Ballet in three parts by John Neumeier after Shakespeare's Tragedy | Romeo and Juliet
Sat, May 24, 2025, 7.00 pm - 10.00 pm
Cast

Juliet
Ana Torrequebrada

Soloist
Ana Torrequebrada
BORN
3.5.2000 in Burgos, Spain. Spanish
EDUCATION
Escuela Profesional de Danza "Ana Laguna"
Ballet School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Ana González Barca, Juan Carlos Santamaría, Gigi Hyatt, Leslie Hughes, Ann Drower
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2019, Soloist since 2023
REPERTORY
Marie, The Beautiful Girl from Granada and The Chinese Bird in "The Nutcracker"
Cupid's Blessing and the Moon in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Princess Claire in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Prudence Duvernoy in "Lady of the Camellias"
Circe in "Odyssey"
A Shepherdess in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Young Jane Eyre in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
solos in
Broadway's Pavlova
Ghost Light
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Blake Works V – The Barre Project (William Forsythe)
AWARD
Dr. Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Prize 2024
Find further information about Ana Torrequebrada here.
Performances

Romeo
Jacopo Bellussi

Principal
Jacopo Bellussi
BORN
27.3.93 in Genoa. Italian
EDUCATION
Accademia Teatro alla Scala, Milan
The Royal Ballet School, London
MAIN TEACHERS
Gailene Stock, Jay Jolley, Kathryn Wade, Gary Norman, Marialuisa Capiferri, Valentina Massa, Emma Landolina
ENGAGEMENTS
Bayerisches Staatsballett II
Hamburg Ballet since 2012. Soloist in 2017, Principal since 2019
CREATIONS
A figure from the romantic novels Tatiana loves to read in "Tatiana"
The Soldier's Friend (Annunzio Cervi) in "Duse"
A Mystic in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Beethoven Project I
Ghost Light
Beethoven Project II
Peter and Igor
Epilogue
Yes we Could (Konstantin Tselikov)
REPERTORY
Romeo and Paris in "Romeo and Juliet"
Curio in "VIVALDI or What you will"
Cassio in "Othello"
Peasant Pas de deux in "Giselle"
Leonid Massine, Harlequin in ‘Carnaval' and Geist der Rose in 'Le Spectre de la rose' in "Nijinsky"
Armand Duval, Gaston Rieux, Des Grieux and Count N in "Lady of the Camellias"
Semyon Semyonovich Medvedenko in "The Seagull"
her husband in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
The Man in the Shadow and Count Alexander in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Man II in "Bernstein Dances"
Alexej Wronski in "Anna Karenina"
Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
The Unicorn in "The Glass Menagerie"
Aminta and Endymion in "Sylvia"
Frederick the Great and Aschenbach's Concepts in "Death in Venice"
Prince Désiré and a Spanish Prince in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Allan Gray in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Mann in Blue and in Purple in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
Espada in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
King Polixenes in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
St John Rivers in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
The Song of the Earth
Saint Matthew Passion
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Vaslav
Nocturnes
At Midnight
Third Symphony by Gustav Mahler
Christmas Oratorio I-VI
Préludes CV
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
King Polixenes in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
GUESTING
Munich (Matinee of the Heinz Bosl Foundation, 2019), Roma , Genova-Nervi, Ravenna and Padova (2021), L'Aquila (728° Perdonanza Celestiniana, 2022), Positano (Award Ceremony Gala 2022)
AWARDS
Premio Danza&Danza 2016 – Best Italian Dancer Abroad
Konstanze Vernon Prize 2019
Premio Nazionale Sfera d'Oro per la Danza 2021
Premio Positano Léonide Massine 2022
Premio Internazionale per la Danza "Città di Foligno" 2024
Jacopo Bellussi has been appointed Artistic Director of the Nervi Festival from the 2025 edition
Find further information about Jacopo Bellussi here.
Performances

