Customer Reviews

Humperdinck - Hansel und Gretel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I reviewed a new DVD of Verdi's Falstaff conducted by Sir Georg Solti on DGG some weeks ago. I thought it superb. Here is another Solti led release: Englebert Humperdinck's charming fairy tale opera based on Hansel und Gretel. It was filmed for Unitel and has been available on video before. It, too, is an excellent effort in all respects. I've occasionally been less than enthusiastic about Solti's conducting; his Ring cycle is not my favorite but I'm in the minority on that. These two recent releases may make me rethink my opinion of Solti's operatic vision. I guess you CAN teach an old dog new tricks!

Filmed in Vienna under the direction of August Everding in January and February 1981, the soundtrack was recorded in September the previous year. This is similar to Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's technique; his belief that lip synching enables singers to focus on their acting rather than worrying about where their next note is coming from. This works for me but purists do not like it. Be forewarned that this is not a typically staged Opera!

Brigitte Fassbaender sings Hansel and she is wonderful in the part. Her light mezzo makes her a perfect Hansel. What I found a little disconcerting was her uncommon beauty which, although disguised by costume and make-up, made me struggle to see her as a young boy. Edita Gruberova sings Gretel and she too is marvelous. In the mid-1980's she moved into the Italian bel canto repertoire for which she has been better known. The pair in tandem carry the weight of this lyrical Opera without difficulty. Perfect casting. The late Hermann Prey is the Father. He was a comedic singer/actor of the first magnitude (my personal favorite Figaro for both Mozart and Rossini), but he tones his comic gifts down for this role. He looks suitably haggard in the film but his singing is as lively as ever. Helga Dernesch is the mother and she too is fine. Most interesting is the much-loved soprano Sena Jurinac in the role of the Witch, two years before her retirement. Her older voice is perfect for the role. Her farewell to the stage was as the Marschallin.

The Vienna Philharmonic is superb, as always. In years of listening, I cannot recall a bad performance by this remarkable ensemble. The film uses special effects such as stop motion photography and animation for the more imaginative scenes. They are effective but limited. Do not compare them to today's Computer Graphics intensive films. A lyrical fairy tale ambiance suffuses this film and it is quite magical if you do not expect more than 1981 can deliver. I enjoyed it and was often quite moved (the appearance of the Angels, in particular, I found exceptionally lovely and poetic).

The film runs 107 minutes. It is in color, shot full screen with a 4:3 aspect ratio. Sound formats are PCM stereo and DTS 5.1. On higher-end A/V systems there is a significant difference between the two, with DTS providing greater presence, a larger illusion of space in the soundfield and a sense of "liveness" I have found in none of the other formats (including Dolby 5.1). Lower-end systems may not reveal much difference. There are the usual subtitles and no extras other than excerpts from current DGG releases. This is an excellent DVD which I recommend highly. You will probably treasure it as I do as long as you take my several provisos into consideration.

Mike Birman

Of the handful of available Hansel and Gretels, this is the best sung, and has the most period-authentic costuming.

Brigitte Fassbaender and Edita Gruberova, as Hansel and Gretel, simply can't be beaten, both for the perfection of their singing, AND their acting--they are so truly childlike (not childish!).

Yes, it gets better. Hermann Prey and Helga Dernesch add personality and a touch of comedy to make the Father and Mother roles much more than they usually are.

All we need now to make it a definitive H & G would be a good "Knusper-Witch," which we have in Sena Jurinac--scary, but believable and essential.

If you already enjoy Hansel and Gretel, you will still be surprised both by how believable as young children Fassbaender and Gruberova are. And--you get their splendid singing abilities.

This performance was recorded in 1981, but is certainly not at all out of date. It has subtitles available in English, German, French, Spanish, and Chinese, but you really don't need the subtitles to follow the story or to enjoy the show.

This would be an ideal performance to introduce opera to children, or perhaps to friends who think they could never enjoy opera.

You'll find more amazing details each time you watch it!

Before watching this, put aside your critical eye and relax so you can be carried along with the magic. It is, as the other reviewers have said, beautifully done. But you watch this opera to be enchanted - let it happen. It starts with the overture - the camera takes you to the beautiful opera house, past the poster announcing the opera and sweeps you along with the children who are flooding into the hall. Then Georg Solti is seen closeup conducting the orchestra and then the scene shifts to the beginning of the opera. Throughout there are occasional cuts to the children's faces so you can see they are as transfixed as you - if you will just relax and let it happen as a child does. Scene changes are done magically without pause in the music. You will be moved emotionally when the fourteen angels appear as Hansel and Gretel sleep in the forest. The forest is just scary enough to send shivers through small bodies but not so frightening they will not want to watch. The witch is bad but not the kind of bad that makes for nightmares in children. Unless, of course, the watching child is sweet and plump enough to make good gingerbread. The language is a problem at first because it is so NOT like children would talk - ever. But - remember it's opera, remember it's translated from German, remember it's supposed to be a little high falutin' and remember - most important - remember you are watching this opera because you decided to be enchanted. Just let it carry you and you'll be happy. It'a beautifully staged, beautifully costumed, beautifully sung, beautifully played and utterly enchanting. "mousy, mousy, who's nibbling on my housy?" says the gingerbread making witch as Hansel tears off parts of the roof. It's for kids. All of us kids.

