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Hänsel und Gretel

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Poetry & Opera

   Hänsel und Gretel is an opera by Engelbert Humperdinck (Humperdinck
   himself described it as a fairy opera.) The libretto was written by
   Adelheid Wette (Humperdinck's sister), based on the Grimms' Hansel and
   Gretel. It was first performed in Weimar on December 23, 1893.

   The idea for the opera was proposed to Humperdinck by his sister, who
   approached him about writing music for songs that she had written for
   her children for Christmas based on "Hänsel and Gretel." After several
   revisions, the musical sketches and the songs were turned into a
   full-scale opera.

   Hänsel und Gretel has been associated with Christmas since its earliest
   performances, and it is often performed at Christmas time. It is much
   admired for its folk music-inspired themes, one of the most famous
   being the prayer from act II.

Recordings, Films, Television and Radio

   There are a number of recordings of the opera. In 1947, it became the
   first complete recording in English by the Metropolitan Opera, on an
   album starring Risë Stevens and Nadine Conner in the title roles. The
   album was first issued as a 78-RPM multi-record set by Columbia
   Records. After the advent of LPs, it was transferred to that medium. In
   1953, a now-famous recording featuring Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and
   Elisabeth Grümmer, sung in German with Herbert von Karajan conducting,
   was issued by EMI. Many critics consider this version the best ever
   recorded. Several versions in stereo have also been made.

   In 1954, the opera was made into a Technicolor film in English, with
   so-called "electronic" puppets (actually, a version of stop-motion
   puppets). The screen play was by celebrated Irish author Padraic Colum.
   Anna Russell provided the voice of the Witch. Not all of the score was
   used; the opera was, instead, presented as a sort of operetta, with
   spoken dialogue between the main numbers. Baritone Frank Rogier sang
   the role of the Father. Soprano Constance Brigham voiced both Hansel
   and Gretel, but actress Mildred Dunnock, who did not sing her role,
   provided the voice of the Mother. Franz Allers conducted.

   August Everding made another colour film of the opera (with singers,
   not puppets) in 1981, first shown in the United States on Great
   Performances, and now available on DVD. It is conducted by Georg Solti,
   and features Brigitte Fassbaender as Hansel, Edita Gruberova as Gretel,
   Sena Jurinac in her last role before her retirement, as the Witch, and
   Hermann Prey as the stepfather.

   Hansel und Gretel was also the first complete Metropolitan Opera
   performance heard on radio, on Christmas Day in 1931. Again on
   Christmas Day, this time in 1982, the opera was telecast live on the
   PBS Live from the Met series and sung, once again, in English instead
   of the traditional German. Frederica von Stade and Judith Blegen sang
   the title roles, with Jeffrey Tate conducting the orchestra and Thomas
   Fulton the chorus. Michael Devlin sang Peter. This was the first, and
   so far the only Live From the Met telecast of an entire opera presented
   in the afternoon, rather than in prime time.

   In 1970 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation produced a version of the
   opera directed by Norman Campbell with Maureen Forrester as the Witch.

   In recent years, Maurice Sendak's production of the opera, which
   deliberately strips away all the spectacular fantasy elements in the
   "Children's Prayer" scene, was shown on television, and was directed by
   Frank Corsaro..

Characters

     * Hänsel, a little boy (Mezzo-soprano or Soprano)
     * Gretel, his sister (Soprano)
     * Peter, broom-maker and father of Hänsel and Gretel (Baritone)
     * Gertrud, Peter's wife (Mezzo-soprano)
     * The Gingerbread witch (Mezzo-soprano or Tenor)
     * Sandman (Soprano)
     * Dewman (Soprano)

   Chorus of echoes (Three sopranos, two altos), and chorus of children.

   It is a curious fact that while the father and mother are given names
   in the score, their names are never said onstage. Instead they are
   always referred to as "Father" and "Mother", even when they speak to
   each other.

Plot

Act 1

Scene 1

   Setting: At home.

