Jacques Offenbach | Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Mon, May 29, 2023, 5.30 pm - 9.10 pm
Musikalische Leitung
Kent Nagano
General Music Director of Hamburg
Kent Nagano is considered one of the outstanding conductors for both operatic and orchestral repertoire. He has been General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg since September 2015. In addition, he is very committed as Artistic Director of the Wagner Readings with Concerto Köln and the Dresden Festival Orchestra, and as patron of the Herrenchiemsee Festival. In 2006 he was appointed Honorary Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, in 2019 of Concerto Köln and in 2021 of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
The 2022/23 season in Hamburg began for Kent Nagano with two open-air concerts at the Rathausmarkt. October at the Hamburg State Opera holds a new production of Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer in a staging by Michael Thalheimer. This will be followed by revivals of Beethoven's Fidelio, Wagner's Tannhäuser, Strauss' Elektra and Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann, as well as in January 2023 the premiere of the new production of Schostakowitsch’s Lady Macbeth von Mzensk in a production by Angelina Nikonova and in May 2023 the premiere of the new production of Salvatore Sciarrino's Venere e Adone in a production by Georges Delnon. With the Philharmonic State Orchestra, he will open the 2023 International Music Festival Hamburg with "On a Clear Day" by U.S. conductor Sean Shepherd and Beethoven's Symphony No. 8. Furthermore, during the season he conducts concerts at the Elbphilharmonie with works by Brahms, Haydn and Mahler, among others, and again Jörg Widmann's oratorio ARCHE, which was premiered in 2017 as part of the opening festival of the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, with the Children's and Youth Choir of the Hamburg State Opera, the Alsterspatzen, the Audi Youth Choir Academy and renowned soloists.
Kent Nagano's past years in Hamburg include opera productions such as Les Troyens, Lulu, the world premiere of Stilles Meer and German premiere of Lessons in Love and Violence, the "Philharmonische Akademie" at St. Michaelis, open-air concerts at the Rathausmarkt and the world premiere of Pascal Dusapin's work Waves for organ and orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie. Orchestral tours with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg in the past years have taken Kent Nagano to Japan, Spain and South America.
As a much sought-after guest conductor, Kent Nagano has worked with the world's leading international orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique Radio France, the Orchestre de l’Opéra national in Paris, the Chicago and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Wiener Symphoniker. Special projects were the productions of Wagner's Das Rheingold with Concerto Köln and the Bernstein opera A
quiet place at the Paris Opera.
His operatic work has included Dusapin‘s Il viaggio, dante at the Festival d‘Aix-en-Provence, Hindemith's Cardillac and Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites at the Opéra National de Paris and Henze’s The Bassarids and the premiere of Saariaho's L’amour de loin at the Salzburg Festival. Other world premieres he has conducted include Bernstein's A White House Cantata and the operas Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin, Three Sisters by Peter Eötvös and The Death of Klinghoffer and El Niño by John Adams.
Appearances in 2022/23 include the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Vienna Musikverein, the Philharmonie in Paris and the Isarphilharmonie in Munich, among others. In addition, Kent Nagano will conduct the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester in Berlin and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
A highlight of Kent Nagano's collaboration with the OSM as Music Director from 2006 to 2020 included the inauguration of the orchestra’s new concert hall La Maison Symphonique in September 2011, performances of the complete cycles of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, concert versions of Wagner's Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde and Das Rheingold, Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au Bücher, and Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. Tours have taken Nagano and the orchestra to Canada including the Northern Territories, Japan, South Korea, Europe (latest 2019), South America and the USA. In July 2018, Kent Nagano conducted Krzysztof Penderecki’s St. Luke Passion with the OSM on the occasion of the Salzburg Festival opening concert.
His recordings with the OSM on Sony Classical/Analekta include Mahler’s Orchestral Songs with Christian Gerhaher in 2013 and a complete recording of all of Beethoven’s symphonies in 2015. Decca released a recording of the North American premiere of L'Aiglon, a rarely performed opera by Honegger and Ibert in 2016, conducted by Nagano in 2015. Further releases by Decca are Danse Macabre with works by Dukas, Saint-Saens, Ives and others in 2016 and a recording of Bernstein's A quiet place in 2018 on the occasion of the composer's 100th birthday. John Adams' Common tones in simple time & harmony (Decca) was released in 2019, the Lukas Passion by Penderecki (BIS) and works by Ginastera, Bernstein and Moussa (Analekta) in 2020.
