Engelbert Humperdick

Arnold George Dorsey MBE (born 2 May 1936), known professionally as Engelbert Humperdinck, is a British pop singer. His singles "Release Me" and "The Last Waltz" both topped the UK Singles Chart in 1967, selling more than a million copies each. Humperdinck scored further major hits including "Am I That Easy to Forget" and "A Man Without Love"; three of his singles were among the best-selling of the 1960s in the United Kingdom…

As compilations go, Universal's two-CD Greatest Hits and More might be the best sampling of Engelbert Humperdinck's work that has yet appeared. All of his best-loved hits are here (including "Release Me," "Les Bicyclettes de Belsize," "Quando Quando Quando," and "There Goes My Everything"), but there are also a few extra tidbits that should keep even longtime fans happy with the program – most notably, four brand new songs.

Arnold George Dorsey MBE (born 2 May 1936), known professionally as Engelbert Humperdinck, is an English pop singer. Humperdinck has been described as "one of the finest middle-of-the-road balladeers around". His singles "Release Me" and "The Last Waltz" both topped the UK music charts in 1967, and sold more than a million copies each…

The casting of the radiant Helen Donath as Gretel, the theatrical Christa Ludwig as the witch, the vibrant Anna Moffo as Hansel, and the noble but lovable Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as the father would have been sufficient to secure this recording's fame as the best version of "Hansel and Gretel" ever committed to disc. However, to cast Lucia Popp as the Dew Fairy and Arleen Auger as the Sandman was a master stroke. And, the excellent Charlotte Berthold is an added bonus as the mother. Leading this array of vocal riches, Kurt Eichhorn produces a reading that accentuates the detail and color of the score more than any other, drawing out the richness of the orchestration with astonishing success.