Humperdinck is generally
known for his fairy-tale opera Hänsel und Gretel, a Christmas favourite.
MIDI FILE - from "Hänsel und
Gretel": Overture (8'18'')
The opera was first performed in Weimar in 1893 and was an immediate
success.
His career brought him into early contact with Wagner
and he became music tutor to the composer’s son Siegfried Wagner.
He held various teaching positions of some distinction including
professor of harmony at the Barcelona Conservatoire and a similar post at the
Conservatoire.
He enjoyed a fruitful collaboration in the theatre with Max Reinhardt,
providing incidental music for a number of Shakespearean productions in Berlin.