At the Bayerische Staatsoper, where he was General Music Director from 2006 to 2013, Kent Nagano commissioned new operas such as Babylon by Jörg Widmann, Das Gehege by Wolfgang Rihm and Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin. New productions included Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten, Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites, Messiaen’s Saint François d'Assise, Berg’s Wozzeck, George Benjamin's Written on skin and Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Tours took Nagano and the Bavarian State Orchestra through Europe and Japan. In addition to Bruckner's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7 (Sony), Kent Nagano has released several opera performances with the Bavarian State Orchestra on DVD: Unsuk Chin's opera Alice in Wonderland (2008) and Mussorgsky's Chowanschtschina (2009) with unitel classica/medici arts, Dialogue des Carmélites with Bel Air Classiques (2011) and Lohengrin (2010) with Decca.
Another very important period in Nagano’s career was his time as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 2000-2006. He performed Schönberg’s Moses und Aron with the orchestra (in collaboration with Los Angeles Opera), and took them to the Salzburg Festival to perform both Zemlinsky’s Der König Kandaules and Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten as well as to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with Parsifal and Lohengrin in productions by Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Recordings with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin for Harmonia Mundi include repertoire as diverse as Bernstein’s Mass, Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 6, Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Schönberg’s Die Jakobsleiter and Friede auf Erden, as well as Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 and Schönberg’s Variationen für Orchester Op. 31. In June 2006, at the end of his tenure with the orchestra, Kent Nagano was given the title Honorary Conductor by members of the orchestra, only the second recipient of this honour in their 60-year history. To this day he maintains a close friendship with the orchestra.
In October 2019, Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama expanded their joint recordings of Beethoven's works for piano and orchestra with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 0 E-flat Major WoO 4, a nearly unknown youthful work by the composer, and his Rondo for Piano and Orchestra WoO 6 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The complete edition of Beethoven’s piano concerti was released on the Berlin Classics label.
Nagano has worked with labels such as BIS, Decca, Sony Classical, FARAO Classics and Analekta for many years, but he has also recorded CDs with Berlin Classics, Erato, Teldec, Pentatone, Deutsche Grammophon and Harmonia Mundi. He was awarded Grammys for his recordings of Busoni’s Doktor Faust with Opéra National de Lyon, Prokofjew’s Peter and the Wolf with the Russian National Orchestra and Saariaho’s L’amour de Loin with the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin.
To celebrate Kent Nagano's 70th birthday in 2021, a 3-CD box set of works by Olivier Messiaen was released in October on the BR Klassik label. The release includes live recordings of the works Poèmes pour Mi, Chronochromie and La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ from concerts with Kent Nagano and the Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, demonstrating Nagano's close familiarity with Messiaen's musical language in a special way.
In September 2021, Kent Nagano published his second book with Berlin Verlag. In "10 Lessons of my Life", he recalls ten very personal encounters in his life from which he learned important lessons, not only for his career. Among them are the Icelandic pop artist Björk, Frank Zappa, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez and the Nobel Prize winner in physics Donald Glaser.
In 2015 Kent Nagano published "Erwarten Sie Wunder!" also in Berlin Verlag, a passionate appeal for the relevance of classical music in today's world. In 2019 the book was published in English by the Canadian McGill-Queen's University Press under the title ″Classical Music - Expect the Unexpected" and in 2015 under "Sonnez, merveilles!" in French by Éditions du Boréal.
Born in California, Nagano maintains close connections with his home state and was Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra from 1978-2009. His first major successes came with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1984, when Messiaen appointed him assistant to conductor Seiji Ozawa for the premiere of his opera Saint François d'Assise. Nagano’s success in America led to European appointments: Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1988-1998) and Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra (1991-2000). Kent Nagano became the first Music Director of Los Angeles Opera in 2003 having already held the position of Principal Conductor for two years.
