Opera in German were usually based on stories from Germanic or Arthurian legend. Finally, Wagner built his own opera house at Bayreuth, exclusively dedicated to performing his own works in the style he wanted. Wagner's innovations cast an immense shadow over subsequent composers, who struggled to absorb his influence while retaining their own individuality. One of the most successful composers of the following generation was Humperdinck, whose "Hänsel und Gretel" (1893) still has an assured place in the standard repertoire. Humperdinck turned back to folk song and the tales of the Brothers Grimm for inspiration. Yet, though "Hänsel" is often viewed as the
Lina Abarbanell and the Metropolitan Opera House, brought Abarbanell to New York. Her American debut came that October at Irving Place in "Fruehlingsluft" ("Spring Breezes") followed a month later playing Lt. Von Vogel in "Jung Heidelberg" ("Young Heidelberg"), a comic opera with music from Carl Millöcker and book by Leopold Krenn and . Her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House as Hänsel to Bella Alten's Gretel came on November 25, 1905. Over the run of "Hänsel und Gretel" the two would at times switch roles. After honing her language skills Abarbarbanell made her English-speaking debut at the Garden Theatre on Christmas Day,