Organization

Conductor

Mark Elder

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Susan Bullock

Gertrude

Baritone

Franz Grundheber

Peter

Jane Henschel

The Gingerbread Witch

Katarina Karnéus

Hansel

Soprano

Michaela Kaune

Gretel

Susanne Kreusch

Sandman

Gisela Stille

Little Dew Fairy

Berliner Philharmoniker

Family concert: Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” for children

Berlin

Germany

Berliner Philharmonie

It is fairytale time at the Philharmonie! Horn player and presenter Klaus Wallendorf welcomes “children and former children” to Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hänsel und Gretel, which he carefully abridged and supplied rhyming texts to connect the musical elements. The Berliner Philharmoniker and an outstanding ensemble of singers perform under the baton of Mark Elder.

Family concert: Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” for children: Hänsel und Gretel Humperdinck

Public

Hansel and Gretel

Approved

It is fairy-tale time at the Philharmonie! Horn player and presenter Klaus Wallendorf welcomes “children and former children” to Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera Hänsel und Gretel, which he carefully abridged and supplied rhyming texts to connect the musical elements. 

The audience of this concert performance consists of the young and the not so young, some of whom are allowed to sit among the musicians to see at close quarters how an orchestra works. An eight-year-old boy from the audience even gets the chance to conduct the Berliner Philharmoniker – something many adult conductors can only dream of – though only during the “ride of the witch” in the first act.

The actual conductor of the concert is Sir Mark Elder. Together with the Berliner Philharmoniker and an outstanding ensemble of singers, he brings out the wealth of beauty the score has to offer: the romantic forest atmosphere, the festive orchestration, the wonderful melodies, some of which have almost become folk songs, such as “Brother, come and dance with me”. However, we never lose sight of the fun and excitement of the fairy tale: at the end, all the children at the concert help to free Hänsel und Gretel from the clutches of the witch with a magic spell, so everyone lives happily ever after.

English

Family concert: Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel” for children by Humperdinck, From (2006/2006), Conductor Mark Elder, Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues