ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK (1854-1921)

Hansel & Gretel

101:08

Märchenspiel (fairy tale) in three acts

Libretto by Adelheid Wette after a fairy-tale by the Brothers Grimm

English translation by David Pountney

1

Overture

7:39

Act I

2

'Goosey goosey gander, the mouse in the straw'

2:57

3

'Down with the dumps, out with the grumps'

2:40

4

'Little brother dance with me'

3:39

Gretel, Hansel

5

'Hansel!'

2:15

Mother, Gretel, Hansel

6

'My jug all in bits'

1:40

Mother

7

'Ral-la-la-la, ral-la-la-la, light the fire'

6:27

8

'But wait, say where are the children?'

3:01

9

'But there's one, a crone, who lives alone'

2:35

Father, Mother

10

Prelude to Act II: The Witches' Ride

4:17

Act II

11

'A dwarf stood in the forest'

2:53

Gretel, Hansel

12

'Cuckoo, cuckoo'

3:16

Cuckoo, Hansel, Gretel

13

'Gretel, I think we've lost the way'

4:18

Hansel, Gretel, voices

14

'I am the little sandman'

2:39

Sandman, Hansel, Gretel

15

'Where each child lays down its head'

3:24

Gretel, Hansel

16

Pantomime

5:01

Act III

17

(Introduction)

2:43

18

'When dew drops on the daisy'

1:40

Dew Fairy, Gretel

19

'I slept here? On a pine-tree bed!'

5:22

20

'Keep still! No sound!'

4:11

Gretel, Hansel

21

'Greedy little mousey, who's nibbling at my housey?'

2:00

Witch, Hansel, Gretel

22

'Hansel, don't be so greedy'

5:11

Gretel, Hansel, Witch

23

'Stop, Hocus pocus, witch's ground'

1:17

Witch

24

'Now Gretel, you're the sensible one'

5:23

Witch, Gretel, Hansel

25

'So hopp hopp hopp, galopp lopp lopp'

1:32

Witch

26

'Now wake up, it's time to eat'

3:51

Witch, Gretel, Hansel

27

'Hoorach! Now that the witch is dead'

2:40

Gretel, Hansel

28

'The dead arise, but cannot see'

4:05

Gingerbread Children, Gretel, Hansel, Father

29

'Father! Mother!'

2:16

Gretel, Hansel, Mother, Father, Gingerbread Children

Jennifer Larmore mezzo-soprano - Hansel

Rebecca Evans soprano - Gretel

Rosalind Plowright mezzo-soprano - Gertrude

Robert Hayward baritone - Peter

Jane Henschel mezzo-soprano - The Witch

Sarah Tynan soprano - The Dew Fairy

Diana Montague mezzo soprano - The Sandman

Sarah Coppen The Cuckoo

Sir Charles Mackerras

22-27 November 2006