Hansel and Gretel is an opera by nineteenth-century composer
Engelbert Humperdinck, who described it as a Märchenoper (fairy
tale opera). The libretto was written by Humperdinck's sister,
Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale "Hansel
and Gretel". It is much admired for its folk music-inspired
themes, one of the most famous being the "Abendsegen" ("Evening
Benediction") from act 2. 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 "Hansel and Gretel". After several revisions,
the musical sketches and the songs were turned into a full-scale
opera. Humperdinck composed Hansel and Gretel in Frankfurt in
1891 and 1892. The opera was first performed in Weimar on
December 23 1893, conducted by Richard Strauss. It has been
associated with Christmas since its earliest performances and
today it is still most often performed at Christmas time. This
1990 recording stars Anne Sofi