HUMPERDINCK, ENGELBERT  BIOGRAPHY

Humperdinck is generally known for his fairy-tale opera Hänsel und Gretel, a Christmas favourite, first staged in Weimar in 1893. His career brought early contact with Wagner and subsequently with his family, as music tutor to Siegfried Wagner, the composer's son. He held various teaching positions of some distinction and enjoyed a fruitful collaboration in the theatre with Max Reinhardt, providing incidental music for a number of Shakespearean productions in Berlin.

Operas

If Hänsel und Gretel remains the best known of Humperdinck's operas, recent revivals abroad of Die Königskinder (The King's Children), another fairy-tale opera, suggest a renewal of its popularity.