Listen out for the catchy tune of the children’s dance, which returns later in the Witch’s ride. Humperdinck’s orchestration also transports us to the German forest of olden times, with prominent melodies played by the horns, recalling hunting traditions. 

Trouser-roles: an operatic tradition

The role of Hansel is performed by a female singer with a mezzo-soprano voice. This is an operatic tradition that recalls the 17th-century origins of the art form, when castrati (castrated male performers) would sing high-pitched roles. As fashions changed, and castrati were no longer in favour, composers still wrote high-pitched male roles, and women stepped in, performing en travesti, or ‘trouser roles’, as they are sometimes called. 

An opera for children

Engelbert Humperdinck’s sister, Adelheid Wette, wrote the libretto to the opera, but it began life as an informal piece, for amateur performance at home. Initially, Adelheid asked her brother to set a number of songs for a Hansel and Gretel play that she had written for her children to perform in their living room. This was then expanded into a singspiel (a play with music), and finally, it was through-composed, resulting in the non-stop musical feast that audiences know and love today.