A birthday boy from Siegburg
Program
Engelbert Humperdinck
'Königskinder' ('King's Children'). A fairytale in three acts. Melodrama version (1897)concertante performance,
Artists
Marie Seidler
Daniel Johannsen
Michael Zehe
Harriet Kracht story teller
Philharmonischer Chor der Stadt Bonn
Paul Krämer preparation
Kinder- und Jugendchor des Theater Bonn
Ekaterina Klewitz preparation
Neue Philharmonie Westfalen
Michael Hofstetter conductor
Engelbert Humperdinck, the composer who set one of the romantic era’s most famous fairy-tales, died a century ago. His opera Hansel and Gretel proved a huge success from its very first performance in 1893. Soon came another commission for a piece on a literary fairy-tale, Königskinder, for which this composer from Siegburg wrote incidental music. It was premièred in Munich in 1897 as a melodrama with Sprechgesang, a mixture of song and speech. Ten years later Humperdinck reworked the material into a full-length opera. The title figures remained the same: a Goose-Girl and a King’s Son on their wanderings. In reality, both are of royal blood. There is also a Witch, a Minstrel and a large (deluded) populace. The story takes a tragic turn, with mighty crashes as well as simple tunes. Conductor Michael Hofstetter will present a concert performance of the original melodrama – the more progressive version from today’s perspective.
#Vocal music #for singing lovers
Rhein Sieg Forum
