Hansel and Gretel, the opera, for kids: the story and the music
Updated 2026-11-12
Hansel and Gretel is an opera by the German composer Engelbert Humperdinck. It tells the fairy tale of a brother and sister who get lost in the forest and find a house made of sweets. It was first performed two days before Christmas in 1893, and many opera houses stage it every December. The tunes sound like folk songs, and the story is one most children know. It is often chosen as a first opera.
Start with the “Evening Prayer.” It lasts about three minutes.
Quick facts
- Composer: Engelbert Humperdinck, from Germany
- First performed: December 23, 1893, in Weimar
- Language: German, and often sung in English
- Length: about two hours, with an intermission
- Words by: Adelheid Wette, the composer’s sister
How it began
Humperdinck’s sister wrote a play of the fairy tale for her children to act at home. She asked her brother for a few songs to go with it. He enjoyed the work so much that he turned the play into a full opera for a large orchestra.
The story in three acts
Act 1: at home. Hansel and Gretel are supposed to be doing chores. They are hungry, and they dance to cheer themselves up. Their mother comes home and scolds them. In the fuss, the jug of milk is knocked over and breaks. She sends the children into the forest to pick strawberries. When the father comes home and hears where they went, he is afraid. A witch lives in that forest.
Act 2: in the forest. The children pick berries and eat them all. It grows dark, and they cannot find the way home. The Sandman comes and sprinkles sand in their eyes. They say their evening prayer and fall asleep. Fourteen angels come down to guard them through the night.
Act 3: the gingerbread house. The Dew Fairy wakes the children. They find a house made of gingerbread and sweets and begin to nibble at it. The Witch catches them. She locks Hansel in a cage to fatten him up and puts Gretel to work. Gretel tricks the Witch into leaning into the oven and shoves her in. The oven bursts, and a row of gingerbread figures turns back into children the Witch had caught. The parents arrive, and everyone gives thanks.
The opera is gentler than the old tale. The parents do not leave the children in the forest on purpose.
Who sings what
Hansel is sung by a woman with a middle voice, dressed as a boy. Gretel is sung by a woman with a high voice.
The Witch is sung by a woman in some productions and by a man in others.
The Sandman and the Dew Fairy are small parts for high voices.
The music to hear first
“Evening Prayer.” The two children sing a calm, simple tune in harmony. It is the heart of the opera, and the orchestra plays it at the start of the overture too.
“Brother, Come and Dance with Me.” Gretel teaches Hansel a dance. It has clapping and stamping built in.
The Witch’s Ride. The orchestra alone. It gallops and cackles as the Witch flies on her broom.
The Dream Pantomime. After the prayer, the orchestra plays while the angels come down a staircase. Nobody sings. The music swells and glows.
The overture. About eight minutes for orchestra, made from the main tunes of the opera.
Things to do together
Dance with Gretel. Play “Brother, Come and Dance with Me.” Clap, stamp, and turn where the words say to.
Sing the prayer. Hum the “Evening Prayer” at bedtime.
Count the angels. In the prayer, the children count fourteen angels in pairs and say where each pair stands. Draw them around a sleeping child.
Build the house. Decorate a gingerbread house, or draw one, while the opera plays.
Is it scary? The Witch is the scary part. Tell your child ahead of time that Gretel outsmarts her and that the gingerbread children wake up.
Seeing it on stage
This opera is shorter than most, and it is often sung in English. Many companies offer daytime performances in December. Tell the story first, and play the dance and the prayer a few times at home.
The steps in taking kids to The Nutcracker work for an opera too.
Print and play
A listening journal page gives a child a place to draw the gingerbread house. For more December music, see Christmas classical music for kids. For another fairy-tale opera, read The Magic Flute for kids.
More guides are listed in classical music listening guides for kids.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.