The new Hungarian State Opera production of Hänsel and Gretel: not only for children

The last premiere of 2017 at the Hungarian State Opera is a fairy-tale opera performed traditionally in the festive season. The new production directed by Rafael R. Villalobos, winner of Opera Europa’s directing competition in Graz, welcomes adults and children alike.

The Wagnerian Engelbert Humperdinck is one of the most important figures in German fairy-tale opera. The success of a shortish “Märchenoper” composed to a libretto by the composer’s own sister, Adelheid Wette, convinced him to write a full-evening children’s opera based on the famous Brothers Grimm story, with slight departures from the original plot. The piece was immediately declared a masterpiece by Humperdinck’s contemporary Richard Strauss, who conducted the fairy-tale opera at its Weimar premiere. Greeted with instant and enormous acclaim, the work went on to conquer the world.

„Humperdinck’s opera deals with various themes, all of a markedly social nature. Standing out amongst them, due to the numerous references to it throughout the piece, is Work. Adults and children alike in this story, at once fable and drama, live under its yoke, forced to work until they drop, their effort largely unrewarded. The resulting frustration traps the characters in a gloomy and depressing spiral” – said the director.