Hansel and Gretel

Order tickets
May 2024 Next
Mo
Tu
We
Th
Fr
Sa
Su

 

Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel is one of the most frequently performed operas in Germany. Inspired by the Grimm brothers’ popular fairy tale, the libretto was written by the composer’s sister Adelheid Wette, who modified the rather macabre story, adding the characters of the Sandman and the Dew Fairy, as well as the instrumental dream pantomime scene in the forest, and concluding it with the resurrection of the witch’s victims and the happy reunion between the children and their parents. With the music written in the grand Wagnerian romantic style, Humperdinck’s opera also contains folk rhythms, songs for children and old melodies. The world premiere, in Weimar on 23 December 1893, was conducted by Richard Strauss, totally enraptured by the piece. Enraptured too was the audience, and Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel has ever since remained extremely popular in Germany, where every December it has been performed at more than 35 opera houses. In 1905, the piece was first shown at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where it has often been staged during Christmas.

 

Our current adaptation of Hänsel und Gretel is directed by Matěj Forman, primarily known to Prague audiences as the designer of the magical scenery for the highly acclaimed productions La Belle et la Bête, A Walk Worthwhile and Enchantia, which he has created in recent years for the National Theatre Opera together with his brother Petr. Matěj Forman and his team’s conception of the musical fairy tale was inspired by the world of itinerant theatre.

 

Suitable for audience from 5 years.

Program and cast

Cast

Conductor

Richard
Hein

Papa

Jiří
Hájek

Mama

Veronika
Hajnová

Hänsel

Arnheiður
Eiríksdóttir

 

Gretel

Lada
Bočková

Witch

Václav
Sibera

Fairy

Lucie
Silkenová

Creatives

Libretto adaptation

Matěj FormanAndrea SodomkováRadek Malý

Transversification

Radek Malý

Stage director

Matěj Forman

Sets

Matěj FormanAndrea Sodomková

Costumes

Andrea Sodomková

Choreography

Veronika Švábová

Chorus master

Adolf Melichar

Dramaturgy

Beno Blachut

Prague State Opera

The State Opera today

 

The State Opera (formerly the State Opera Prague, between 1948 and 1992 the Smetana Theatre, and originally the New German Theatre) has been a part of the National Theatre since 2012. The Opera and Ballet ensembles give repertory performances at the State Opera.

 

History

 

The Prague State Opera resides in the building which on January 5, 1888 was opened as a Prague German stage with the performance of Wagner’s opera, The Mastersingers of Nürnberg. In the 19th century, Prague Germans performed in the Estate’s Theater in alternation with a Czech company. Desire for their own theater led to negotiations in 1883 for the construction of a new theater building for the German Theater Association. Over the next three years, a blueprint was drawn up and handed over to the Vienna atelier of Fellner and Hellmer. Also sharing in the design was the architect of the Vienna Municipal Theater, Karl Hasenauer, while Prague architect Alfons Wertmüller took part in the construction. Financing came from private collections. With its spacious auditorium and neo-Rococo decoration, this theater building is among the most beautiful in Europe.

 

Access:

 

By car

On Wilsonova street, from the left lane close to the State Opera building take the slip road to the Slovan above-ground garage. The parking fee is 40 CZK/h.

 

By tram

 

By daytime tram No. 11 to the stop “Muzeum”, through the underpass beneath Legerova street in the direction of the NationalMuseum, at the crossroads turn right along the NewBuilding of the NationalMuseum.

 

By daytime trams Nos. 3, 9, 14 and 24 or night trams Nos. 51, 52, 54, 55, 56 and 58 to the stop “Václavské náměstí”, then by foot uphill on the left side of the Wenceslas Square to the traffic lights across Wilsonova and Vinohradská streets. Then turn left along the NewBuilding of the NationalMuseum.

 

By metro

To the “Muzeum” station, lines A and C (green and red), and then by foot along the NewBuilding of the NationalMuseum.

Related events
Estates Theatre - Kateřina Tučková
Prague - Estates Theatre
Performances: Th 09 May 2024,
Municipal House Tickets
Prague - Municipal House
Performances: Fr 29 Mar 2024, 08:30 - 9:45
Prague National Theatre
Prague - Prague National Theatre
Performances: Sa 20 Apr 2024,
Municipal House Tickets
Prague - Municipal House
Performances: We 12 Jun 2024,
Estates Theatre
Prague - Estates Theatre
Performances: Fr 29 Mar 2024, 08:30 - 9:45
Prague National Theatre - Karel Čapek
Prague - Prague National Theatre
Performances: Su 21 Apr 2024, 00:00