Kent Nagano was awarded an honorary doctorate from McGill University in Montréal in 2005, an honorary doctorate from the Université de Montréal in 2006, and an honorary doctorate from San Francisco State University in 2018.
Find further information about Kent Nagano here.
photo: Claudia Höhne
Chor
Eberhard Friedrich
Choir Director
Birthplace:
Darmstadt, Germany
Studies:
Studies with Helmuth Rilling in Frankfurt am Main
Prizes:
Under his direction, the Bayreuther Festspielchor was awarded the International Opera Award for Best Choir of the Year in 2014. Under his direction, the choir of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden was named Choir of the Year in 2004 and received the European Cultural Award (2009). Eberhard Friedrich also received a Grammy for his recording of "Tannhäuser" at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden with Daniel Barenboim (2003)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Choir director of the Hamburg State Opera since 2013/14
Career stages:
Choir director of the Festspielchor / Bayreuther Festspiele (since 2000), choir director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden (1998 to 2013), assistant at the Bayreuther Festspiele (since 1993), choir director at the Theater der Stadt Koblenz (1986 to 1991) as well as at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden (1991 to 1998)
Cooperation with choirs:
MDR-Rundfunkchor, Amsterdam Opera Choir, Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart, Philharmonischer Chor Prag, Chor des Niederländischen Rundfunks, Rundfunkchor Berlin, Rias Kammerchor, Bayerischer Rundfunkchor, Chöre des Westminster Choir College, et al.
photo: Enrico Nawrath
Hoffmann
Matthew Polenzani
Tenor
Birthplace:
Evanston, USA
Studies:
Music Education, Eastern Illinois University
Vocal Performance, Yale University
Prizes:
Richard Tucker Award (2004), The Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Artist Award (2008), Opera News Award (2017)
Important parts:
Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Don Carlos (Don Carlos), Nemorino (L’Elisir d’amore), Alfredo (La Traviata), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Idomeneo (Idomeneo), Macduff (Macbeth), Rodolfo (La Bohème), Don José (Carmen), Gérald (Lakmé), et al.
Stages:
Metropolitan Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Canadian Opera Company, Vienna Staatsoper, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Teatro alla Scala, Milano, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Salzburg Festival, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
David McVicar, Robert Carsen, Julie Taymor, Laurent Pelly, Klaus Guth, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, James Conlon, Sir Colin Davis, Riccardo Frizza, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Louis Langrée, Jesús López-Cobos, Riccardo Muti, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Simon Rattle, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Leonard Slatkin, Sir Jeffrey Tate, Michael Tilson Thomas, Franz Welser-Möst, David Zinman, Riccardo Chailly, Daniel Harding, et al.
Find further information about Matthew Polenzani here.
photo: Fay Fox
Olympia / Antonia / Giulietta / Stella
Pretty Yende
Soprano
Since making her professional operatic debut at the Latvian National Theatre in Riga as Micaela in Carmen, she has been seen at nearly all of the major theaters of the world, including the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Opernhaus Zürich and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
On the concert stage, Ms. Yende recently embarked on a solo recital tour, making stops at Oper Frankfurt, the Opernhaus Zürich, Smetana Hall in Prague, and the Barbican in London, and Carnegie Hall in New York. Further concert engagements include appearances with the Würth Philharmonic Orchestra, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, and in Bratislava and Grafenegg.
Recent highlights include her acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut, stepping in as the Countess Adele (Le Comte Ory), her role and house debut as Marie (La fille du regiment) at the Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, debuts at Opéra national de Paris as Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), the Gran Teatre del Liceu as Norina (Don Pasquale), with the Los Angeles Opera as Micaëla (Carmen), at Staatsoper Hamburg as Fiorilla I (Turco in Italia), and her debut at the Theater an der Wien as Countess Adèle. Additional highlights include Rosina, Adina, the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, Elvira in I Puritani, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Met, Adina at the Royal Opera House, Lucia at the Opéra national de Paris and Deutsche Oper Berlin, Adina at the Staatsoper Berlin, Pamina at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Elvira at Opernhaus Zürich, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at Los Angeles Opera, Countess Adèle and Musetta in La Bohème at Teatro alla Scala, her role debut as Teresa in Benvenuto Cellini in Paris, and Lucia di Lammermoor in concert at the Cape Town Opera.
