In 1881, the twenty-seven-year-old Engelbert Humperdinck became Richard Wagner’s assistant in Bayreuth. Wagner had two more years to live. These two years of intense artistic collaboration on Parsifal indelibly marked the young composer’s life and style. In 1883, the Master died, leaving his disciple “incomplete”. He became a wanderer, travelling throughout Europe, eventually becoming a renowned teacher. Ten years later, in Weimar, Humperdinck completed his masterpiece, Hänsel und Gretel. His sister wrote the libretto, inspired by the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale.
The opera premiered at Christmas under the enthusiastic baton of Richard Strauss. Humperdinck had retained a Wagnerian taste for continuous melody and leitmotiv. However, his fairy-tale opera (Märchenoper) also drew on children’s songs and the sort of popular melodies whose origins tend to become lost in the mists of time.
The result is music that astounds, as deep as the lakes of Germanic legends but at the same time strangely familiar. It conjures up memories of our forgotten childhood as though once, long ago, we ourselves were that very brother and sister lost in the forest, trapped in the grasp of the witch with her gingerbread house.
The opera premiered at Christmas under the enthusiastic baton of Richard Strauss. Humperdinck had retained a Wagnerian taste for continuous melody and leitmotiv. However, his fairy-tale opera (Märchenoper) also drew on children’s songs and the sort of popular melodies whose origins tend to become lost in the mists of time.
The result is music that astounds, as deep as the lakes of Germanic legends but at the same time strangely familiar. It conjures up memories of our forgotten childhood as though once, long ago, we ourselves were that very brother and sister lost in the forest, trapped in the grasp of the witch with her gingerbread house.
News About Hansel et Gretel at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
We have no news on this show at the current time.
About the Theatre
Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier
175 St. Catherine Street West
Montréal, Quebec QC H2X 1Z8
Phone: 514-285-4200
More Montreal Coverage
Videos
|
Grow Segal Centre for Performing Arts (5/24-6/14) |
|
Seasons of Song Eric Maclean Center for the Performing Arts (6/14-6/14) |
|
Scions Conservatoire d'art dramatique de Montréal (6/12-6/21) |
|
Bloody Cabaret! Théâtre La Comédie de Montréal (6/11-6/21) |
|
Le Fantome Dans La Machine Théâtre Manuvie (3/04-3/04) |
|
Mamma Mia! Place des Arts [Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier] (10/13-10/18) |
|
John Cameron Mitchell: Hedwig 25th Anniversary Movie Tour Théâtre Beanfield (6/30-6/30) |
|
Doja Cat Centre Bell (11/27-11/27) |
|
Moulin Rouge! Place des Arts [Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier] (6/09-6/14) |
|
Cathy Gauthier - Humaine L'Olympia (2/24-2/24) |
| VIEW ALL SHOWS ADD A SHOW | |
Get Montreal's #1 Theatre Newsletter
Get the best news & discounts for Montreal Shows & beyond.