   Gretel stitches a stocking, and Hänsel is making a broom. Gretel sings
   to herself as she works. Hänsel mocks her, singing to the same tune a
   song about how hungry he is. He wishes for Mother to come home. Gretel
   tells him to be quiet and reminds him of what Father always says: "When
   the need is greatest, God the Lord puts out his hand." Hänsel complains
   that one can't eat words, and Gretel cheers him up by telling him a
   secret: A neighbour has given Mother a jug of milk, and tonight she'll
   make a rice pudding for them to eat! Hänsel, excited, tastes the cream
   on the top of the milk. Gretel scolds him and tells him he should get
   back to work. Hänsel says that he doesn't want to work, he'd rather
   dance! Gretel agrees, and they begin to dance around.

Scene 2

   Mother enters, and she is furious when she finds that Hänsel and Gretel
   have not been working. As she threatens to beat them with a stick, she
   knocks over the jug of milk. Mother sends Hänsel and Gretel to the
   Ilsenstein forest to look for strawberries. Alone, she expresses her
   sorrow that she is unable to feed her children, and asks God for help.

Scene 3

   From far off, Father sings about how hungry he is. He bursts into the
   house, roaring drunk, and kisses Mother roughly. She pushes him away
   and scolds him for being drunk. He surprises her by taking from his
   pack a feast: Bacon, butter, flour, sausages, fourteen eggs, beans,
   onions, and a quarter pound of coffee! He explains to her that beyond
   the forest, it is almost time for a festival, and everyone is cleaning
   in preparation. He went from house to house and sold his brooms at the
   highest prices. As Father and Mother celebrate, he suddenly stops and
   asks where the children are. Mother changes the subject to the broken
   jug, and after she finishes telling him the story, he laughs, then asks
   again after the children. She tells him that they are in the Ilsenstein
   forest. Suddenly scared, Father tells her that the forest is where the
   evil Gingerbread Witch (literally, "Nibbling Witch") dwells. She lures
   children with cakes and sweets, pushes them into her oven, where they
   turn to gingerbread, and then eats them. Father and Mother rush to the
   forest to search for their children.

Act Two

   Humperdinck wrote music to connect act one to act two, and they are
   often performed together with no intermission.

Scene 1

   Setting: In the forest. Sunset.

   Gretel weaves a crown of flowers as she sings to herself. Hänsel
   searches for strawberries. As Gretel finishes her crown, Hänsel fills
   his basket. Gretel tries to put the crown on Hänsel, but, saying that
   boys don't play with things like these, he puts it on her head instead.
   He tells her that she looks like the Queen of the Wood, and she says
   that if that's so, then he should give her a bouquet, too. He offers
   her the strawberries. They hear a cuckoo calling, and they begin to eat
   the strawberries. As the basket empties, they fight for the remaining
   strawberries, and finally, Hänsel grabs the basket and dumps the
   leftovers in his mouth. Gretel scolds him and tells him that Mother
   will be upset. She tries to look for more, but it's too dark for her to
   see. Hänsel tries to find the way back, but he cannot. As the forest
   darkens, Hänsel and Gretel become scared, and think they see something
   coming closer. Hänsel calls out, "Who's there?" and a chorus of echoes
   calls back, "He's there!" Gretel calls, "Is someone there?" and the
   echoes reply, "There!" Hänsel tries to comfort Gretel, but as a little
   man walks out of the forest, she screams.

Scene 2

   The little Sandman, who has just walked out of the forest, tells the
   children that he loves them dearly, and that he has come to put them to
   sleep. He puts grains of sand into their eyes, and as he leaves they
   can barely keep their eyes open. Gretel reminds Hänsel to say their
   evening prayer, and after they pray, they fall asleep on the forest
   floor.

Scene 3

   Fourteen angels come out and arrange themselves around the children to
   protect them as they sleep. They are presented with a gift. The forest
   is filled with an intense light as the curtain falls.

Act 3

Scene 1

   Setting: In the forest.

   The little Dewman comes to wake the children. He sprinkles dew on them
   and leaves. Gretel wakes first, and wakes the sleepy Hänsel. They tell
   each other of their mutual dream, of angels protecting them as they
   slept.

Scene 2

   Suddenly they notice behind them an enormous gingerbread house. On the
   left side is an oven, on the right side is a cage, and around it is a
   fence of gingerbread children. Unable to resist temptation, they take a
   little bit of the house and nibble on it.

Scene 3

   As the children nibble, a voice calls out, "Nibbling, nibbling, little
   mouse! Who's nibbling on my little house?" Hänsel and Gretel decide
   that the voice must have been the wind, and they begin to eat the
   house. As Hänsel breaks off another piece of the house, the voice again
   calls out, "Nibbling, nibbling, little mouse! Who's nibbling on my
   little house?" Hänsel and Gretel ignore the voice, and continue eating.
   The witch comes out of the house and catches Hänsel with a rope. As
   Hänsel tries to escape, the witch explains that she is Rosine
   Leckermaul (literally, "Rosina Tastymuzzle"), and that she likes
   nothing better than to feed children sweets. Hänsel and Gretel are
   suspicious of the witch, so Hänsel frees himself from the rope and he
   and Gretel begin to run away.

   The witch takes out her wand and calls out, "Stop!" Hänsel and Gretel
   are frozen to the spot where they stand. Using the wand, the witch
   leads Hänsel to the cage. The witch leaves him stiff and slow of
   movement. She tells Gretel to be reasonable, and then the witch goes
   inside to fetch raisins and almonds with which to fatten Hänsel. Hänsel
   whispers to Gretel to pretend to obey the witch. The witch returns, and
   waving her wand, says, "Hocus pocus, holderbush! Loosen, rigid muscles,
   hush!" Using the wand, the witch forces Gretel to dance, then tells her
   to go into the house and set the table. Hänsel pretends to be asleep,
   and the witch, overcome with excitement, describes how she plans to
   cook and eat Gretel.

   The witch wakes up Hänsel and has him show her his finger. He puts out
   a bone instead, and she feels it instead. Disappointed that he is so
   thin, the witch calls for Gretel to bring out raisins and almonds. As
   the witch tries to feed Hänsel, Gretel steals the wand from the witch's
   pocket. Waving it towards Hänsel, Gretel whispers, "Hocus pocus,
   holderbush! Loosen rigid muscles, hush!" As the witch turns around and
   wonders at the noise, Hänsel discovers that he can move freely again.

   The witch tells Gretel to peek inside the oven to see if the
   gingerbread is done. Hänsel softly calls out to her to be careful.
   Gretel pretends that she doesn't know what the witch means. The witch
   tells her to lift herself a little bit and bend her head forward.
   Gretel says that she's "a goose" and doesn't understand, then asks the
   witch to demonstrate. The witch, frustrated, opens the oven and leans
   forward. Hänsel springs out of the cage, and he and Gretel shove the
   witch into the oven. They dance. The oven begins to crackle and the
   flames burn fiercely, and with a loud crash it explodes.

Scene 4

   Around Hänsel and Gretel, the gingerbread children have turned back
   into humans. They are asleep and unable to move, but they sing to
   Hänsel and Gretel, asking to be touched. Hänsel is afraid, but Gretel
   strokes one on the cheek, and he wakes up, but is still unable to move.
   Hänsel and Gretel touch all the children, then Hänsel takes the witch's
   wand and, waving it, calls out, "Hocus pocus, elderbush! Loosen rigid
   muscles, whoosh!" The children are freed from the spell, and give
   Hänsel and Gretel their lifelong thanks.

Scene 5

   Father is heard in the distance, calling for Hänsel and Gretel. He and
   Mother enter and embrace Hänsel and Gretel. Meanwhile, the gingerbread
   children pull out from the ruins of the oven the witch, who has turned
   into gingerbread. Father gathers the children around and tells them to
   look at this miracle. He explains that this is heaven's punishment for
   evil deeds and reminds them, "When the need is greatest, God the Lord
   puts out His hand."

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