From Mirlo Studio... Hansel and Gretel
From Mirlo Studio... Hansel and Gretel
The opera by Humperdinck inspired by the Grimms' tale
[ Escucha el podcast original en español aquí ]
Hansel and Gretel, the famous tale by the Grimm brothers, is also an opera by Engelbert Humperdinck... Manuel Gimferrer and Georgina Mauriño tell us how the adaptation of the story was carried out, and how its music refers to the popular roots of the story, with a romantic language, and with the influence of the music of Richard Wagner as well.
During the podcast, we listen to two special moments from the opera:
The number “Brüderchen komm tanz mit mir” on the piano, just as Humeprdinck himself accompanied his children at the time of its original composition. It is a popular song in which Gretel teaches her brother Hansel to dance. [Manuel plays it for us in the studio]
The famous Witches’ Ride, who fly over the forest, and announcing the dangers that lie in wait for children while their parents search for them. This number is often considered a tribute to Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries. [The recording is from 1953 with Herbert von Karajan and the Philharmonia Orchestra].
Georgina tells us about a scene that she specially likes: when the children are eating sweets in front of the house, they refuse to pay attention to the noises that reach them. That is because they don’t want to interrupt their pleasure...
But those noises are made by the witch, who comes from behind and catches them. And it is very true that both children and grown-ups often ignore what makes them uncomfortable.
The story ends with the celebration of the witch’s demise, with a choir of the marzipan children, whom Hansel and Gretel liberate. They are joined by the parents, merging all in a big hug... We leave you a video with this wonderful finale.
Our Hansel and Gretel from the Tell Me an Opera collection is completed with the witch Rosina's original Marzipan recipe and a pedagogical guide to learn many other things with this story. We will bring everything in the near future to the MIRLOS platform, which we are developing.