Eröd baEcHlE sindram tonca

Adrian
Eröd
Janina
Baechle
Daniela
Sindram
Engelbert
Humperdinck
Hänsel
Gretel
und
conducted by Christian
Thielemann
staged by Adrian Noble
Ileana
Tonca
Engelbert Humperdinck
Orchestra Orchester der Wiener Staatsoper
Conductor Christian Thielemann
Stage Director Adrian Noble
Peter, a broom-maker
Gertrud
Hänsel
Gretel
Witch
Sandman and Dew Fairy
Adrian Eröd
Janina Baechle
Daniela Sindram
Ileana Tonca
Michaela Schuster
Annika Gerhards
Video Director Agnes Méth
Length: 113'
Shot in HDTV 1080/50i
Cat. no. A 040 50047
A production of
ORF and UNITEL CLASSICA
in co-production with ZDF/Arte
in cooperation with Wiener Staatsoper
The secret of its lasting success lies, of course, not just in the delicious
thrills and spills of the familiar story – with its recognizably realistic child
heroes, its grotesquely comical, yet genuinely terrifying witch and its
comfortingly happy-ever-after ending – but also in its magical musical
mix of memorable folksong-inspired melodies and wonderfully rich and
colourful orchestration. The latter brilliantly synthesizes the influences
of both Richard Wagner, whom Humperdinck had assisted on the
Bayreuth premiere of Parsifal, and Richard Strauss, who conducted
Hänsel und Gretel’s Weimar premiere, declaring it “a masterpiece of
the highest quality (…) all of it original, new and authentically German”.
Mahler was another admirer.
In bringing the work back to the Wiener Staatsoper for its first new
production since World War II – inventively directed by Adrian Noble,
former Artistic Director of Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company –
it’s no surprise that, as one of today’s most admired interpreters of
both Wagner and Strauss, German conductor Christian Thielemann
should particularly relish the musical echoes of those composers’
works in Humperdinck’s score. In Opera magazine’s words, “He
polished all these moments with refinement and subtlety, inspiring
the Staatsopernorchester to play with energy, engagement and
transparence.” Other reviews were equally ecstatic, praising both the
orchestra’s “fabulously resplendent and silky playing” (Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung) and Thielemann’s “concern for an elegantly
flowing musical line (…) and for a lightness and transparency that allow
this noble music to sparkle in manifold ways” – in short, the whole
performance was “musically exceptional (…) a miniature miracle in
sound” (Wiener Zeitung).
World Sales:
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Unitel GmbH & Co. KG, Germany · Tel. +49.89.673469-630 · [email protected] www.unitelclassica.com
All rights reserved · credits not contractual · Different territories · Photos: © Michael Pöhn · Flyer: luebbeke.com
Hänselund Gretel
Based on one of the best-loved stories by the Brothers Grimm, and
with a libretto by his sister, Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera
Hänsel und Gretel began life as a private entertainment for his own
family before being presented to the wider world as a “Christmas gift”
in 1893. An instant success – presented in over 50 German theatres
within a year of its Weimar premiere – it soon became one of the mostperformed operas in the world and has remained enduringly popular
with both children and adults ever since. And, like all the best treats, it’s
not just for Christmas!