Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Le Nozze di Figaro
Thu, May 09, 2024, 6.00 pm - 9.30 pm
Musikalische Leitung
Louis Lohraseb
Musical Direction
Birthplace:
New York, USA
Studies:
Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University: DMA Orchestral Conducting Candidate
Yale School of Music: Orchestral Conducting Fellow
State University of New York at Geneseo: Music Performance, Piano Performance, Conducting and Composition
Prizes:
Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award (2022)
Career stages:
TOSCA, IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, LA TRAVIATA (all Los Angeles Opera), CARMEN (Semperoper Dresden), LA TRAVIATA (Komische Oper Berlin) THÉRÈSE (Opera Sarasota) LA RONDINE, DON GIOVANNI (Indiana University Opera Theatre)
Stages:
Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Semperoper Dresden, Los Angeles Opera, Komische Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Hamburg, Atlanta Opera, Opera Sarasota, Indiana University Opera Theatre, Yale Opera, Summer Opera Tel Aviv, Glimmerglass Opera, Chautauqua Music Festival, Castleton Festival, Ravinia Festival
Cooperation with orchestras:
Israel NK Orchestra, Menomonee Falls Symphony Orchestra, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Cheshire Symphony Orchestra
photo: Luke Fontana
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
Il Conte d'Almaviva
Jacques Imbrailo
Baritone
Birthplace:
South Africa
Studies:
Royal College of Music, Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at The Royal Opera House
Prizes:
Winner of the Audience Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World
Important parts:
Tarquinius (The Rape of Lucretia), Ned Keene (Peter Grimes), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Il Conte Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Dr Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Simon (Miss Fortune), Albert (Werther), Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), et al.
Stages:
Teatro Real, Ópera de Oviedo, Opéra national de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Theater an der Wien, Glyndebourne Festival, Bolshoi Theatre, Opéra de Lille, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Royal Opera, Dutch National Opera, Norwegian National Opera, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Dmitri Tcherniakov, Sir David MicVicar, Robert Carsen, Deborah Warner, Michael Grandage, Barrie Kosky, Francesca Zambello, Richard Jones, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Sir Antonio Pappano, Marin Alsop, Robin Ticciati, Sir Mark Elder, Edward Gardner, Alexander Soddy, Ivor Bolton, Sir Andrew Davies, Vladimir Jurowski, Alejo Perez, Nicholas Carter et al.
La Contessa d'Almaviva
Ruzan Mantashyan
Soprano
Birthplace:
Yerevan, Armenia
Studies:
Bachelor in Singing at Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan (2007-2011), Accademia di Bel Canto Mirella Freni CUBEC (2010-2012), Master Degree in Singing at Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Frankfurt am Main, class of Hedwig Fassbender (2012-2014), Atelier Lyrique-Academie (Young artists program) of the Opéra National de Paris (2014-2016)
Prizes:
Special prize (finalist) at Francisco Vinas Competition Barcelona (2011), winner of the Toti Dal Monte Singers’ Competition (2013)
Important parts:
Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Rusalka, Natacha Rostova (War and Peace), Rachel (La Juive), Alice Ford (Falstaff), La Contessa (Le Nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Marguerite (Faust), Mimì (La Bohème), Micaëla (Carmen), Servilia (La Clemenza di Tito), et al.
Stages:
Opéra National de Paris, Konzerthaus Berlin, Glyndebourne Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Komische Oper Berlin, Opéra de Lille, Opéra National de Montpellier, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Teatro Comunale di Treviso, Opernhaus Zürich, Opera Royal de Wallonie, Staatsoper Hamburg, Amsterdam Nationale Opera & Ballet, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Matthias Hartmann, Ivan Stefanutti, Christoph Honoré, Suzanne Andrade, Esme Appleton, Georges Lavaudant, Ivo van Hove, Kirill Serebrennikov, Harry Kupfer, David Bösch, Calixto Bieito, Eric Vigié, Barrie Kosky, David Alden, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Jordan de Souza, Michael Schonwandt, Ivan Fischer, Giacomo Sagripanti, Francesco Lanzillotta, Michel Plasson, Enrique Mazzola, Emmanuelle Haim, Paolo Arrivabeni, Konstantin Trinks, Vladimir Jurowski, Cornelius Meister, Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Philippe Jordan, Ottavio Dantone, Riccardo Minasi, Christopher Moulds, Marc Minkowski, et al.
