Hansel and Gretel (opera) After several revisions, the musical sketches and the songs were turned into a full-scale opera. Humperdinck composed "Hansel and Gretel" in Frankfurt in 1891 and 1892. The opera was first performed in Hoftheater in Weimar on 23 December 1893, conducted by Richard Strauss. It has been associated with Christmas since its earliest performances and today it is still most often performed at Christmas time. "Hansel and Gretel" was first conducted in Weimar by Richard Strauss in 1893, followed by its Hamburg premiere on 25 September 1894, conducted by Gustav Mahler. Its first performance outside Germany was in Basel, Switzerland, on
Finnish opera Finnish opera The origins of Finnish opera can be traced to the late 18th or 19th century, when the first opera performances were staged in Finland. It is generally assumed that the first opera performance in Finland took place in 1768 in Turku, when the troupe of Carl Gottlieb Seuerling presented the opera "Adam und Eva" by Johann Theile. However other sources state that there was no orchestra at this performance. The first opera to be composed in Finland was Kung Karls jakt with music by Fredrik Pacius and a libretto by Zacharias Topelius. It was first performed in Helsinki