Engelbert Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel, sometimes known as "Wagner for Tots," has been a holiday tradition for all ages for more than a century. The Metropolitan Opera's presentation this season, sung in English and featuring the return of mezzosoprano Rosalind Plowright, promises a grand time for all.
Blogcritics has a pair of tickets to give away for the Dec. 17 performance at 8 PM. (U.S. residents only; must be 18 to enter.) Click here to enter!
Based on the Grimm fairy tale, the opera is subtitled A Fairy Opera in Three Acts. Humperdinck's sister Adelheid Wette wrote the original German libretto in the 1890s and asked her brother the composer (not the 1960s pop singer of the same name!) to put it to music as a Christmas gift for her kids. Expanded into a full-scale opera, the show debuted in 1893 (with Richard Strauss as assistant conductor!) and has been a hit ever since.
Click here to enter to win two tickets to the Thursday, Dec. 17 8 PM performance of this all-ages classic at the Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center, New York City.