Highlights on the concert stage include her Carnegie Hall recital debut with pianist Kamal Khan, with the New York Times acclaiming: ”A gracefulness that can seem decidedly divine seems to radiate from Ms. Yende.” She later returned to Carnegie Hall to join the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for a performance of Mozart's Exsultate Jubilate and Mahler's Symphony No. 4. Ms. Yende has presented concerts in Switzerland, Spain, Austria, Johannesburg, South Africa, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands.
In 2016, she released her debut album ”A Journey“ for Sony Classical, and appeared as the musical guest on several television shows including ”The Late Show“ with Steven Colbert, ”The Wendy Williams Show,“ and ”Good Morning America.“ She released her second solo album titled ”Dreams“ one year later on Sony Classical, with Opera Now raving: ”South African Yende has a delicious instrument, with a youthful quiver of passion to it, and a wonderfully secure technique.“
A 2011 graduate of the Young Artists Accademia of the Teatro alla Scala, Yende made her debut with the company in 2010 as Berenice in Rossini's L'Occasione fa il Ladro. In 2010, she became the first artist in the history of the Belvedere competition to win top prize in every category, and went on to win First Prize in the Operalia Competition in 2011.
Find further information about Pretty Yende here.
photo: Gregor Hohenberg - Courtesy-of-Sony-Music-Entertainment
La Muse / Nicklausse
Jana Kurucová
Mezzosoprano
Birthplace:
Kežmarok, Slovakia
Education / Studies:
Classical singing at the Konzervatórium J. L. Bellu in Banska Bystrica, in Bratislava as well as at the Musikhochschule in Graz, opera studio of the Bayerische Staatsoper (season 2005/2006), ensemble member of the Theater Heidelberg (2006 to 2009), ensemble member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin ( 2009 to 2018)
Important parts:
Niklausse/Muse (Les contes d‘Hoffmann), Prinz Orlovsky (Die Fledermaus), Isolier (Le comte Ory), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Marta (Faust), Carmen (Carmen), Elisabetta (Maria Stuarda), Romeo (I capuleti e i Montecchi), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Meg Page (Falstaff), Fuchs (Das schlaue Füchslein), Maffio Orsini (Lucrezia Borgia), Melisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Mercedes (Carmen), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Fenena (Nabucco), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Idamante (Idomeneo), Sesto (La clemenza di tito), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Ramiro (La finta giardiniera), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), et al.
Stages:
Teatro de la Maestranza in Sevilla, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Nationaltheater Prag, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Oper Peking, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Oslo, Semperoper Dresden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, New National Theater Tokyo, Musikfestival Klangvokal in Dortmund, Banská Bystrica, Festival Svátky hudby v Praze, Filharmonie Reduta in Bratislava, Bratislava Nationaltheater, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Laurent Pelly, David Alden, Robert Borgmann, Philipp Himmelmann, Katharina Thalbach, David Herrmann, Roland Schwab, Philipp Stölzl, Christof Loy, Kirsten Harms, Andreas Homoki, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Pedro Halffter, Enrique Mazzola, Michele Mariotti, Ido Arad, Donald Runnicles, Daniel Cohen, Stefan Soltesz, Fabio Luisi, Zubin, Mehta, Alessandro de Marchi, Jacques Lacombe, Omer Meir Wellber, Carlo Rizzi, Ivan Repusic, Moritz Gnann, Jonathan Darlington, Marco Letonja, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Giacomo Sagripanti, Constantin Trinks, Yves Abel, Ottavio Dantone, Matteo Beltrami, Jonathan Nott, et al.
Find further information about Jana Kurucová here.
photo: Martina Cyman
Lindorf / Coppélius / Dr. Miracle / Dapertutto
Erwin Schrott
Bass-Baritone
Birthplace:
Montevideo, Uruguay
Prizes:
First Prize Plácido Domingo`s Operalia Competition (1998), First Prize Carlos Gomez Competition, First Prize Juventudes Musicales, et al.
