Hänsel und Gretel Is the Dec. 24, 2016, Metropolitan Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Dec. 24, 2016, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is Hänsel und Gretel, a three-act, fairy tale opera by Engelbert Humperdinck.

Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel airs as the Dec. 24, 2016, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Red River Radio @rrrpublicradio, via Twitter Dec. 22, 2016

Hänsel und Gretel (“Hansel and Gretel”), a three-act, fairy tale opera by German composer Engelbert Humperdinck (Sept. 1, 1854-Sept. 27, 1921), is the Dec. 24, 2016, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

The composer’s sister, German librettist and writer Adelheid Witte (Sept. 4, 1858-Aug. 9, 1916), wrote the original German libretto. The literary source is Hänsel und Gretel, a fairy tale of German origin published in 1812 by the Brothers Grimm. Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (Jan. 4, 1785-Sept. 20, 1863) and his brother, Wilhelm Carl Grimm (Feb. 24, 1786-Dec. 16, 1859), specialized in collecting and publishing German folk tales.

The premiere took place Dec. 23, 1893. The venue was Weimarer Hoftheater (“Weimar Court Theatre”) in Weimar, Thuringia, central Germany. German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Georg Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sept. 8, 1949) conducted the opera’s premiere.

The Saturday matinee broadcast reprises the opera’s Jan. 1, 2008, performance at the Metropolitan Opera. The performance is sung in English, using the translation by British librettist and opera director David Pountney (born Sept. 10, 1947).

The archival broadcast of the Met English-language holiday presentation begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (6 p.m. Coordinated Universal Time).

Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski conducts the Saturday matinee broadcast of Hänsel und Gretel. His birthplace is Moscow, northwestern Russia. The Russian conductor debuted in the Metropolitan Opera’s 1999 production of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Alice Coote appears as Hänsel. She was born in Frodsham, Cheshire, North West England. The British lyric mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Christine Schäfer appears as Gretel. Her birthplace is Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, west central Germany. The German soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2001 in the title role of Lulu by Austrian composer Alban Maria Johannes Berg (Feb. 9, 1885-Dec. 24, 1935).

Rosalind Plowright appears as Gertrud, the children’s mother. She was born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, East Midlands of England. The English mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2003 as Kostelnička in Jenůfa by Czech composer Leoš Janáček (July 3, 1854-Aug. 12, 1928).

Alan Held appears as Peter, the children’s father. His birthplace is Washburn, Illinois. The American bass-baritone debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1989 as Mr. Redburn in Billy Budd by Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (Nov. 22, 1913-Dec. 4, 1976).

Philip Langridge (Dec. 16, 1939-March 5, 2010) appears as the Witch, whose baking of children into gingerbread cookies is forever foiled by Gretel. Philip Langridge was born in Hawkhurst, Kent, South East England. The English operatic tenor debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1985 as Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Sasha Cooke appears the Sandman, whose sand grains induce a sleep in Hänsel and Gretel that is guarded by 14 angels. Her birthplace is Riverside, southern California. The American mezzo-soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2007 as the Second Priestess in Iphigénie en Tauride by Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck (July 2, 1714-Nov. 15, 1787).

Lisette Oropesa appears as the Dew Fairy, who awakens Hänsel and Gretel from their dreamy sleep by sprinkling dew on them. She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Cuban-American operatic soprano debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 2006 as a Cretan woman in Mozart’s Idomeneo.

Operabase, an online database, places Engelbert Humperdinck at number 15 in a ranking of 1,281 most popular composers for the five seasons from 2011/2012 to 2015/16. Hänsel und Gretel places at 13 in the list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016 Repertory Report gives performance statistics through Oct. 31. Hänsel und Gretel holds place 32, with 271 performances, for the period from first Met performance, Nov. 25, 1905, to last performance, Jan. 8, 2015. The Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season falls outside the report’s parameters.

Hänsel and Gretel claims the honor of being the Metropolitan Opera’s first live radio broadcast. The broadcast took place on Christmas Day, 1931.

The takeaway for Hänsel und Gretel as the Dec. 24, 2016, Metropolitan Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is the fairy tale’s happy ending, with the triumph of the siblings’ goodness over the Witch’s nefarious plans, with the reunion of Hänsel and Gretel with their parents and with the transformation of the gingerbread children back to their human forms.

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season's performances of Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel revive Richard Jones' staging, which debuted in the 2007-2008 season at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 15, 2016

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel airs as the Dec. 24, 2016, Saturday matinee broadcast during the 2016-2017 Met Opera season: Red River Radio @rrrpublicradio, via Twitter Dec. 22, 2016, @ https://twitter.com/rrrpublicradio/status/812021591576088576

The 2016-2017 Met Opera season's performances of Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel revive Richard Jones' staging, which debuted in the 2007-2008 season at Met Opera: Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 15, 2016, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158020965600533/

For further information:

Attiyeh, Bob. “Sasha Cooke.” Linn Records > Artist.
Available @ http://www.linnrecords.com/artist-sasha-cook.aspx

Austin, Katy S. “The Met in HD, Hansel und Gretel, 2008.” Bachtrack > Reviews. Dec. 1, 2013.
Available @ https://bachtrack.com/review-dec-2013-met-hansel-und-gretel-2008

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

"Debut: Alan Held." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 296050 Billy Budd {33} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/17/1989.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=296050

“Debut: Philip Langridge.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 279140 Così Fan Tutte {100} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/05/1985.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=279140

“Debuts: Christine Schäfer, Andrew Gangestad, Robin Blitch Wiper, David Brimmer.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 333606 Lulu {26} Metropolitan Opera House: 04/09/2001.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=333606

“Debuts: Lisette Oropesa, Jeffrey Francis, Simon O’Neill.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 351557 Idomeneo {60} Metropolitan Opera House: 09/28/2006.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=351557

“Debuts: Louis Langrée, Sasha Cooke, Michele Losier, Jacqueline Antaramian, Mark Capri.” MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 352202 New Production Iphigénie en Tauride {6} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/27/2007.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=352202

Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Today is #NationalCupcakeDay! #TBT to this moment of sweet temptation in the 2008 production of Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel starring Aleksandra Kurzak and Christine Rice in the title roles. Photo by Cory Weaver/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Dec. 15, 2016.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10158020965600533/

Millington, Barry. “Philip Langridge Obituary.” The guardian > Arts > Classical > Music > Opera. March 7, 2010.
Available @ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/mar/07/philip-langridge-obituary

“Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml

Red River Radio @rrrpublicradio. "The Metropolitan Opera: Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel Airs Saturday, December 24, at 12 noon." Twitter. Dec. 22, 2016.
Available @ https://twitter.com/rrrpublicradio/status/812021591576088576

Tobin, Silja. “The Met Celebrates the Holidays with an Archival Broadcast of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel.” MetOpera Datase > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Radio > Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast Alert.
Available @ http://www.metopera.org/metoperafiles/radio/2016-17%20Production/Hansel%20and%20Gretel%2016-17/hanselandgretelpressalert.doc

WarnerClassics. “MET Opera on DVD - Hansel and Gretel - Christine Schafer." YouTube. Sept. 18, 2008.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1elUvZauBk