School matinee performances at 9 AM and 1030 AM. Teachers, please call (559) 225-6737 to reserve for schools and classes.

Engelbert Humperdinck is best known for his fairy-tale opera Hansel and Gretel, first staged in Weimar, Germany in 1893. Humperdinck began work on Hansel and Gretel after his sister asked him to compose music for a play for her children in 1890. He first started to compose Hansel and Gretel, based on the fairy tale by Ludwig Grimm, as a Singspiel consisting of a play with 16 songs and piano accompaniment. With its highly original synthesis of Wagnerian techniques and traditional German folk songs, Hansel and Gretel was an instant and overwhelming success FOR AUDIENCES OF ALL AGES.

On receiving the score of Humperdinck's opera in October 1893, Richard Strauss declared the work a masterpiece and conducted the premiere just two months later. The lush simplicity captivated the world and was eventually translated into 20 languages to become a rare masterpiece, popular & deeply enduring, PERFORMED FOR STUDENTS IN ENGLIGH!

The traditional story of Hansel and Gretel find two children in the woods, whose bravery and ingenuity overcome the forces of and free them from an ogre. There are several themes and morals throughout the story, and the music is among the most beloved and cherished of all time, ONE HOUR IN LENGTH.

Location: Tower Theater, 815 East Olive, Fresno
Starts: 2006 Nov 27 - 9:00am
Ends: 2006 Nov 27 - 10:30am
Website: http://www.calopera.org