Mercutio
Matias Oberlin

Principal
Matias Oberlin
BORN
27.4.96 in Santa Fe, Argentina. Argentinian/German
EDUCATION
Seminario Provincial de Ballet – Santa Fe, Argentina
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Elizabeth Sture, Christian Schön, Janusz Mazon, Kevin Haigen, Gigi Hyatt
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2014, Soloist in 2018, Principal since 2023
CREATIONS
Beethoven Project
Ghost Light
Epilogue
Pain Pushed me Forward (Braulio Alvarez)
REPERTORY
Lord Capulet and Brother Lorenzo in "Romeo and Juliet"
Gaston Rieux in "Lady of the Camellias"
The King in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
Drosselmeier und Günther in "The Nutcracker"
Count Alexander in "Illusion: like Swan Lake"
Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Fenge in "Hamlet 21"
The Wanderer, the Gondolier, a Dance Couple, Dionysos, the Hairdresser, the Guitar Player in "Death in Venice"
The Thorn, Cupid's Blessing, a Spanish Prince and an Egyptian Prince in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
The Balloon Man in "Liliom"
Serge Diaghilev and Thomas Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Alexei Karenin and Levin in "Anna Karenina"
Mr. Brocklehurst in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Beethoven Project I
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Blake Works V – The Barre Project (William Forsythe)
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Flash"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
AWARD
Scholarship from the "Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation" (2011-2013)
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2019
Find further information about Matias Oberlin here.
Performances

Tybalt
Louis Haslach

Corps de Ballet
Louis Haslach
BORN
11.5.2000 in Kempten, Germany. French
EDUCATION
École de Danse de l'Opéra national de Paris
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Wilfried Romoli, Rémy Leblanc
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2018
REPERTORY
Polonius in "Hamlet 21"
Count N. in "Lady of the Camellias"
Klaus, a Musician in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Performances

Benvolio
Javier Monreal

Apprentice
Javier Monreal
BORN
20.10.2003 in Zaragoza. Spanish
EDUCATION
Conservatorio Municipal Profesional de Danza de Zaragoza
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Kostantin Tselikov, Víctor Jiménez
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2022
Performances

Lady Capulet
Ida Praetorius

Principal
Ida Praetorius
BORN
3.9.93 in Copenhagen. Danish
EDUCATION
The Royal Danish Ballet School
MAIN TEACHERS
Nikolaj Hübbe, Adam Lüders, Eva Draw, Anne Marie Vessel Schlüter, Sorella Englund
ENGAGEMENTS
Royal Danish Ballet since 2010, 2014 Soloist, 2016 Principal
Hamburg Ballet since December 2021, as Principal
CREATIONS
in Copenhagen
Liza in "Queen of Spades" (Liam Scarlett)
Cinderella in "Cinderella" (Gregoery Dean)
Carmen in "Carmen" (Marcos Morau)
Lolita in "Lolita" (Cathy Martson)
Cecilie de Volance in "Dangerous Liaisons" (Cathy Martson)
The Child in "The Death That Best Preserves" (Natalia Horecna)
and solos in
Persistent Persuasion
Krash (Alessandro Sousa Pereira)
Traditional (Alessandro Sousa Pereira)
For Malala (Anna Lærkesen)
Terra Incognita (Robert Binet)
CREATIONS
in Hamburg
Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
HER in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solo in
Epilogue
REPERTORY
in Copenhagen
Marguerite Gautier in "Lady of the Camellias"
Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet"
Chloe (Pas de deux) in "Daphnis and Chloe"
Eleonora in "The Kermesse in Bruges" (August Bournonville)
The Sylph in "La Sylphide" (Auguste Bournonville)
The Pupil in "The Lesson" (Flemming Flindt)
Sugar Plum Fairy and Dewdrop in "The Nutcracker" (George Balanchine)
Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" (Nikolaj Hübbe and Silja Schandorff)
Gamzatti in "La Bayadère" (Marius Petipa and Nikolaj Hübbe)
Giselle in "Giselle" (Nikolaj Hübbe and Silja Schandorff)
Kitri in "Don Quixote" (Marius Petipa and Nikolaj Hübbe)
Henriette in "Raymonda" (Nikolaj Hübbe)
Alice in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Karen Blixen in "Blixen" (Gregory Dean)
Marianela in "Infra" (Wayne McGregor)
and solos in
Theme and Variations (George Balanchine)
Jewels – Rubies (George Balanchine)
Ballo Della Regina (George Balanchine)
Other Dances (Jerome Robbins)
Etudes (Harald Lander)
Napoli (Auguste Bournonville)
Flower Festival (Auguste Bournonville)
Symphony of Psalms (Jirí Kylián)
Short Time Together (Paul Lightfoot and Sol León)
REPERTORY
in Hamburg
Princess Aurora Princess Florine and Aurora, the dawn in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Julie in "Liliom"
Woman I in "Bernstein Dances"
Esmeralda and the Clowns in "The Nutcracker"
Marguerite Gautier in "Lady of the Camellias"
Princess Natalia in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Romola Nijinsky and The Ballerina, Tamara Karsavina in "Nijinsky"
Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Pallas Athene in "Odyssey"
Aschenbach's assistant, his mother and Tadzio's mother in "Death in Venice"
Queen Hermione in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Jane Eyre in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Beethoven Project II
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Blake Works V – The Barre Project (William Forsythe)
GUESTING
Hamburg (John Neumeier's 80th Birthday Gala 2019, Nijinsky Gala 2013 and 2021), New York (Bournonville Tour 2015 and 2019), Sun Valley, CA (Ballet Sun Valley Gala 2017 and 2018), Taichung (Gala 2017), Jakarta (Gala 2017), Moscow (Gala for Boris Akimov 2016), Montréal (Festival des arts des Saint-Sauveur 2013), Houston (Dance Salad Festival 2014 and 2019), Berlin (Taglioni European Ballet Award 2014), L'Aquila (728° Perdonanza Celestiniana, 2022)
AWARDS
The Erik Bruhn Price for Best Female Dancer 2012
The Reumert Talent Award 2012
The Queen Ingrid Honorary Grant 2013
The Reumert Prize, Dancer of the Year 2019
In December 2019, she was made by the Queen of Denmark a knight of the Order of the Dannebrog
Premio Positano Léonide Massine 2022
Photo © Natascha Thiara Rydvald
Performances