Important parts:
Don Giovanni/Leporello (Don Giovanni), Pagano (I Lombardi alla prima Crociata), Attila (Attila), Banquo (Macbeth), Escamillo (Carmen), Berlioz/Gounod (L’Elisir d’Amore), Procida (Les Vepres Siciliennes), Mefistofele (Mefistofele), et al.
Stages:
Teatro alla Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, Washington National Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Hamburg State Opera, Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie in Brussels, Teatro Comunale di Firenze, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genova, et al.
Find further information about Erwin Schrott here.
Andrès / Cochenille / Frantz / Pitichinaccio
Andrew Dickinson
Tenor
Birthplace:
Liverpool, Great Britain
Studies:
studies at the Royal Academy Opera School (degree 2011)
Prizes:
Maureen Lehane Singing Competition at the Wigmore Hall (2014), British Wagner Association Competition (2015)
Important Parts:
Truffaldino (L'amour des trois oranges), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Max (Der Freischütz), Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Andrès/Cochenille/Frantz/Pitichinaccio (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Novice (Billy Budd), Hexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Beppe (I Pagliacci), Tom Rakewell (The Rakes Progress), Jonas (Le Prophete), White Minister (Le Grand Macabre), Quint (Turn of the Screw), Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia), Flute (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Kaufmann (Jakob Lenz), et al.
Stages:
Ensemble member at the Deutsche Oper Berlin since 2016, collaboration with Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Ensemble Resonanz, Danish National Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Arts New York, Hyogo Performing Arts Center Japan, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Mozarteum Salzburg, Podium Festspiele, Bregenzer Festspiele, Glyndebourne Festival, Royal Festival Hall London, Stephansdom Wien, Liszt Academy Budapest, Berliner Dom, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Ivo Van Hove, David McVicar, Olivier Py, David Poutney, Graham Vick, Deborah Warner, Doug Fitch, Fiona Shaw, Frederic Wake-Walker, David Alden, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Donald Runnicles, Robin Ticciati, James Conlon, Alan Gilbert, Enrique Mazzola, Vladimir Jurowski, et al.
Find further information about Andrew Dickinson here.
La Mère
Ida Aldrian
mezzo-soprano
Birthplace:
Bruck an der Mur, Austria
Studies:
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Leopold Spitzer and Karlheinz Hanser; studies for Stage Performance (Opera and Musical Drama), Art Song and Oratorio with KS Marjana Lipovšek with honors; member of International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (2012/13–2013/14)
Master class:
With Ann Murray, Bernarda Fink, Reri Grist, Peter Kooij, Andrew Watts, Thomas Hampson, Wicus Slabbert, Alan Titus, Brigitte Fassbaender, et al.
Prizes:
Dr.-Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Preis of Stiftung zur Förderung der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (2014), prize winner of the jury ranking at international singing competition „Stella Maris“ (2014)
Important parts:
Wellgunde (Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung), Siegrune and Rossweiße (Die Walküre), Blumenmädchen and Stimme aus der Höhe (Parsifal ), 2. Maid (Daphne), Feodor (Boris Godunov), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri), Adalgisa (Norma), Idamante (Idomeneo), Third Lady (The Magic Flute), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Penelope (Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria), Mercedes (Carmen), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Laura (Luisa Miller), Flora and Annina (La Traviata), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Meg Page (Falstaff), Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos), Orlofski (Die Fledermaus), et al.
Stages:
Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kölner Philharmonie, Wiener Konzerthaus, Musikverein Wien, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Grafenegg Festival, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Barocktage Melk, Styriarte, International Brucknerfest Linz, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Andreas Homoki, Georg Schmiedleitner, Laura Scozzi, Mariame Clément, Verena Stoiber, Peter Konwitschny, Stéphane Braunschweig, David Bösch, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Simone Young, Kent Nagano, Martin Haselböck, Marcus Bosch, Yutaka Sado, Pablo Heras-Casado, Christopher Moulds, Cornelius Meister, Fabio Luisi, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Simon Gaudenz, et al.
