Hansel and Gretel Opera

The Story of the Hansel and Gretel Opera

Photo courtesy of Meghan McCall Soprano http://www.meghanmccall.com/engagements.asp

Hansel and Gretel is a two act opera written by composer Engelbert Humperdinck. It follows the story of the classic fairy tale. There is also some uniqueness about it. This essay will describe the story in full.

Act I Scene I

The first act takes place at the home of Hansel and Gretel. The two are concerned about their mother being late. They have not finished their work, but Gretel talks Hansel into dancing with her instead. Gretel teaches Hansel all the moves, and then suddenly their mother (Gertrude) arrives and is angry at them for not finishing their work. Instead of feeling bad, they both start laughing, then as a form of punishment, Gertrude sends Hansel and Gretel to the woods to pick strawberries for her. Shortly after Hansel and Gretel leave for the woods, their father arrives home. Gertrude tells him about what Hansel and Gretel have done, and sent them to get some strawberries in the woods. The father warns Gertrude about the dangers that are in the woods at night. After Gertrude hears about this, they both go out and look for them before it’s too late.

Act I Scene II

The second act takes place in the woods. Hansel and Gretel picked the strawberries an s they were told to. They were hungry when they were sent, so they start feasting on the strawberries until they are all gone. They later realize that they are lost, and are then surrounded by night creatures. The two become scared. Later the sandman shows up, and puts the creatures to sleep with his magic. When all the creatures are asleep, Hansel and Gretel say their night prayers and go to sleep safely. While they are sleeping, fairies show up and start dancing around. A few of them start flying around, which is uniqueness about this opera. The fairies then put a cover over Hansel and Gretel to make them comfortable while they sleep.

Act II

Act II starts off in the woods. The first character that is seen is the dew fairy. The dew fairy uses magic to wake up Hansel and Gretel. After they awaken, they discover a gingerbread house. When they go over to eat pieces of it, they hear a voice in the background, and think it is the wind. As they are eating pieces of the house, the wicked witch approaches from behind them, not knowing it is her house. As they try to run, the witch puts a curse on them. If they try to fight the curse, it would only make it worse. The curse forces Hansel into a cage, and makes Gretel do whatever the witch says. The witch tells Gretel to get some raisins to make Hansel fat, so she can cook and eat him. She tries to do the same thing to Gretel. When it comes time for Gretel to go into the oven, she tells the witch that she does not know how to get in it. Gretel asks the witch to show her how, but little does the witch know that it is a trick. When the witch shows Gretel how to enter the oven, Gretel frees Hansel, and pushes the witch into the oven and close the door. After the oven explodes, the witch is destroyed, and a lot of children come out of nowhere. They tell Hansel and Gretel that they freed them from the witch’s gingerbread spell. They all then start dancing and singing. Afterward, Hansel and Gretel’s parents show up, and they are glad to see each other. After this, the opera ends.

Work Cited

Meghan McCall Soprano, N/A http://www.meghanmccall.com/engagements.asp 24 September 2007.