Find further information about Ruzan Mantashyan here.
photo: photoche
Susanna
Katharina Konradi
Soprano
Birthplace:
Bischkek, Kyrgyzstan
Studies:
Singing education with Julie Kaufmann in Berlin, master's degree in song composition with Christiane Iven and Donald Sulzen at Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
Master class:
with Helmut Deutsch and Klesie Kelly-Moog
Prizes:
BBC New Generation Artist (2018–20), prize of Deutscher Musikwettbewerb in Bonn (2016), special prize of Walter und Charlotte Hamel Stiftung, prizewinner of Bundeswettbewerbs „Jugend musiziert“ and of Sommerakademie Mozarteum (2015), 1st prize of Kulturkreis Gasteig München in the classification „Lied-Duo“ (2015); scholarship holder of Paul-Hindemith-Gesellschaft Berlin, of Yehudi Menuhin Stiftung „Live Music Now“ and of Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 2018/19 season
Important parts:
Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Zdenka (Arabella), Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Anne Frank (Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank), et al.
Stages:
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Elbphilharmonie, Kammeroper München, Theater Hof, Mainfranken Theater Würzburg, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Lionel Bringuier, Paavo Järvi, Thomas Hengelbrock, Patrick Lange, Konrad Junghänel, et al.
Find further information about Katharina Konradi here.
photo: Martina Cyman
Figaro
Krzysztof Bączyk
Bass
Birthplace:
Poznań, Poland
Studies:
Akademia Operowa Young Artists Program at the Polish National Opera in Warsaw
Opera Academy of Grand Theater in Poznań
Masterclasses:
With Neil Shicoff, Anita Garanča, Andrzej Dobber, Anne Murray, David Pountney
Important parts:
Colline (La Bohème), Commendatore and Masetto (Don Giovanni), Capellio (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Melisso (Alcina), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Zuniga (Carmen), Oroveso (Norma), Ferrando (Il Trovatore), Wurm (Luisa Miller), Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Aida (The King), Giorgio (I Puritani)
Stages:
Glyndebourne Festival, Royal Opera House, Arena di Verona, Bolshoi Theatre, Teatro Real, Opéra de Paris, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Oper Köln, Salzburger Festspiele, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, ABAO Olbe
Cooperations with directors:
Christof Loy, Klaus Guth, Ivo van Hove, Robert Carsen, Krzysztof Warlikowski, Simon Mcburney, Mariusz Trelinski, Alex Olle, Richard Jones
Cooperations with conductors:
Nello Santi, Maurizio Benini, Nicola Luisotti, Giacomo Sagripanti, Riccardo Frizza, Enrique Mazzola, Speranza Scapucci, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Manfred Honeck, Dan Ettinger, Betrand de Billy, Pablo Heras- Casado, Marc Minkowski, James Gaffigan
photo: Ksenia S. Photography
Cherubino
Julia Lezhneva
Soprano
Birthplace:
Sakhalin, Russia
Studies:
Moscow Conservatory Academic Music College, London’s Guildhall School
Master class:
with Elena Obraztsova, Alberto Zedda, Richard Bonynge and Thomas Quasthoff
Prizes:
Singer of the year at OPUS Klassik 2018, ECHO classical prize, first prize at the Mirjam Helin International Singing Competition in Helsinki (2009), first prize at the Paris International Opera Competition (2010)
Important roles:
Morgana (Alcina), (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Angelica (Orlando Furioso), Galatea (Polifemo), Susanna/Barberina (Le nozze di Figaro), Asteria (Tamerlano)
Stages:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Royal Albert Hall, Barbican Centrein London, Severance Hall in Cleveland, Lincoln Center in New York, NHK Hall in Tokyo, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Madrid Auditorium, Salle Pleyel, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Wiener Konzerthaus, Theater an der Wien, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Philharmonie Essen, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Palais de Beaux Arts in Brussels, The Bolshoi Theatre, Melbourne Recital Centre, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Salzburger Festspiele, Salzburg Mozartwoche, Baden-Baden Festspielhaus, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Chorégies d’Orange, Verbier Festival, Händel-Festspiele Halle, Quincena Musical, Wratislawia Cantans, Misteria Paschalia, Rossini Opera Festival, S. Richter “December Nights” Festival in Moscow, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Lucerne Festival, Dubrovnik Festival, Kissinger Sommer, Nordland Musikfestukke Bodö, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Kasper Holten, Uwe Eric Laufenberg, Christof Loy, Gilbert Deflo, Max Emanuel Cencic, Rolando Villazón et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Marc Minkowski, Giovanni Antonini, Adam Fischer, Sir Antonio Pappano, Herbert Blomstedt, Alberto Zedda, Paavo Järvi, Vladimir Jurowski, Philippe Herreweghe, Franz Welser-Möst, Sir Roger Norrington, René Jacobs, Andrea Marcon, Fabio Biondi, Jean-Christoph Spinosi, Diego Fasolis, Ottavio Dantone, Konrad Junghänel, et al.
