An instant and overwhelming success upon its first performance in 1893, Hänsel and Gretel has captivated audiences of all ages ever since. Engelbert Humperdinck combined the simplicity of German folk tunes with the sophistication of Wagnerian technique in a fairy-tale opera, based on the story by the Brothers Grimm. Richard Strauss, who conducted the premiere, proclaimed it "a masterpiece of the highest quality."

Broadcast from Covent Garden in 1923, it was the first complete opera ever aired...