Giuseppe Verdi | Rigoletto
Fri, Mar. 17, 2023, 7.30 pm - 10.00 pm
Musikalische Leitung
Stefano Ranzani
Conductor
Birthplace:
Milan, Italy
Studies:
Violin and musical conduction at Conservatory Giuseppe Verdi in Milan
Repertoire:
Italian opera repertoire (Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, Puccini, Giordano, Leoncavallo, Mascagni, Cilea), Romantic opera repertoire (e. g. Caikovskij, French Opera), symphonic repertoire from late 18th century till early 20th century (among others Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Brahms, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Berlioz, Debussy, Ravel, Caikovskij, Rachmaninov)
Career stages:
Music Director of the Teatro Massimo V. Bellini in Catania (2007-2008)
Stages:
Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, Washington Opera, Liceu de Barcelona, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Opernhaus Zürich, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro San Carlo di Napoli, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, et al.
Cooperation with orchestras:
Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, I Pomeriggi Musicali di Milano, Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Orchestra Nazionale della Rai di Torino, English Northern Philharmonia, Orchestra Haydn di Bolzano, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Symphoniker Hamburg, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, et al.
photo: Roselina Garbo
Chor
Christian Günther
Associate Chorus Master
Birthplace:
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Studies:
Conducting at University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, conducting lessons with Neeme Järvi, Jorma Panula and Gianluigi Gelmetti
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Assistant Chorus Master at Hamburg State Opera since the 2019/20 season
Career stages:
Assistant of the Chorus Master at Hamburg State Opera (2008-2019), regular guest appearances at NDR-Chorus (since 2018), Guest Chorus Master at Zürich Opera House (2018), Assistant of Eberhard Friedrich with the Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival (2017), Guest engagements at Music Festival Bremen, at Festival der Projektgruppe Neue Musik Bremen as well as at Oh Ton-Ensemble Oldenburg, Leader of the Ensemble “Atelier Neue Musik”, Lectureship at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen (since 2007), Associate Chorus Master and Leader of the children's chorus at Theater Bremen (2002-2007), 2nd Capellmeister at Theater Bremen (2005-2007), Conductor of the Ensemble “piano possible” Munich (1996-2007), Guest répétiteur at Stuttgart State Theater, Theater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and at the Biennale in Munich
Cooperation with choruses:
Chorus of Hamburg State Opera, NDR Chorus, Children's chorus of Theater Bremen, et al.
Il Duca di Mantova
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
Rigoletto
George Gagnidze
Baritone
Birthplace:
Tbilisi, Georgia
Studies:
Tbilisi State Conserva
Prizes:
Winner of the “Voci Verdiane” competition in Busseto, of the “Leyla Gencer Voice Competition” and the “Elena Obraztsova Competition”
Important parts:
Rigoletto, Nabucco, Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra, Falstaff, Iago (Otello), Germont (La traviata), Scarpia (Tosca), Michele (Il tabarro), Carlo Gérard (Andrea Chénier), Tonio (Pagliacci), Barnaba (La Gioconda), Shaklovity (Khovanshchina) et al.
Stages:
Metropolitan Opera in New York, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Vienna State Opera, Staatsoper and Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gran Teatro del Liceu, Teatro Real Madrid, Palau de les Arts Valencia, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Dallas Opera, Washington National Opera, Teatro San Carlo of Naples, Arena di Verona, BBC Proms, Festival of Aix-en-Provence, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Luc Bondy, Robert Carsen, Liliana Cavani, Edoardo De Angelis, Giancarlo Del Monaco, Andreas Homoki, David McVicar, Ferzan Ozpetek, Francesca Zambello et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Semyon Bychkov, James Conlon, Gustavo Dudamel, Mikko Franck, Jesús López-Cobos, James Levine, Fabio Luisi, Nicola Luisotti, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Gianandrea Noseda, Daniel Oren, Kirill Petrenko, Yuri Temirkanov, et al.
photo: Dario Acosta
Gilda
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
Il Conte Monterone
Blake Denson
Baritone
Birthplace:
Paducah, USA
Studies:
Music performance/University of Kentucky, Rice University, Shepherd School of Music
Prizes:
Winner of The George London Foundation, Winner of The International Concurs Tenor Viñas Competition, Winner of The Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition, Grand Finalist winner Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2020), Winner of the Pasadena Vocal Competition, Winner of the Houson Saengerbund Opera Competition, Winner of the Opera Mississippi Competition, Winer of the National Opera Association Competition, Winner of the Perfect Day Foundation Competition, Winner of the Orpheus Vocal Competition, et al.
Master classes:
Ana Maria Martinez, Cynthia Lawrence
Important parts:
Donner (Das Rheingold), Ford (Falstaff), Monterone (Rigoletto), Escamillo (Carmen), Shaunard ( La bohème), Angelotti (Tosca), Paolo (Simon Boccanegra), Mr. Maguire (Emmeline), Daddy/Tim (The Snowy Day), Jailor (Dialogues des Carmélites), Gregorio (Romeo et Juliet), Jake (Porgy and Bess), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Ramiro (L’heure espagnole), Moralès/ (Carmen), Vater (Hänsel und Gretel), Kaiser (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), Pierot (L'île de Merlin), Joe (Show Boat), Dottore Grenvil (La Traviata), Mercurio (La Calisto), Elder McLean (Susannah), Captain/Eugen Onegin (Eugen Onegin), Marcello (La Bohéme), Sharpless (Madame Butterfly), et al.
Stages:
Washington National Opera, Staatsoper Hamburg, Sante Fe Opera, English National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Tulsa Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu, The Dallas Opera, et al.
Careerstages:
Wolf Trap Opera Studio, Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy, Houston Grand Opera Studio
Cooperations with directors:
Francesca Zambello, E. Loren Meeker, Tomer Zvulun, Richard Gammon, Lileana Blain-Cruz, Omar Ben Siedia, Rob Ashford, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Emmanuel Villaume, Patrick Summers, Lidiya Yankovskaya, Ben Manis, John Nardolillo, Bertrand de Billy, Daniel Monané, et al.
Find further information about Blake Denson here.
photo: Lynn Lane
Il Conte di Ceprano
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
La Contessa di Ceprano
Sujin Choi
Soprano
Birthplace:
Daegu, Republic of Korea
Studies:
Bachelor and Master of Music at Kyungpook National
Master class:
with Kwangchul Youn (2020), Heran Hong (2018), Sunyoung Seo (2018), Samuel Yoon (2017)
Prizes:
Young artist by selection of Deagu Operahouse Opern-Studio (2019), 1st prize at competition of Ubong-art of Daegu (2017), 2nd prize at competition of strings in Daegu (2017), 2nd prize at competition of Music association of Daegu (2017), 2nd prize at Italian organization vocal contest in Seoul (2015)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since season 2020/21
Important parts:
Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Musetta (La Bohème)
Stages:
Deagu Operahouse, Keimyeong Art Center, Kyungpook National University concert hall, Su-sung Artpia
Cooperation with directors:
Hendrik Müller, Thilo Reinhardt, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Davide Perniceri, Julien Salemkour, et al.
photo: Jörn Kipping
Marullo
Chao Deng
Bass-baritone
Birthplace:
Tianjin, China
Studies:
Vocal studies in Tianjin, China; diploma in voice at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg with Cheryl Studer; master studies with Christian Elsner and in the Lied class of Gerold Huber and opera studio at the Hochschule für Musik Weimar with Prof. Dr. Michail Lanskoi; master class exam at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden with KS Prof. Matthias Henneberg.
Master classes:
With Liang Li, Michaelis Doukakis, John Norris, KS Camilla Nylund, KS Helen Donath, KS Brigitte Fassbaender, Sonja Prina, Alberto Triola, Catherine Foster, Georg Zeppenfeld, Juliane Banse, Roberto Scandiuzzi, KS Deborah Polaski.
Awards:
Prize for Opera Singing of the Concerto Foundation Würzburg (2015), Prize Winner of the International Singing Competition of the Chamber Opera Schloss Rheinsberg (2014), Scholarship Holder of the Richard Wagner Association Bayreuth Festival (2014), et al.
Relation to the State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2020/21 season.
Important roles:
Peter (Hänsel und Gretel), Häuptling Abendwind (Chief Evening Wind), Ramfis (Aida), Gianni Schicchi/Betto di Signa (Gianni Schicchi), Papageno/Sprecher /2. Geharnischte (Die Zauberflöte), Frank (Die Fledermaus), Don Fernando (Fidelio), Schaunard (La Bohème), Mr. Fluth (The Merry Wives of Windsor), Kilian/Ottokar (Der Freischütz), Buonafede (Il mondo della luna), Förster (Das schlaue Füchslein), Le Duc (Romeo et Juliette), Angelotti (Tosca), Colas (Bastien et Bastienne), Priamus (Les Troyens), Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro), Marullo/Ceprano (Rigoletto), Zuniga (Carmen), De Retz (Les Huguenots), Lord Syndham (Zar und Zimmermann), Spielmann (Königskinder), Journalist (Lulu), Osias, High Priest (Judith), et al.
Stages:
Hamburg State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Dresden Semper Opera, German Opera on the Rhine, Dresden Philharmonic, Braunschweig State Theater, German National Theater Weimar, Dresden State Operetta, Erfurt Theater, Weimarhalle, Saar Music Festival, Shanghai Opera House, et al.
Collaboration with directors:
Peter Konwitschny, Lydia Steier, Barrie Kosky, Mariame Clément,Yona Kim, Manfred Weiß, Sabine Hartmannshenn, Hasko Weber, Anette Leistenschneider, Guy Montavon, Andrea Moses, et al.
Collaboration with conductors:
Kent Nagano, Sebastian Weigle, Stefano Ranzani, John Fiore, Stefan Soltész, Xu Zhong, Daniele Callegari, Speranza Scappucci, Giampaolo Bisanti, Ivan Repušić, Riccardo Minasi, Giacomo Sagripanti, Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, Thomas Leo Cadenbach, Moritz Gnann, Felix Krieger, Christoph Gedschold, Kristiina Poska, Tomáš Netopil, Antonino Fogliani, Omer Meir Wellber, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Stefan Lano, Martin Hoff, Georg Fritzsch, et al.
Find further information about Chao Deng here.
photo: Jie Chen
Borsa
Seungwoo Simon Yang
Tenor
Birthplace:
Gwangyang, South Korea
Studies:
Singing at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with Prof. Carolyn Grace James
Master class:
Nicola Martinucci, Seoul in Korea 2016
Prizes:
1st Prize Elise Meyer Competition (2020), 1st Prize of the Mozart Singing Competition (2020), Special Prize and 2nd Prize of the Maritim Music Award (2019), 2nd Prize of the Maritim Music Award (2018), 1st Prize of the Korean Singing Competition (2015), 1st Prize of the Korea Talent Award (2015), 1st Prize of the Ehwa & Kyunghyang Competition (2014), 1st Prize Shin Young-Ok Voice Competition (2014), 1st Prize of the Shinhan Music Award (2014)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2020/21 season
Important parts:
Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Pilade (Oreste), Nemorino (L'Elisir d'amore), Rodolfo (La Bohème), et al.
Stages:
Korea, Belgien, Bergedorf Musiktage, Elbphilharmonie, Laeiszhalle
Cooperation with directors:
Guy Montavon
photo: Jörn Kipping
Sparafucile
Tigran Martirossian
Bass
Birthplace:
Yerevan, Armenia
Studies:
Musical studies at the Gnessin State Academy of Music with Prof. Artur Eizen and Prof. Pavel Lisitsian
Prizes:
Prize winner of nine international singing competitions, inter alia, second prize in the “Neue Stimmen” Competition in Gütersloh (1997), second prize in the 2nd International Singing Competition in Shizuoka (2000), first prize in the Ondina Otta Competition in Marburg (1999)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 2005/06
Important parts:
Ramfis (Aida), König René (Jolanthe), Salieri (Mozart und Salieri), Fiesco (Simon Boccanegra), Dulcamara (L’Elisir d’Amore), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Sulpice (La Fille du Régiment), Colline (La Bohème), Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Selim (Il Turco in Italia), Banco (Macbeth), Pagano (I Lombardi alla prima Crociata), Daland (Der fliegende Holländer), Dossifei (Chowanschtschina), Fasolt (Das Rheingold), Rodolfo (La Sonnambula), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor) Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola), Philippe II (Don Carlos), Méphistophélès (Faust), Fürst Galizky (Fürst Igor), Ein Eremit (Der Freischütz), Doktor (Wozzeck), Oroveso (Norma) , Pimen (Boris Godunov), et al.
