Stories Told Through Song – How stories are set through opera with the Pittsburgh Opera

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Program Type:

Fine Arts, History, Literature, Music

Age Group:

Adults, Older Adults
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Program Description

Event Details

Hansel and Gretel Opera Deep Dive and Discussion.

Join Rebekah Diaz, Director of IDEA Initiatives and Community Engagement at the Pittsburgh Opera, for a deep dive and guided discussion on how nineteenth-century composer Engelbert Humperdinck set themes to music in the Hansel and Gretel opera. 

Humperdinck described Hansel and Gretel as a "fairy-tale" opera as it was "written by Humperdinck's sister, Adelheid Wette, based on the Grimm brothers' fairy tale of the same name." With dark elements present in the Grimm brothers' version, the story of Hansel and Gretel was inspired by tumultuous occurrences during the Middle Ages including witch hunts and the Great Famine in early 1300s Germany. Discover how Humperdinck and Wette navigate these topics and incorporate these themes into the now-famous opera.

No registration required! Meeting Room A.