Hansel and Gretel

• Hänsel und Gretel developed out of four songs Humperdinck wrote in 1890 to texts by his sister, Adelheid Wette, who often employed the fairy tale genre.
• Humperdinck gave an early singspiel (songs and spoken dialogue) version of Hänsel und Gretel to his fiancée Hedwig Taxer as an engagement present at Christmas 1890. He presented her with the fully scored opera the next Christmas.¹
• The opera premiered in Weimar on December 23, 1893 conducted by Richard Strauss.²

“Evening Prayer” and “Dream Pantomime”

• The “Evening Prayer” (“Abends will ich schlafen geh’n”) and “Dream Pantomime” take place at the end of Act II. The Sandman has just visited Hansel and Gretel, who are lost in the woods at dusk, and sprinkles his magic sand to help them sleep. The siblings sing a prayer and drift into sleep, after which fourteen angels appear to watch over them.

Brief synopsis of the opera

1. Ian Denley, “Humperdinck, Engelbert,” Grove Music Online (2001) accessed October 24, 2019,  https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000013550.
2. Betsy Schwarm and Linda Cantoni, “Hänsel and Gretel,” Encyclopedia Britannica (2014), accessed December 12, 2022, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hansel-and-Gretel-opera-by-Humperdinck.