Hansel and Gretel. A fairytale opera

Hansel and Gretel are sent into the woods by their parents as a punishment to collect berries. As dusk falls, the siblings stray from their way home, discover a gingerbread house, and hungrily sample its treats. Inside lives an old, ugly witch who enchants children into gingerbread. Hansel and Gretel slowly realize that they are in danger. With great cunning, the children push the wicked old woman into her own oven, which explodes, allowing them to escape. Finally, all the children are found by their worried parents, who have been searching for them in the woods. The family of Hansel and Gretel is also happily reunited. The Christmas classic by Engelbert Humperdinck (1854-1921) features a cover illustration by Georgian artist Katya Kuznetsova. The audiobook version is narrated by Antje Hamer as a staged reading with music and well-known songs such as "Suse, dear Suse..." and "A little man stands in the woods...". Engelbert Humperdinck composed numerous songs and orchestral works, but he preferred to write operas for children. After studying at the Conservatory in Cologne and the Royal Music School in Munich, he became an assistant to the famous Richard Wagner and later even served as the musical director of the Bayreuth Festival. Engelbert Humperdinck gained worldwide fame through his children's opera "Hansel and Gretel," which premiered on December 23, 1893, at the German National Theater in Weimar with the Weimar State Orchestra. The opera's libretto was written by his sister Adelheid Wette, née Humperdinck.