Stages:
Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow, Bolshoi Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Teatro Real in Madrid, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Salzburg Festival, Theater an der Wien, Bregenz Festival, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra Bastille, St. Galler Festspiele, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Achim Freyer, Yona Kim, Jochen Biganzoli, David Alden, Andreas Homoki, Vincent Boussard, Stefan Herheim, Florentine Klepper, Francesca Zambella, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Sir Colin Davis, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Mstislav Rostropovich, Carlo Rizzi, Simone Young, Plácido Domingo, Kent Nagano, Sylvain Cambreling, Valery Gergiev, Michel Plasson, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Daniel Oren, Mark Wigglesworth, Philippe Jordan, Daniele Callegari, Riccardo Frizza, et al.
Find further information about Tigran Martirossian here.
photo: Martina Cyman
Maddalena
Marta Świderska
mezzo-soprano
Origin:
Poland
Studies:
Bachelor’s degree in Singing at the Karol Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice in Poland with Dr. Pawel Sobierajski, Master’s degree in Singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main with Professor Thomas Heyer
Master class:
with B. Fassbender, C. Lehmann, U. Finazzi, I. Bogacheva, P. Esswood, Ingrid Kremling, Wieslaw Ochman, et al.
Prizes:
Second prize in the Jan Kiepura Singing Competition in Sosnowiec in Poland, first prize and the Grand Prix in Vocal Competition „Impressio Art“ “ in Sopot in Poland, participation with honors in the Third Singing Competition „J.E.J.Reszków“ in Czestochowa in Poland, second prize and special prize for the best mezzosoprano in the Second International Giulio Perotti Singing Competition in Ückermunde in Germany, et al.
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (2015/16-2016/17)
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 2018/19
Important parts:
Erda (Siegfried), Baba the Turk (The Rake’s progress), Dora S. (Benjamin), Marthe (Faust), Filipiewna and Olga (Eugene Onegin), 3. Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Brigitta (Die tote Stadt), Eine Theatergarderobiere (Lulu), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Baltic Opera, Oper Leipzig, Komische Oper Berlin, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Michael Thalheimer, Jette Steckel, Katharina Thalbach, Christoph Marthaler, Yona Kim, Paul Esterhazy, Linus Fellbom, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Nagano, George Jackson, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Renato Palumbo, Anthony Bramall, Riccardo Minasi, Gregor Bühl, Volker Krafft, Josep Caballé Domenech, Christoph Gedschold, Alexander Joel, Philipp Pointner, Péter Halász, Alexander Vedernikov, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, Tadeusz Kozlowski, Peter Ruzicka, et al.
Giovanna
Katja Pieweck
Soprano
Birthplace:
Hannover, Germany
Studies:
Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg with Prof. Ks. Judith Beckmann
Prizes:
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer Preis of the Körber-Stiftung (2007), Cultural Prize of the Berenberg Bank Hamburg (2000), First Prize of the International Robert Stolz Singing Competition in Hamburg (2000), Masefield Fellowship of the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 1999/2000, member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (1997/98 to 1998/99)
Important parts:
Adalgisa (Norma), Mercédès (Carmen), Hexe (Königskinder), Smeton (Anna Bolena), Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor), Marquise de Berkenfield (La fille du régiment), Sélysette (Ariane et Barbe-Bleue), Arsamene (Xerxes), Sancta Susanna (Klementia), Gertrud/Sandmännchen (Hänsel und Gretel), Frau des Dorfrichters (Jenufa), Valencienne (Die lustige Witwe), Witwe Browe (Zar und Zimmermann), Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana), Damigella Pallade (L’Incoronazione di Poppea), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Schenkwirtin (Boris Godunov), Mutter (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites), Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Frugola (Il Tabarro), Goneril (Lear), Berta/Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Marchese Melibea (Il Viaggio a Reims), Ariadne (Ariadne), Adelaide (Arabella), Annina (Der Rosenkavalier), Aufseherin/1. Magd (Elektra), Curra/Preziosilla (La Forza del Destino), Annina (La Traviata), Meg Page/Alice Ford (Falstaff), Giovanna/Maddalena (Rigoletto), Fenena (Nabucco), Emilia (Otello), Fricka (Das Rheingold), Siegrune/Sieglinde (Die Walküre), Magdalena (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), Ortrud (Lohengrin), Adriano (Rienzi), Eglantine (Euryanthe), Ericlea (Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria), Larina (Eugen Onegin), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Semperoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Staatstheater Mainz, Bayerische Staatsoper, Oper Leipzig, Internationale Herrenchiemsee Festspiele, Staatsoper Hannover, et al.
Zusammenarbeit mit Regisseuren:
Peter Konwitschny, Karoline Gruber, Claus Guth, Willy Decker, Achim Freyer, Roger Vontobel, Stefan Herheim, Michael Thalheimer, et al.
Zusammenarbeit mit Dirigenten:
Simone Young, Sir Simon Rattle, Peter Schneider, Ingo Metzmacher, Gerd Albrecht, Sebastian Weigle, Rolf Beck, Krzysztof Penderecki, et al.
photo: Ida Aldrian
Il Paggio della Duchessa
Olivia Boen
Soprano
Birthplace:
Chicago, USA
Studies:
Opera Course at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2021), Master of Music with Distinction at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2019), Bachelor of Music in Voice from Oberlin Conservatory of Music (2017)
Prizes:
Finalist Guildhall Gold Medal Prize (2021), Awarded English Song Prize from London Song Festival (2019), Third Place Hurn Court Singing Competition (2019), First Place Musicians Club of Women Lynne Cooper Harvey Foundation Award (2018), Awarded Frank Huntington Beebe Fund for Musicians Grant (2018), First Place Tuesday Musical Competition (2017)
Master classes:
Renée Fleming, Roderick Williams, Thomas Hampson, Eric Owens, Helmut Deutsch, Marilyn Horne, Thomas Quasthoff, Dame Felicity Lott, Kamal Khan, Kate Royal
Important parts:
Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Susanna (Il Segreto di Susanna), Queen Mother (The Little Green Swallow), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) [cover], Alcina (Alcina), Romilda (Serse), Thérèse (Les Mamelles de Tirésias), Die Stimme des Falken (Die Frau ohne Schatten),Anna (Nabucco), Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Musetta (La Bohéme), et al.
Stages:
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wigmore Hall, Oxford Lieder Festival, Verbier Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Barbican Centre, Nevill Holt Opera, London Song Festival, Ravinia Festival, Internationale Meistersinger Akademie, Samling Institute, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Martin Lloyd-Evans, Lee Blakeley, Stephen Medcalf, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Sir Andrew Davis, Valery Gergiev, Dominic Wheeler, Stanislav Kochanovsky, et al.
Find further information about Olivia Boen here.
photo: Jörn Kipping
Un Usciere di Corte
Liam James Karai
Bass-Baritone
Birthplace:
Hongkong, China
Studies:
MMUS & PGDip - Royal Northern College of Music, taught by Quentin Hayes
BSC – University of Leicester
Master class:
Olga Peretyatko (2022 Hamburg)
Piotr Beczała (2022 Salzburg Festspiele)
John Tomlinson (2022 RNCM)
Ann Murray (2022 RNCM)
Graham Vick (2021 RNCM)
Christopher Purves (2021 RNCM)
Prizes:
Sir John Tomlinson Scholarship (RNCM)
Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholarship (RNCM)
Frederic Cox Award (RNCM)
RNCM Silver Medal
Joaninha Trust Award Competition
Pomerance Prize (University of Leicester)
St Cecilia Opera Prize (Leicester festival of music & dramatic art)
Winner of the Opera solo Award (Leicester festival of music & dramatic art)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/2023 season
Important parts:
Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Leporello/Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Alidoro (Cenerentola), Escamillo (Carmen), Colline (La bohème)
Stages:
Salzburg Festspiele, Staatsoper Hamburg, English National Opera, Opera Holland Park, RNCM
Cooperation with directors:
Christof Loy, Angelina Nikonova, Victoria Newlyn, Sam Brown, Stuart Barker, Jonathan Cocker
Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Negano, Franz Welser-Möst, Peter Whelan, Adrian Kelly, Peter Robinson, Nicholas Kok, Paul Jenkins
Find further information about Liam James Karai here.
photo: Jörn Kipping
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