Find further information about Julia Lezhneva here.
photo: Ksenia Zasetskaya
Marcellina
Claire Gascoin
Mezzosoprano
Birthplace:
France
Studies:
Bachelor’s degree at the Musikhochschule Leipzig, Master’s degree at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna,
Prizes:
Kammeroper Rheinsberg (2015), Brahms competition (2014) Clara-
Schumann competition (2014), owner of a scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
Master classes:
Claudia Visca, Krassimira Stoyanova
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/2023 season
Important parts:
Ottone (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Carmen (Carmen), Testo (Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda), Aschenputtel (Cenerentola), Annina (Romilda e Costanza), et al.
Stages:
Staatstheater Cottbus, Oper Krakau, Opéra de Lyon, Royal Opera House Muscat, Opera de Tenerife, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Michael Sturminger, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Stéphane Fuget, Antonino Fogliani, et al.
Find further information about Claire Gascoin here.
photo: Jörn Kipping
Don Basilio
Jürgen Sacher
Tenor
Birthplace:
Augsburg, Germany
Studies:
Church music and music education at the Leopold-Mozart Konservatorium in Augsburg, vocal studies with Leonore Kirschstein
Prizes:
Scholarship of the Richard Wagner Verband, Promotion Prize of the Hamburgische Staatsoper, appointment as Hamburger Kammersänger (2017)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Staatsoper Hamburg since 1991/92
Important parts:
Mime (Siegfried), Mime/Loge (Das Rheingold), Herodes (Salome), Knusperhexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Hauptmann/Andres (Wozzeck), Monostatos/1. Geharnischter (Die Zauberflöte), Maler/Prinz/Marquis/Kammerdiener (Lulu), Dr. Cajus (Falstaff), Tichon (Katja Kabanova), Truffaldino (Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen), Valzacchi (Der Rosenkavalier), David (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Junger Mann (Moses und Aron), Steuermann (Der fliegende Holländer), Peter Iwanow (Zar und Zimmermann), Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Walther von der Vogelweide (Tannhäuser), Goro (Madame Butterfly), Graf Elemer (Arabella), Raoul de St. Brioche (Die lustige Witwe), Novagerio (Palestrina), Orontes (Flavius Bertaridus), Asasello (Der Meister und Margarita), Tanzmeister (Ariadne auf Naxos), Graf von Kent (Lear), Reverend Adams (Peter Grimes), L´Aumonier (Dialogues des Carmélites), Aegisth (Elektra), Fedotik (Tri Sestri), Sylvester von Schaumburg (Mathis der Maler), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, La Monnaie, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Königliche Oper von Kopenhagen, Teatro alla Scala, Salzburger Festspiele, Theater an der Wien, Budapester Staatsoper, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Wagner Festival Budapest, Theater Dortmund, Staatstheater Braunschweig, Staatsoper Budapest, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Harry Kupfer, Willy Decker, Claus Guth, Mario Martone, Achim Freyer, Géza M. Tóth, Livia Sabag, Roger Vontobel, Stefan Herheim, Karoline Gruber, Vincent Boussard, Jochen Biganzoli, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Adam Fischer, Bertrand de Billy, Claudio Abbado, Kent Nagano, Semyon Bychkov, Horst Stein, Christian Thielemann, Ingo Metzmacher, Michael Boder, Kirill Petrenko, Simone Young, Daniel Barenboim, et al.
