Opera Plots I - MDC Faculty Home Pages

Fairy Opera By Engelbert Humperdinck
Libretto Adapted from Grimm's Fairy Tale by Adeiheid Wette
First Produced Weimar, 1893
Chief Characters Hansel and Gretel, Gertrude (their mother), Peter the Broom-maker (their father),
The Witch, The Sleep Fairy, The Dawn Fairy
THE plot follows almost exactly the simple fairy story. In the first act the two children, Hansel
and Gretel, are discovered in the hut of their father, Peter the Broom-maker. Their parents are out,
and the two children have been bidden to knit and make brooms during their absence. They are,
however, very hungry; but as a jug of milk is on the table they know they will get some of it for
their supper later on, and they are so enlivened by the thought that they begin to dance and frolic
about, singing nursery songs, and enjoying themselves mightily. When their mother presently
returns, however, she is angry at seeing them idling instead of working; and in her wrath she
prepares to beat them, but instead of hitting Hansel she knocks over the jug of milk, so that there is
now no supper. The mother, therefore, puts a basket into Gretel's hands, and sends both children
out into the forest to gather strawberries, bidding them not to return unless their basket is wellfilled.
After the children have gone, Peter the Broom-maker returns in high good spirits, having
met with good fortune during the day, and brought back with him a good supper; but on learning
that the children have been sent out into the forest, he upbraids the mother, declaring that they may
fall into the clutches of the witch who dwells in the forest in a sweet-meat house, by means of
which she entices children inside and then bakes them into gingerbread cakes. The mother now
repents of her harshness; and, full of anxiety, the couple rush out into the forest to search for the
little wanderers. In Act 2 Hansel and Gretel are shown wandering in the wood, gathering
strawberries and eating them, and weaving garlands of flowers, whilst they listen to the cuckoo.
They are very happy until the darkness begins to settle in; and then, dis-covering that they have
lost the path, and cannot return home, they are frightened, and Gretel weeps. Hansel, however,
comforts her; and finally the pair lie down, say their prayers, and go to sleep, being lulled into a
deep slumber by the Sleep Fairy, who throws sand in their eyes. We are next shown the beautiful
dream that comes to them; for as the night mists roll away, fourteen Angels are seen descending a
golden ladder of light, and grouping themselves around the sleeping children as heavenly
guardians. After a while, the Dawn Fairy appears, and awakens the pair by shaking dewdrops over
them; and when she has departed, the children see that they are close to a little house made of
gingerbread and sweets, and being very hungry they break off some of the pleasant sweet stuff and
eat it. At that moment, however, the old witch appears, riding on a broomstick, and, seiz-ing the
children, she puts Hansel into a cage to fatten up, whilst she forces Gretel to help her with her
cooking. She makes up a big fire, and bids Gretel feel if the oven is hot enough; but the little girl
pre-tends not to understand how to do so. The old witch then opens the oven-door herself;
whereupon Gretel bundles her inside, with the help of Hansel, who has managed to escape from
his cage, and on the door being closed their enemy is baked in her own oven, and is presently
brought out again in the form of a huge gingerbread cake. As the witch bakes, the oven falls into
fragments, and a number of children appear, rejoicing that since the old woman's magic has come
to an end they are restored to their right forms once more, having been enchanted into cakes and
sweets for a long time. As the merry youngsters are dancing and playing Peter and Gertrude
appear, and are full of joy at finding their little ones safe and well; and the opera ends with a merry
romp and a song of thanksgiving.