Evening Prayer

The serenely beautiful ‘Evening Prayer’ is central to Engelbert Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera ‘Hans and Gretel.’ At the end of Act 2, Hansel and Gretel find themselves lost and frightened in the woods. As darkness descends, the Sandman appears, and the children grow sleepy. They settle down for the night, singing the gentle, chorale-like Evening Prayer. Once they have drifted off, 14 angels descend from heaven to protect the siblings as they sleep.