photo: Martina Cyman
Don Curzio
Peter Galliard
Tenor
Birthplace:
Chur, Switzerland
Studies:
With Rico Peterelli, Conservatory in Feldkirch with Maria Eibenschütz, at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Rudolf Knoll
Prizes:
First Prize at the International Mozart Competition (1985), Förderpreis of the Kanton Graubünden (1987), Dr. Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Preis of the Stiftung zur Förderung der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (1989), honored by the Hamburg Senate with the title of “Kammersänger” (2017)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 1986/87
Important parts:
Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Jaquino (Fidelio), Cassio (Otello), Froh and Loge (Das Rheingold), Alfred and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Peter Iwanow (Zar und Zimmermann), Bardolfo (Falstaff), Hauptmann (Wozzeck), Knusperhexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Lenski (Eugen Onegin), Narraboth (Salome), Don Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro), Prinz and Hauptmann (Lulu), L’Aumonier (Dialogues des Carmélites), Melot (Tristan und Isolde), Walther von der Vogelweide (Tannhäuser), Wolfgang Capito (Mathis der Maler), Goro (Madama Butterfly), Red Whiskers (Billy Budd), Dämon (L’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe), Bischof von Budoja (Palestrina), Mime (Siegfried), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Lucerne Festival, Salzburger Osterfestspiele, Opéra National de Paris, Enescu Festival in Bukarest, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, Semperoper Dresden, Oper Leipzig, Staatstheater Nürnberg, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Claus Guth, August Everding, Johannes Schaaf, Harry Kupfer, Peter Konwitschny, Johannes Erath, Renaud Doucet, Georg Schmiedleitner, Stefan Herheim, Herbert Wernicke, Calixto Bieito, Willy Decker, Paul-Georg Dittrich, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christian Thielemann, Ingo Metzmacher, Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Kent Nagano, Lawrence Foster, Gerrit Prießnitz, Marcus Bosch, Philippe Jordan, Paolo Carignani, Vaclav Luks, et al.
photo: Martina Cyman
Don Bartolo
Hubert Kowalczyk
Bass
Birthplace:
Radom, Poland
Studies:
Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Prof. Martin Bruns and Prof. Dr. Michail Lanskoi; Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali "Pietro Mascagni" in Livorno with Prof. Graziano Polidori; Young Talents Development Program - Opera Academy in Warsaw
Master class:
Lioba Braun, Helmut Deutsch, Brigitte Fassbaender, Tomasz Konieczny, Bogdan Makal, Olga Pasiecznik, Eytan Pessen, Rudolf Piernay, Matthias Rexroth, Harald Stamm, et al.
Important parts:
Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia), Colline (La Bohème), Crespel (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Haly (L'italiana in Algeri), Nourabad (Les Pêcheurs de perles), Oroveso (Norma), Pistola (Falstaff), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Zuniga (Carmen), et al.
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2021/22 season
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from 2019/20 to 2021/22
Stages:
Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Zurich Opera House, Bregenz Festival, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa, Opera Rara Festival in Krakow, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Calixto Bieito, David Bösch, Frank Castorf, Petra Deidda, Brigitte Fassbaender, Herbert Fritsch, Alexander Riemenschneider, Dmitri Tcherniakov, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Matteo Beltrami, Bertrand de Billy, Giampaolo Bisanti, Jonathan Brandani, Daniele Callegari, Paolo Carignani, Nicholas Carter, Vladimir Conta, Axel Kober, Volker Krafft, Carlo Montanaro, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Kent Nagano, Ivan Repušić, Sébastien Rouland, Robin Ticciati, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Lidiya Yankovskaya, et al.
Find further information about Hubert Kowalczyk here.
photo: Martina Cyman
Antonio
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
Barbarina
Yeonjoo Katharina Jang
Soprano
Birthplace:
Pohang, South Korea
Studies:
Bachelor’s degree in singing at the Seoul National University with Heion Seo, Master’s degree in singing at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar with Marietta Zumbült owning a DAAD scholarship
Prizes:
First prize at the Piero Boni international singing contest (2020), second prize at the Anton Rubinstein internhational music competition (2019), first prize at the Vienna Grand Prize Virtuoso international music competition (2019), special award at the international music competition Paris (2019), second prize at the korean singing competition (2016), first prize at the international singing competition of the korean singing club (2015), third prize at the Dong-A music competition (2015), u. a.
Refernce to the Staatsoper:
Member of the international opera studio at the Staatsoper Hamburg since the 2022/23 season
Master classes:
with Samuel Yoon (2021), Edda Moser (2019)
Important parts:
Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Königin der Nacht / Erste Dame / Papagena (Die Zauberflöte),
Gilda (Rigoletto), Olympia (Les Contes d‘Hoffmann), Ida (Die Fledermaus)
Stages:
Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Daegu Opernhaus, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Christian Weise, Roman Hovenbitzer, Stephanie Koch, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Stefan Lano, Joongbae Jee,et al.
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, Adam Fischer 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 and since June 2023 also its honorary conductor. 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 toured South America, followed by concert tours to Spain and Japan in 2019, and in the spring of 2023, the Philharmonic State Orchestra made its debut at New York's Carnegie Hall under his direction, which was acclaimed by audiences and the press. 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 by ECM, for which Widmann received the OPUS KLASSIK as Composer of the Year 2019, and ARCHE was performed again in 2023 to great acclaim.
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
