About this edition
Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel occupies a singular place in the operatic repertoire: a children's fairy tale told through lush, Wagnerian-scaled orchestration and intricate leitmotif technique that Humperdinck absorbed while assisting Richard Wagner with the premiere of Parsifal at Bayreuth. Premiered in Weimar on December 23, 1893, under the baton of a young Richard Strauss, the opera transforms the Brothers Grimm tale — with a libretto by the composer's sister, Adelheid Wette — into a work of genuine symphonic depth, crowned by the beloved Evening Prayer duet and a prelude that has become a concert-hall staple in its own right.
This edition reproduces the full orchestral score published in Leipzig by Ernst Eulenburg as No. 13 in the firm's Bühnenwerke (stage works) series, plate number 28600. Founded in 1874, Eulenburg built its reputation on producing meticulously engraved, affordable full scores of the standard operatic and orchestral repertoire at a time when such material was difficult for students, scholars, and working musicians to obtain. For generations of conductors and researchers, Eulenburg's opera scores — including this Hänsel und Gretel — served as a standard reference edition found in conservatory libraries, opera house pits, and private studies throughout the twentieth century.
About this edition:
- Format: full orchestral score
- Page size: 8.5 x 11 inches
- Reproduced from a historical public domain edition
- Published by Purple 4R Publishing
Because this score's copyright has long since expired, we're delighted to bring this historical Eulenburg edition back into print — making Humperdinck's enchanting masterpiece accessible and affordable for conductors, orchestral musicians, students, and anyone who treasures this timeless fairy-tale opera.