In 1896,
Kaiser Wilhelm II made Humperdinck a Professor and he went to live in
Boppard, Rhineland-Palatinate. Four years later, he went to
Berlin, where he was appointed head of a Meister-Schule of composition. His students included Basque composer
Andrés Isasi, Portuguese composer
Luís de Freitas Branco,
Hildegard Quiel, and
Kurt Weill. Among Humperdinck's other stage works are: •
Die sieben Geißlein (
The Seven Little Kids), 1895 •
Königskinder (''King's Children''), 1897, 1910 •
Dornröschen (
Sleeping Beauty), 1902 •
Die Heirat wider Willen (
The Reluctant Marriage), 1905 •
Bübchens Weihnachtstraum (
The Christmas Dream), 1906 •
Die Marketenderin (
The Provisioner), 1914 •
Gaudeamus: Szenen aus dem deutschen Studentenleben (
Gaudeamus igitur: Scenes from German Student Life), 1919 While composing those works, Humperdinck held various teaching positions of distinction. He also collaborated in the theater, providing incidental music for a number of
Max Reinhardt's productions in Berlin: for example,
Shakespeare's
The Merchant of Venice in 1905. Although recognized as a disciple of Wagner rather than an innovator, Humperdinck was the first composer to use
Sprechgesang—a vocal technique halfway between singing and speaking—in his melodrama
Königskinder (1897). Also in 1914, Humperdinck signed the
Manifesto of the Ninety-Three, declaring support for German military actions during early World War I. On 26 September 1921, Humperdinck attended a performance of
Carl Maria von Weber's
Der Freischütz in
Neustrelitz, which was Wolfram's first effort as a stage director. He suffered a heart attack during the performance and died the next day, aged 67, from a second heart attack. The
Berlin State Opera performed
Hansel and Gretel in his memory a few weeks later. Humperdinck was buried at the
Stahnsdorf South-Western Cemetery near Berlin. ==Family==