Find further information about Ida Aldrian here.
photo: Christoph Ziegler
Maître Luther / Crespel
Hubert Kowalczyk
Basso
Birthplace:
Radom, Poland
Studies:
Young Talents Development Programme - Opera Academy in Warsaw (from 2016 to 2019), Instituto Superiore di Studi Musicali Pietro Mascagani in Livorno with Prof. Graziano Polidori (2017/18), Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin with Prof. Martin Bruns
Master class:
Lioba Braun, Helmut Deutsch, Brigitte Fassbaender, Tomasz Konieczny, Bogdan Makal, Olga Pasiecznik, Eytan Pessen, Rudolf Piernay, Matthias Rexroth, et al.
Important parts:
Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia), Haly (L‘italiana in Algeri), Hauptmann, Saretzki (Eugen Onegin), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Pistola (Falstaff), Zuniga (Carmen), et al.
Stages:
Bregenzer Festspiele, Teatr Wielki – Opera Narodowa Warschau, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin
Cooperation with directors:
Calixto Bieito, David Bösch, Andrzej Chyra, Brigitte Fassbaender, Dmitri Tcherniakov
Cooperation with conductors:
Giampaolo Bisanti, Jonathan Brandani, Daniele Callegari, Paolo Carignani, Michał Klauza, Axel Kober, Volker Krafft, Carlo Montanaro, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Kent Nagano, Sébastien Rouland, Robin Ticciati, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Bertrand de Billy
photo: Martina Cyman
Nathanaël
Dongwon Kang
Tenor
Birthplace:
Jinju, South Korea
Studies:
Graduate of Keimyeong University College of Arts and Keimyeong Graduate School of Classical Vocal
Master class:
with Prof. Nicola Martinucci in Keimyung University in Daegu, South Korea (2015)
Prizes:
Third prize in the “Arena Academi” International Competition in Italy (2015), third prize in the Gaechun Competition in Korea (2015), first prize in the Um-Junghaeng Competition in Korea (2016), third prize in the “Ismaele Voltolini” International Competition in Italy (2016), first prize and special prize in the Sung-jung Competition in Korea (2016), third prize in the Daegu Vocal Competition in Korea (2016), second prize in the Joong-Ang Competition in Korea (2017), first prize in the Ihwa-Kyunghyang Competition in Korea (2017), finalist in the “Busetto Verdi” International Competition in Italy (2017)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Scholar of the Daegu Opera House Foundation from 2018/19 till 2019/20
Important parts:
Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Alfredo (La Traviata), Rodolfo (La Bohème), Nemorino (L’Elisir d’Amore), et al.
Stages:
Daegu Opera House, Keimyeong Art Center, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Matthias Fletzberger, Michael Zlabinger, et al.
photo: Tamara Sophie Grieß
Spalanzani
François Piolino
Tenor
Birthplace:
Basel, Switzerland
Studies:
Conservatoire de Musique, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Guildhall School of Music and Drama (Post Graduate), London
Conservatoire National supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris
Prizes:
Diplôme d'Enseignement de la Musique, Conservatoire, Lausanne
Prix de Chant en Musique Baroque, CNSMD de Paris
Important parts:
Monostatos (Magic Flute), Scaramuccio (Ariadne auf Naxos), M. Taupe (Capriccio), Don Basilio & Don Curzio (The Marriage of Figaro), Pedrillo (Abduction from the Seraglio), Goro (Butterfly), Dr Caïus (Falstaff), Pang (Turandot), Novice (Billy Budd), Flute & Thisby (Midsummer Night's Dream), Remendado (Carmen), Aumônier (Dialogues des Carmélites), Torquemada (L'Heure espagnole), Teapot & Arithmetic & Frog (L'Enfant et les sortilèges), Spalanzani & 4 Footmen (Tales of Hoffmann), et al.
