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
The New Opera Theatre to found Opera Quotannis, in New York. The New Opera Theatre The New Opera Theatre was a New Orleans-based opera company founded in 1986, with conductor Louise LaBruyère as Music Director and stage director Brian Morgan serving as Artistic Director. It specialized in experimental productions of both ancient and contemporary opera. The ensemble's first production was in April 1987, the world-premiere of Morgan's post-minimalist opera, "s" ("a concerto for stage director"), with Phyllis Treigle as E, and LaBruyère conducting. This was followed later the same year by "Hänsel und Gretel", with identical-twins Libbye and Cyril Hellier in the title roles.