Hansel and Gretel is simply a masterwork, and this film does it justice! Check out the other 5-star reviews -- especially Mike Birman's -- for additional detail and observations with which I completely concur. Humperdinck uses the fairy tale as a vehicle for making powerful statements about love, hope, and faith. Humperdinck was influenced by Wagner's principle that drama based on myth and legend common to a people was at once both most understandable and appealing.

This performance is absolutely the best there is of this work. I wore out the 1981 tape I had, and have waited for YEARS for this production to come out in DVD. While the special effects do not come up to today's production standards, what is there is effective.

The production is filmed, not staged. The audio is top-drawer and the acting is compelling and believable. This is an all-star cast, conductor, and orchestra that will not disappoint; check out the bios of the cast for yourself. Prepare to be blown away at how they could all be lined up for this project!

Bottom line? BUY THIS DVD!

I saw this 1981 production of Humperdinck's evergreen opera HANSEL UND GRETEL (composed 1893) on a PBS telecast about 1987, and really enjoyed it alot. I recognized Hermann Prey (1929-1998) despite his costume, and he looked alot here like a then-current photo of him in MUSICAL AMERICA, where the reviewer lambasted Prey's recent audio recording of Schubert's WINTERREISE (Denon CD). While I have not heard Prey's Denon WINTERREISE, I heard him sing the role of Father here, and really enjoyed what he did with his part. Prey's talents as a comic actor shine forth here, and he is so expressive! Even though his part is not that large it is SO WELL DONE, this was what I remembered from the 1987 PBS telecast.

The other roles are all wonderfully performed: Brigitte Fassbaender really makes you believe in Hansel, an impish boy, and Edita Gruberova looks the part of the naive young Gretel. Helga Dernesch is wonderful as the mother, looking rather matronly as a mother might in 1893, and she surely doesn't hold back scolding her children for their laziness and lack of caring in failing to mend the brooms - their assigned task - while she was away. Sena Jurinac is at once comic and scary as the witch: I would not show this to a child prone to nightmares. The scene where she has Hansel in a cage waiting to bake him in the oven is really macabre, and has the potential of scaring children, especially in my family. Sir Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic offer terrific support, and the scene where sunflowers turn into children near the end is very effective. I really like the way the directors incorporate the audience of children into the scenes: at the beginning and at several points in the opera. This reminded me a little of Ingmar Bergman's film version of Mozart's THE MAGIC FLUTE, and is very effective in supporting the story line and holding the viewer's interest.

Recorded sound is very good, dating from 1981 as are the color and picture.

My favorite line of text from HANSEL UND GRETEL is in the first scene, where Hansel (Fassbaender) complains of having nothing but dry bread to eat for weeks. Gretel (Gruberova) quotes her father (paraphrase) with "When need is great as we can stand, the gracious Lord holds forth His hand." This line is repeated at the end of the opera, in the last scene by Father (Prey), and is very touching and effective. If only many people today faced with changes of job, salary, lifestyle, financial circumstances - could keep this in mind: God takes care of those who believe in Him, despite hardship, poverty, and grief.

I really enjoyed this, and would recommend it to adults and children age 10 and older, but the scenes with the witch trying to bake Hansel in an oven would likely frighten younger children, so I would not recommend it to them. Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic are a treat to hear, and sound wonderful, even on a modest stereo system like mine. Recommended with the conditions mentioned.

I had seen this production on PBS years ago. Its a nicely staged production, but I had forgotten how annoying it was when the camera would move from the action on stage to pan the faces of children in the audience. Its like someone throwing a bucket of water on you while you're in the middle of a nice dream.

This is a fantastic video. Great orchestra and a wonderful cast, all conducted with great energy. These performers understand and interpret the music exactly right--perfectly within a great tradition, but not jaded by it. There are more radical productions out there (which some might translate as "interesting," or "imaginative"), but there isn't a better one.

Highest recommendations!

Pleasantly surprised with Humperkinck's music. The dvd is a movie, not a stage production, but a movie can make the fantasy more believable. Wonderful voices and acting. It was interesting to see children in the audience, along with their reactions to the movie/opera. Again, the music makes the entire production most enjoyable. I cetrainly look forward to viewing it again soon.

I used this CD to teach 1st -8th graders a German Opera. The kids loved the story and the Nibblewitch slowly transforms right before your eyes so the scare is minimal. The subtitles also rhyme so it is fun to read in English.

Only a small number of film versions of opera work. This is one of those rare exceptions. The flight of the witches could have been a little better but that is a minuscule consideration. This ia beautifully acted with closeups and credible characters. It is emotionally involving the way many films of operas on stage are not. The dream pantomine is one of the most breathtaking things in cinema.
I have one piece of advise on the audio. Use PCM for the main channels, not the DTS. The sound quality difference by which the DTS is superior is not subtle. DTS still comes out of the center channel and the surround channels when you use a good outboard DAC and this fills in the soundstage and the concert hall echos as 5 channel sound is supposed to do.
I have one request of Peter Sellers (who did not make this film) if he makes any more more films of opera cast in more current context. He should do a Hansel und Gretel with the flying witches as corporate jets with Phillip Morris painted on them, a Pepsi Cola Boing 747 showing 55 gallon drums of high fructose corn syrup in the cargo holds and a Nestles Boing 747 carrying infant formula and an international flight plan on the flight deck. The witches house should be a McDonalds with cigarette machines and video games inside.