Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, in an English-language performance from January 1, 2008. Vladimir Jurowski led the performance, with soprano Christine Schäfer as Gretel; mezzo-soprano Alice Coote as Hansel; mezzo-soprano Rosalind Plowright and baritone Alan Held as their parents, Gertrude and Peter; and the late tenor Philip Langridge as the wicked Witch. The opera has been part of the Met’s holiday repertoire for decades: on Christmas Day, 1931, Hänsel und Gretel (sung in German) became the first complete opera to be broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera.
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