Jerusalem Lyric Opera

Opera Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck

The history of the creation of the fabulous opera "Hansel and Gretel" by E. Humperdinck is as fascinating as the opera itself. Once the composer`s sister, Adelheid Wette, decided to arrange a musical performance based on the fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm in the family circle and asked her brother to write four songs, to which she composed the words. The performance with the participation of the children of Adelheid caused a storm of delight among all those present, and Engelbert Humperdinck, inspired by this event, decided to create a singspiel. As a result, E. Humperdinck worked with such rapture that he wrote a full-fledged opera.
One of the main directors of the opera was the young Richard Strauss, at the premiere he acted as chief conductor. The first performance of "Hansel and Gretel" occurred on Christmas Eve, December 23, 1893, in Weimar at the Hoftheater, better known as the German National Theatre. Children`s opera - a fairy tale made a splash! Since that moment, the opera has been constantly accompanied by fame and success, and the anniversary productions of "Hansel and Gretel", on the occasion of the anniversary of the triumphal premiere, have always aroused increased interest and attention of the public.

In December the famous fairy tale “Hansel and Gretel” in an interesting production by the Estonian director Neeme Kuningas comes back to Jerusalem. Hansel and Gretel were sent into the woods to look for strawberries and were lost in the forest.