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).
Hänsel und Gretel
Based on a fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, Engelbert Humperdinck’s beloved opera is traditionally often performed at Christmastime as a treat for children. Humperdinck had originally planned to write a simple work with a spoken text and folksong-like melodies. It turned out to be a full- fledged, Wagnerian-style opera that was premiered in 1893 by no less a conductor than Richard Strauss, who termed the work “a masterpiece of the first rank.” For this lavish production staged and directed by August Everding, a cast of top singers has been put together, including Brigitte Fassbaender, Edita Gruberova, Hermann Prey, Helga Dernesch and Sena Jurinac. Sir Georg Solti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic.