Which opera by Engelbert Humperdinck is based on the Grimm fairy tale of two lost siblings?

Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera based on the Grimm fairy tale of two lost siblings is Hänsel und Gretel.

The German-language opera follows the siblings Hänsel and Gretel after their parents send them into the forest. They encounter a gingerbread house belonging to a witch, who plans to cook and eat them, but the children outwit her and escape. The libretto was written by Humperdinck’s sister, Adelheid Wette.

Hänsel und Gretel premiered in Weimar on 23 December 1893, conducted by Richard Strauss. Humperdinck’s score combines Wagnerian orchestral richness with folk-like melodies, including the well-known evening prayer “Abends, will ich schlafen gehn.”

The opera is often presented during the Christmas season, especially in German-speaking countries and in English translation. It should not be confused with Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tale of Tsar Saltan or Rimsky-Korsakov’s Snow Maiden, which draw on different Russian fairy-tale traditions.