Hänsel und Gretel

In the organizer's words:

Opera+ by Engelbert Humperdinck for everyone aged 10 and over

Hansel and Gretel are hungry. This life-threatening condition affects one in five children in Kassel due to rising food prices and poverty rates. Hunger is also literally eating Hansel and Gretel from the inside. They can only dream of a gingerbread house decorated with their favorite sweets. And when they knock over the milk, their impoverished parents send the children into the forest to gather berries as punishment. Desperate, the siblings set off, but are unable to find their way back home. In the enchanted fairytale forest, Hansel and Gretel meet all kinds of fantastic creatures who help them on their adventure, until suddenly the famous question "Knusper, knusper Knäuschen, wer knuspert mir am Häuschen?" rings out from the forest.

Humperdinck's popular family opera is based on the Brothers Grimm's children's and house fairy tales and is told by director Jessica Glause together with young people from Kassel in a fairytale-like and realistic way - as a fantastic journey through the dark forest, as an escape from childhood poverty and as a courageous story of growing up. Under the musical direction of Viktor Jugović, Humperdinck's catchy yet multi-layered late Romantic composition unfolds into an opulent world of sound, sometimes childishly cheerful, sometimes darkly dramatic. Wagner light with a broom ride!

Hansel and Gretel is a PLUS production in collaboration between Musiktheater and JUST+.

Hansel and Gretel is also available for school classes in morning performances. Free introductory workshops can be booked in preparation for the opera visit. Inquiries to carolina.loewenstein@staatstheater-kassel.de