Lord Capulet
Florian Pohl

Soloist
Florian Pohl
BORN
19.9.89 in Karlsruhe. German
EDUCATION
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHER
Kevin Haigen
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2009. Soloist since 2019
CREATIONS
A figure from the romantic novels Tatiana loves to read in "Tatiana"
and solos in
Einflüsse (Miljana Vracaric)
Rely on Trust (Florian Pohl)
I Giorni (Florian Pohl)
REPERTORY
The Man in the Shadowand Prince Siegfried in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
La Fille du Pharaon in "The Nutcracker"
Horvendel in "Hamlet"/"Hamlet 21"
Charles in "As You Like It"
Paris in "Romeo and Juliet"
The three wise men in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
Ilya Afanasevich Shamrajev and The Star of the Revue in "The Seagull"
Stiva in "Anna Karenina"
The Wanderer, the Gondolier, a Dance Couple, Dionysos, the Hairdresser, the Guitar Player in "Death in Venice"
King Florestan XXIV and a Russian Prince in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
The Balloon Man in "Liliom"
Monsieur Duval in "Lady of the Camellias"
Allan's Friend in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
He in "Odyssee"
Prince Gremin in "Onegin" (John Cranko)
Antigonus in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
and solos in
Des Knaben Wunderhorn
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
Winterreise
Birthday Dances
Saint Matthew Passion
HE CHOREGRAPHED
"Nobody Sees"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2012
"Rely on Trust"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2015
"I Giorni"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2016
"Embrace"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
"el la"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2018
Find further information about Florian Pohl here.
Performances

Paris
Illia Zakrevskyi

Corps de Ballet
Illia Zakrevskyi
BORN
3.12.93 in Brovary, Ukraine. Ukrainian
EDUCATION
National Ballet School of Ukraine
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kevin Haigen, Stacey Denham, Christian Schön, Janusz Mazon, Gigi Hyatt, Andrei Denisenko, Nikolay Somov
ENGAGEMENT
Theater Hof in 2014
Hamburg Ballet since 2016
REPERTORY
Leonid Massine in "Nijinsky"
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Melancholy"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
Performances

