Organization

Translator

Radek Malý

Singer

Mezzo-soprano

Michaela Zajmi

Hansel

Soprano

Jana Sibera

Gretel

Martin Šrejma

The Gingerbread Witch

Lucie Silkenová

Dewman

Baritone

Jiří Hájek

Peter

Jana Sýkorová

Gertrude

Conductor

Richard Hein

Svatopluk Sem

Veronika Hajnová

Mama

Jana Horáková Levicová

Yukiko Šrejmová-Kinjo

Václav Sibera

Fairy

Stage director

Matěj Forman

Set designer

Andrea Sodomková

Dramaturge

Beno Blachut

Chorus master

Adolf Melichar

Choreographer

Veronika Švábová

Costume designer

National Theatre Prague

Orchestra

State Opera Orchestra

Others

Kühn Children's Choir

Czech

Hänsel und Gretel -  (Hansel and Gretel)

Prague

Czech Republic

Státní Opera Praha (The State Opera)

Hänsel und Gretel Humperdinck

Public

Hansel and Gretel

Saurav Kumar

English

Approved

Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel is one of the most frequently performed operas in Germany. Inspired by the Grimm brothers’ popular fairy tale, the libretto was written by the composer’s sister Adelheid Wette, who modified the rather macabre story, adding the characters of the Sandman and the Dew Fairy, as well as the instrumental dream pantomime scene in the forest, and concluding it with the resurrection of the witch’s victims and the happy reunion between the children and their parents. With the music written in the grand Wagnerian romantic style, Humperdinck’s opera also contains folk rhythms, songs for children and old melodies. The world premiere, in Weimar on 23 December 1893, was conducted by Richard Strauss, totally enraptured by the piece. Enraptured too was the audience, and Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel has ever since remained extremely popular in Germany, where every December it has been performed at more than 35 opera houses. In 1905, the piece was first shown at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where it has often been staged during Christmas.

Our current adaptation of Hänsel und Gretel is directed by Matěj Forman, primarily known to Prague audiences as the designer of the magical scenery for the highly acclaimed productions La Belle et la Bête, A Walk Worthwhile and Enchantia, which he has created in recent years for the National Theatre Opera together with his brother Petr. Matěj Forman and his team’s conception of the musical fairy tale was inspired by the world of itinerant theatre.

Photographer for production: Hana Smejkalová

Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck, From (2022/2023), Directed by Matěj Forman,, Conductor Richard Hein, Státní Opera Praha (The State Opera), Prague, Czech Republic

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues