The original Humperdinck was a German composer and teacher who lived from 1854 to 1921. He taught all over Europe and composed many works for the stage. Most of these were singspiele, a type of German play with dialogue and songs. It’s considered a genre of opera now. When he worked with Richard Wagner in 1880-81 assisting him in the production of Parsifal, he also tutored Wagner’s son Siegfried. In 1900 he moved to Berlin where he taught composition. One of his students there was Kurt Weill who turned out to be renowned himself.
Humperdinck’s most famous opera was Hansel und Gretel, completed in 1893 and premiered in December of that year by the composer/conductor Richard Strauss. It was an instant success and has been performed regularly ever since. When the Metropolitan Opera began its Saturday matinee broadcasts on the radio in 1931, Hansel und Gretel was the first opera broadcast. Because it premiered near Christmas and is an opera that children can easily understand, it is performed mostly at Christmas-time.
With the exception of the Father who is a baritone, the other characters are all women’s voices. Young boys are often portrayed by mezzo-sopranos because a boy’s voice hasn’t changed yet. In this clip of the "Evening Prayer" from Act 2, Kathleen Battle (soprano) sings Gretel and Frederica von Stade (mezzo-soprano) sings Hansel. It’s sung in the original German, although it is often performed in English. Enjoy!
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