Rosalinde
Greta Jörgens

Corps de Ballet
Greta Jörgens
BORN
19.10.96 in Bonn, Germany. German
EDUCATION
Ballettschule International Bonn
Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin
MAIN TEACHERS
Marina Tchijova, Flioura Charipowa, Marta Diminich, Kelvin Hardy, Jean-Hugues Assohoto, Christoph Böhm
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2015
CREATIONS
Princess Sorokina in "Anna Karenina"
and solos in
Beethoven Project I
Metamorphosis (Marc Jubete)
I Giorni (Florian Pohl)
M.A. (Lennart Radtke)
REPERTORY
Woman II in "Bernstein Dances"
Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya, Kitty and Princess Sorokina in "Anna Karenina"
Pas de deux 'La Fille du Pharaon' in "The Nutcracker"
Rosalinde in "Romeo and Juliet"
Cupid's Blessing in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
A Lady in "The Concert" (Jerome Robbins)
Helen Burns and Mary Rivers in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Broadway's Pavlova
Performances

Brother Lorenzo
Lennard Giesenberg

Corps de Ballet
Lennard Giesenberg
BORN
20.5.2000 in Henstedt-Ulzburg, Germany. German
EDUCATION
School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Stacey Denham
ENGAGEMENTS
Hamburg Ballet (Apprentice) 2019-2020
National Youth Ballet 2020-2022
Hamburg Ballet since 2022
CREATIONS
The Photographer in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solo in
The Invisibles (with the National Youth Ballet)
REPERTORY
Brother Lorenzo in "Romeo and Juliet"
Allan's Friend in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Tadzio in "Death in Venice"
Starveling, the moon in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
and solos in
Epilogue
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
Performances

The Nurse
Niurka Moredo

Ballet Mistress
Niurka Moredo
BORN
21.7.71 in Puerto Rico. American
EDUCATION
Nana Hudo School of Dance, Puerto Rico
Southern Ballet Theater, Orlando, Florida
MAIN TEACHERS
Nana Hudo. Barbara Riggins, Russel Siulzbach, Kip Watson. Hennig Kronstam, Colleen Neary
ENGAGEMENTS
Royal Danish Ballet 1990-1995
The Hamburg Ballet since 1995, promoted Soloist in 2000, Ballet Mistress since 2007
CREATIONS
in Hamburg
Polina Andreyevna in "The Seagull"
Heather in "Préludes CV"
Ruby Fairy in "The Sleeping Beauty" (Mats Ek)
and solos in
Messiah
Winterreise
REPERTORY
in Florida
Myrtha in "Giselle" (Jean Coralli-Jules Perrot/Henning Kronstam)
and solos in
Flower Festival (August Bournonville)
Tchaikovsky Pas de deux (George Balanchine)
Clowns and Others (Salvatore Aiello)
Missing Persons (Marc Bogeart)
Graduation Ball (David Lichine)
in Copenhagen
A Fairy and Puss'n Boots in "The Sleeping Beauty" (Helgi Tomasson)
Elsa in "A Folk Tale" (August Bournonville)
in Hamburg
A Fairy in "The Sleeping Beauty"
The Spanish dance in "The Nutcracker"
Maria in "VIVALDI or What You Will"
A foreign Princess in "A Cinderella Story"
Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty"
Audrey in "As You Like It"
Bronislava in "Nijinsky"
Arete and Eurycleia in "Odyssey"
Prudence in "Lady of the Camellias"
Ygerne in "The Saga of King Arthur"
Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty" (Mats Ek)
Woman in "Rennen hinter dem was flieht" (Stephan Thoss)
The Young Girl in "Light Beings" (Mats Ek)
Hindu Dance in "La Bayadère" (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa)
Amme in "Onegin" (John Cranko)
Veronica in "Napoli" (August Bournonville / Lloyd Riggins)
and solos in
Time after Time from Images from Bartók
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Vaslav
Saint Matthew Passion
Le Sacre
Peer Gynt
Magnificat
Rondo
Moments Movements Mendelssohn (Kevin Haigen)
Triple Self (Petr Zuska)
Weight on my Back (Gustavo Sansano)
Forgotten Land (Jirí Kylián)
She worked on Donna Feuer's documentary: "The Work of Utopia"
AWARD
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2000
SHE STAGED NEUMEIER'S BALLETS FOR
The San Francisco Ballet: The Little Mermaid, the Stanislavsky Ballet Moscow: The Little Mermaid, The Royal Danish Ballet and Houston Ballet: A Midsummer Night's Dream; Vienna State Ballet: The Legend of Joseph and Verklungene Feste
Performances

