Note: This is the original version. There are sometimes local variations.

Hansel and Gretel live near the forest with their mother Gertrud and father Peter who is a broom maker. They are very poor and never have enough to eat.

ACT I, Scene 1: Their house
As Hansel sits making a broom out of twigs, Gretel knits and sings a song. (Susie, dear Susie) However, they are so hungry it is hard to work. Hansel thinks of the kind of food he would like, but it has been so long since he has eaten he can hardly remember what it tastes like. To console him. Gretel tells him a secret: in the jug on the table is some milk a neighbor has given them. Perhaps their mother will make rice pudding with it. Anticipating some good food, they joyfully start to dance with Gretel teaching Hansel. (Brother come and dance with me.) They are interrupted by Gertrud who is angry because they are wasting time. In scolding them she accidently knocks the jug of milk to the floor. With the makings of supper gone, she angrily sends the children into the woods to gather strawberries then, exhausted, falls asleep in her chair. Soon the Peter returns singing; he is a little tipsy. He has had a good day selling brooms and is carrying a bag with butter, eggs, sausage, flour, and other good things to eat. In the midst of celebrating, he notices the children are gone and is appalled when he hears Gertrud has sent them into the woods so late in the day. They might be lost and frightened. The forest is inhabited by an evil old woman, a "nibbling-witch", who rides on a broomstick and lures little children to her house. There she bakes them in an oven, turning them into gingerbread which she eats. Horrified, the parents leave to search for their children.

Musical interlude: The Witches' Ride

Act I, Scene 2: In the forest
While Hansel hunts for strawberries, Gretel sits making a crown of flowers and singing A Little Man Lives in the Woods. Hansel returns with a basketful of berries and, hearing the song of a cuckoo, they pretend to be cuckoos themselves, stealing strawberries instead of eggs. Soon the strawberries are gone, but it is too dark to find more, and they realize they are lost. They imagine they see things and call for their parents, but the answering echo frightens them even more. A little grey man appears. It is the Sandman who throws sand in their eyes and makes them sleepy. After saying their prayers, and asking for the angels to guard them (When at night I go to sleep), they lie down in each others arms.

Dream Pantomime: The angels descend and take their places as described in the song to guard the sleeping children.

ACT II: The Gingerbread House
The sun gradually rises. The Dew Fairy appears and shakes dew drops from a bluebell into the eyes of the sleeping children. They wake and tell each other of the "dream" they had of the angels. As the mist clears they see a house made of gingerbread and chocolate and other good things. It is surrounded by a fence made of gingerbread children. Entranced by the wonderful smell, and thinking a princess must live there, they approach the house. The temptation is too strong for the hungry children, and they start to break off pieces of the house to eat. Suddenly a voice calls: "Munchy, munchy, mousey, who's that nibbling at my housey". It is the witch, but they think it is the wind and go on eating. She sneaks up on them and catches them, telling the frightened Hansel and Gretel that she loves little children and promises to give them lovely things to eat like chocolate, cakes, cookies with sweet cream, et cetera.

Gretel starts to go with her but Hansel is suspicious. When they start to run away, the witch raises her magic wand and, saying "Hocus, pocus", casts a spell which makes them unable to move. While Gretel is nice and plump, Hansel is too thin to eat yet so the witch puts him in a cage and gives him food to fatten him up. She releases Gretel from the spell and sends her to set the table, then builds up the fire so she can bake the girl and turn her into gingerbread! She then flies around on her broomstick, cackling gleefully. Later she asks to see Hansel's finger to see if he is fat enough, but the ingenious boy sticks out a thin twig instead. As she feeds the boy, Gretel finds the wand, and saying "Hocus, pocus", removes the spell from her brother. The witch does not notice but goes to the oven and asks Gretel to climb in to see if the gingerbread is ready. The girl pretends she doesn't understand and asks the witch to demonstrate. Meanwhile, Hansel has crept out of his cage and, when the witch leans into the oven, the children push her in. Happily they dance and sing "Hooray! The witch is dead". Suddenly the flames of the oven shoot higher, and there is a sound like a thunderclap. Hansel and Gretel watch in amazement as the gingerbread children come back to life. They cannot move, and they ask to be touched so they can open their eyes. When they still can't move, Hansel uses the wand saying "Hocus pocus". Immediately the children all begin to dance.

Gertrud and Peter appear and, during the joyful reunion, some of the other children go to the oven and pull out a gingerbread witch. All thank God for their deliverance. "When need is greatest, God reaches out his hand to us". They happily dance as the curtain falls.

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Revised September 2009
Please credit Lyric Opera San Diego when using this material.