Stages:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden (London) , Opéra de Paris, Teatro alla Scala (Milan), Glyndebourne Opera Festival (Lewes, GB), Staatsoper Under den Linden (Berlin) , Theater an der Wien, Opernhaus Zürich, La Monnaie (Brussels), Dutch National Opera (Amsterdam), Théâtre des Champs-Elysées (Paris), Grand Théâtre de Genève (Geneva), Opéra National de Lorraine (Nancy), et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Krzysztof Warlikowski, Robert Carsen, Graham Vick, Laurent Pelly, Olivier Py, Francesca Zambello, Luigi Pizzi, Barrie Kosky, Günter Krämer, Jean-François Sivadier, Mariame Clément, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Charles Dutoit, Jeffrey Tate, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Michel Plasson, Philippe Jordan, Omer Meir Wellber, Robin Ticciati, Kery-Linn Wilson, Susanna Mälkki, Mikko Franck, Michael Schønwandt,, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Bernhard Kontarsky, Hartmut Haenchen, Kazuki Yamada, et al.
Find further information about François Piolino here.
Wilhelm / Wolfram
Daniel Schliewa
Tenor
Birthplace:
Hamburg, Germany
Studies:
Vocal performance at the Musikhochschule Lübeck with Prof. Manuela Uhl
Master of Music, Musikhochschule Lübeck
Master classes:
with Ks. Irmgard Boas, Ks. Harald Stamm, Michaela Schuster und Iris Vermillion
Prizes:
Scholarship from the Bayreuther Festspiele 2015
Important parts:
Alfredo (La Traviata), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Oronte (Alcina), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Steuermann (Der fliegende
Holländer)
Stages:
Staatsoper Hamburg, Theater Lübeck, Theater Bremen, Landestheater Detmold, Theater Vorpommern, Brahms-Festival Lübeck, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Elbphilharmonie, Mozartfest Würzburg, Rheingau Musik-Festival, Schleswig-Holstein-Musik-Festival, Bulgaria Hall in Sofia
Cooperations with directors:
Paul-Georg Dittrich, Anthony Pilavachi, Sandra Leupold, Jochen Biganzoli, Milo Pablo Momm,
Michael Wallner
Cooperations with conductors:
Simone Young, Alexander Soddy, Christoph Eschenbach, Eric Whitacre, Rolf Beck, Sir Jeffrey Tate, Kent Nagano, Dario Salvi, Kaspars Putnins, Stefan Vladar
Find further information about Daniel Schliewa here.
photo: Jochen Quast
Le Capitaine des Sbirres
Han Kim
Bass
Birthplace:
Pohang, South Korea
Studies:
Bachelor, Seoul National University with Kwangchul Youn; Master Vocal performance, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Christian Elsner; Soloist’s Diploma Vocal performance, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Christian Elsner
Master class:
with Ann Murray, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (2019), with David Selig, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (2019)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (since 2021/2022)
Important parts:
Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Leporello/Masetto (Don Giovanni), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte), Il conte Rodolfo (La sonambula), Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Don Fernando (Fidelio), Colline (La Bohème), Zuniga (Carmen)
Stages:
Theater Heidelberg
Cooperation with directors:
Sonja Trebes
Cooperation with conductors:
Dietger Holm
photo: Jörn Kipping
Schlémil / Hermann
Nicholas Mogg
Baritone
Birthplace:
Manchester, United Kingdom
Studies:
International Opera Studio, Hamburg State Opera; National Opera Studio, London; Royal Academy of Music, London; Clare College, University Cambridge
Masterclass:
with Sir Simon Keenlyside, Christian Gerhaher, Malcolm Martineau, Brigitte Fassbaender, Gerald Finley, Sir Thomas Allen
Prizes:
Royal Over-Seas League Singers’ Section; Richard Lewis/Jean Shanks Award
Roles:
Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Ned Keene (Peter Grimes), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Dandini (La Cenerentola), Steward (Flight), Herr Peachum (Die Dreigroschenoper), Melisso (Alcina), Jupiter (Orphée aux Enfers), et al.
Stages:
Hamburg State Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Wigmore Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Het Concertgebouw, Festival Aix, Elbphilharmonie, Theater Lübeck
Cooperation with directors:
Keith Warner, Herbert Fritsch, Tim Albery, Orpha Phelan, Richard Jones
Cooperation with conductors:
Robin Ticciati, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman, Sir Roger Norrington, Yoel Gamzou, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Alan Gilbert, Kent Nagano
photo: Brinkhoff/Mögenburg
Orchester
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
Orchestra
The Philharmonic State Orchestra is Hamburg’s largest and oldest orchestra, looking back on many years of musical history. When the “Philharmonic Orchestra” and the “Orchestra of the Hamburg Municipal Theatre” merged in 1934, two tradition-steeped orchestras combined. Philharmonic concerts have been performed in Hamburg since 1828, artists such as Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms being regular guests of the Philharmonic Society. The history of the opera company goes back even further: Hamburg has been home to musical theatre since 1678, even if a regular opera or theatre orchestra was only formed later. To this day, the Philharmonic State Orchestra has embodied the sound of the Hansa City, a concert and opera orchestra in one.
