Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer who lived from 1854 to 1921. He wrote the opera Hansel and Gretel, which tells the fairy tale of two children lost in the forest. It began as a few songs for his sister’s children to sing at home. It became one of the most performed operas in the world, and many opera houses stage it each December. The best first piece for a child is the “Evening Prayer” from that opera.
Quick facts
- Born: 1854, in Siegburg, Germany
- Died: 1921, in Neustrelitz, Germany
- Era: Romantic
- Played: piano
- Known for: the opera Hansel and Gretel
The life in short
Humperdinck began piano lessons at seven and wrote his first pieces as a boy. His parents wanted him to be an architect. He chose music.
He studied in Cologne and Munich and won several prizes for young composers. The prizes paid for travel, and in 1880 he went to Italy. There he knocked on the door of Richard Wagner, the most famous opera composer of the day.
Wagner liked him and invited him to help prepare his last opera. Humperdinck copied out the score and taught music to Wagner’s young son.
After Wagner died, Humperdinck worked as a teacher and a music critic. He was nearly 40 and had not yet found his own success.
In 1890, his sister, Adelheid, wrote a little play of Hansel and Gretel for her children to act at home. She asked her brother for four songs. He wrote them, and the family liked them so much that the play grew. First it became a play with 16 songs. Then it became a full opera for a large orchestra.
Hansel and Gretel was first performed on December 23, 1893. The conductor was a young composer named Richard Strauss, who called it a masterpiece. Within a year, opera houses all over Germany were staging it.
Humperdinck wrote more operas and taught composition in Berlin. None of his later works matched his first hit.
What the music sounds like
Hansel and Gretel has two kinds of music in it. The children’s songs are simple and sound like folk tunes. Some of them are real German children’s songs.
Around those songs, Humperdinck built a rich, glowing sound for a large orchestra. He learned that from Wagner. The mix is the secret of the opera: a child can hum the tunes, and an adult can sink into the harmony.
Pieces to play first
“Evening Prayer.” The lost children kneel in the forest and sing a prayer before they sleep. They count 14 angels who watch over them. The tune is calm and slow.
“Brother, come and dance with me.” Gretel teaches Hansel a dance. The words give the steps: feet tap, hands clap, and the dancers turn around.
Overture. It opens with four horns playing the “Evening Prayer.” Then come the other tunes of the opera, one after another.
The Witch’s Ride. Fast, spooky music for the witch on her broomstick.
Dream Pantomime. The angels come down a golden staircase while the children sleep. There is no singing here. The orchestra tells it all.
Things to do together
Count the angels. Play the “Evening Prayer” and count to 14 on your fingers as the children do.
Do the dance. Play “Brother, come and dance with me” and follow the steps in the words.
Find the prayer. Play the overture and raise a hand each time the prayer tune comes back.
Read, then listen. Read the fairy tale first. The opera is gentler than the book. The parents are kind, and the children the witch has caught come back to life at the end.
The opera that began at home
Humperdinck did not set out to write a famous opera. He set out to please his nieces and nephews. Ask your child what your family could make together: a song, a play, or a puppet show.
Read the full guide: Hansel and Gretel, the opera, for kids.
A name you may know
In the 1960s, a British pop singer borrowed the name Engelbert Humperdinck for the stage. Grandparents may think of him first. The two are not related.
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for Humperdinck. To learn how opera works, read opera for kids. For another December opera, read Amahl and the Night Visitors for kids. For the composer he worked for, read Wagner for kids.
For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
More from this guide
This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
Alexina Louie for kids: her life, her music, and what to play first
Alexina Louie explained for parents and kids: the Canadian composer from Vancouver, her music of East and West, her piano pieces about the stars, and things to do.
American composers for kids: ten to know and a piece by each
Ten American composers for kids to know, from Sousa and Joplin to Copland and John Williams, with a short story and one piece to hear for each.
Amy Beach for kids: her life, her music, and what to play first
Amy Beach explained for parents and kids: the American pianist who taught herself to compose, the Gaelic Symphony, four pieces to play first, and things to do.
André Mathieu for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first
André Mathieu explained for parents and kids: the Montreal child prodigy who composed at four, his piano concertos, what to hear first, and things to do.
Arvo Pärt for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first
Arvo Pärt explained for parents and kids: the living Estonian composer of slow, bell-like music, Spiegel im Spiegel, and things to do together.
Asian composers for kids: ten to know
Ten Asian composers for kids, from Japan, China, Korea, and India, with one piece to play first for each, what to listen for, and things to do.
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.