Merry Christmas

A scene from Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel. You will need to bring the volume up to the limit to hear this clip.

The starving children are dreaming as they sleep lost in the wood. The composer asked for a staircase and angels to guard the children as they sleep. The directors of this production from Covent Garden thought they knew better. The music is wonderful. Is that Gunther Kress as the father in the background?

As well as being a composer, Humperdinck worked with Wagner on productions of Wagner's operas in the 19th Century.