Hänsel und Gretel

The poor brother and sister Hansel and Gretel are sent by their mother into the forest to search for berries. Soon, the children can no longer find their way out of the forest and have to spend the night in the lonely gloom, protected by 14 angels, before finally coming across the gingerbread house and the wicked witch.

The story of Hansel and Gretel is one of the most familiar fairy tales from the collection gathered by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. Engelbert Humperdinck and his librettist Adelheid Wette transformed the familiar material into one of the most successful operas of the 20th century. Since its first performance in Weimar in 1893, the work has been part of the standard Christmas repertoire of every musical theatre and still captivates young and old today. Finally, after five years of travels, the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz is able to present Peter Kertz's popular 1974 staging back on the stage of its original building.

HÄNSEL UND GRETEL programme reading sample