During its long history, the orchestra encountered great artist personalities. Apart from composers of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, such as Telemann, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Mahler, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, since the 20th century chief conductors such as Karl Muck, Joseph Keilberth, Eugen Jochum, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Horst Stein, Aldo Ceccato, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gerd Albrecht, Ingo Metzmacher and Simone Young have shaped the orchestra’s sound. Renowned conductors of the pre-war era such as Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Karl Böhm and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt gave brilliant performances, as did outstanding conductors of our times: suffice it to mention Christian Thielemann, Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Petrenko, Sir Neville Marriner, Valery Gergiev and Sir Roger Norrington.
Starting with the 2015/2016 season, Kent Nagano has taken on the position of Hamburg’s General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra and the Hamburg State Opera. In his first season Kent Nagano initiated a new project, the Philharmonic Academy, focusing on experimentation and chamber music. In 2016 Nagano and the Philharmonic undertook a successful three-week concert tour in South America, a tour of Spain followed in 2019. Since 2017 Kent Nagano and the Philharmonic State Orchestra have continued the traditional Philharmonic Concerts at the new Elbphilharmonie, for which they commissioned Jörg Widmann to compose the oratorio ARCHE, which was given its world premiere during the hall’s opening festivities. The concert recording has been released at ECM.
The Philharmonic State Orchestra offers approximately 35 concerts per season and performs more than 240 performances per year at the Hamburg State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier, making it Hamburg’s busiest orchestra. The stylistic bandwidth covered by the 140 musicians, ranging from historically informed performance practice to contemporary works and including concert, opera and ballet repertoire, is unique throughout Germany. Chamber Music has a long tradition at the Philharmonic State Orchestra: what began in 1929 with a concert series for chamber orchestra has been continued since 1968 by a series of chamber music only.
In 2008 Simone Young and the Philharmonic State Orchestra won the Brahms Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society. The orchestra has recorded the complete Ring by Wagner as well as the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner – the latter in the rarely-performed original versions – as well as works by Mahler, Hindemith and Berg, and has released DVDs of opera and ballet productions by Hosokawa, Offenbach, Reimann, Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Puccini, Poulenc and Weber.
The members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra feel equally beholden to Hamburg’s musical tradition and responsible for the city’s artistic future. Since 1978 the musicians have been participating in education programmes in Hamburg’s schools. Today, the orchestra maintains a broad education programme, including school and kindergarten visits, patronage for music projects, introductory events for children and family concerts. The orchestra’s own academy prepares young musicians for their professional careers. The Philharmonic’s musicians thereby make an equally enjoyable and valuable contribution to tomorrow’s music education in the music metropolis of Hamburg.
photo: Foto: Felix Broede
Chor
Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
The chorus members appear on stage at the Hamburg State Opera in a different role almost every night. From one day to the next, they might be sailors, pilgrims or conspirators, then courtiers, hunters, the deranged or the imprisoned. In the role of crusaders in I Lombardi alla prima Crociata they travel to Jerusalem, other nights they are invited to Madama Butterfly's marriage or acclaim Prince Igor. The ladies and gentlemen of the opera chorus demonstrate their artistic prowess, their flexibility, and their love of the stage in every performance.
With a membership around 70, the chorus of the Hamburg State Opera has been one of the world’s best opera choruses for many years. The varied repertoire – almost always in the original language – is multifaceted and includes baroque operas and dramatic operas, major works by Verdi and Wagner as well as contemporary pieces. At the start of the 2013/14 season, Eberhard Friedrich took over the post of Chorus Master.
photo: Niklas Marc Heinecke
