Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel will be on the Hub Screen at 2.00 pm on December 3.  

The Fairy-tale story is a Christmas favourite for the whole family.  Based on one of the best loved stories of the brothers Grimm it has become one of the most performed operas in the world and has remained enduringly popular with both adults and children. The idea for the opera was proposed to Humperdinck by his sister, Adelheid Wette who approached him about writing music for songs that she had written for her children for Christmas based on “Hansel and Gretel.” After several revisions, the musical sketches and the songs were turned into a full-scale opera. Humperdinck composed Hansel and Gretel in Frankfurt in 1891 and 1892. The opera was first performed on 23 December 1893. It has been associated with Christmas since its earliest performances and today it is still most often performed at Christmas time.