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
Opera in German German opera. Weber completely eliminated spoken dialogue, producing a "through-composed" work where the distinction between recitative and aria is becoming blurred. Its lessons would not be lost on future composers, including Richard Wagner. Weber's most important successor in the field of Romantic opera was Heinrich Marschner, who further explored the Gothic and the supernatural in works such as "Der Vampyr" (1828) and "Hans Heiling" (1833). On the other hand, it was with comic opera that Albert Lortzing scored his biggest successes. The popularity of pieces such as "Zar und Zimmermann" continues in Germany today, though Lortzing's operas are rarely staged