Ensemble
Hamburg Ballett

Hamburg Ballett
Hamburg is and has always been a city of dance, with the first ballet performances dating back as early as 1765. In 1963, the leading ensembles of the world, including the New York City Ballet and the London Royal Ballet, performed at the Hamburg State Opera. Just ten years later, a unique ballet history began in 1973 when the then 34-year-old John Neumeier was appointed as Ballet Director. For 51 years, Neumeier would lead the Hamburg company, later also as its Artistic Director, bringing it to worldwide acclaim and making it what it is today: the internationally renowned Hamburg Ballet. Beginning in August 2024, Demis Volpi will be taking over as the new Artistic Director of the 61-member ensemble.
The Hamburg Ballet is inseparably linked to the rich repertory of choreographies by John Neumeier, which often address literary, historical, or religious themes. The ensemble has gained fame far beyond the borders of the Hanseatic city through numerous guest performances, making it Germany’s flagship ballet company. In his first year as the Artistic Director, Demis Volpi will expand the repertoire by presenting works of Pina Bausch, Aszure Barton, William Forsythe and Justin Peck that have never yet been seen in Hamburg. Three of Volpi's own works will also be featured.
In the 2024/25 season, the Hamburg Ballet will present more than 80 performances on the stage of the Hamburg State Opera, in addition to guest appearances in Baden-Baden, Germany, and other European cities. The tradition of lecture demonstrations (Ballett-Werkstatt), providing the audience with fascinating insights into the creative and rehearsal work of a ballet ensemble, will continue under Demis Volpi. The current season marks the 50th anniversary of the dance festival "Hamburg Ballet Days" and, consequently, the 50th edition of the Nijinsky Gala, featuring celebrated stars from around the world alongside the Hamburg ensemble.
The School of the Hamburg Ballet, founded by John Neumeier in 1978, has become an integral part of the company and is housed in the Ballet Center in Hamburg Hamm, including its affiliated boarding school. A significant number of today's ensemble received their training at the ballet school.
Performances

Conductor
Markus Lehtinen

Conductor
Markus Lehtinen
Markus Lehtinen absolvierte ein Klavier- und Dirigentenstudium an der Sibelius-Akademie in Helsinki. Zudem studierte er Komposition bei Aulis Sallinen und Einojuhani Rautavaara. 1988 wurde er an die Königliche Oper in Kopenhagen verpflichtet, der er bis 1993 angehörte. Er war Chefdirigent des Jyväskylä Sinfonieorchesters sowie Gastdirigent des Malmö Sinfonieorchesters. 1993 debütierte er an der Hamburgischen Staatsoper, weitere Engagements in Deutschland waren unter anderem an der Deutschen Oper Berlin und an der Bayerischen Staatsoper. Seit 2004 hat Markus Lehtinen eine Professur an der Sibelius-Akademie.
Performances

Orchestra
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Orchestra
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
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.
Performances
- Rathausmarkt Open Air
- 1st Academy Concert - Program I
- 1st Academy Concert - Program II
- 1st Academy Concert - Program III
- 4th Academy Concert
- Trionfi
- Carmen
- THE TIMES ARE RACING
- 1st Philharmonic Concert
- Kannst du pfeifen, Johanna
- Boris Godunov
- Special chamber concert
- Tosca
- Jubiläumsgala: 30 Jahre Internationales Opernstudio
- La clemenza di Tito
- Orchesterprobenbesuch
- 2nd Philharmonic Concert
- Don Giovanni
- Jane Eyre
- 3rd Philharmonic Concert
- Elektra
- Der Freischütz
- Luisa Miller
- La Bohème
- SLOW BURN
- 4th Philharmonic Concert
- Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
- Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
- The Nutcracker
- New Year's Eve concert
- Der fliegende Holländer
- 5th Philharmonic Concert
- Die Kreide im Mund des Wolfs
- Ariadne auf Naxos
- Manon
- 6th Philharmonic Concert
- Ariadne auf Naxos (concerted)
- Les Contes d'Hoffmann
- Mitridate, re di Ponto
- Eugene Onegin
- Mitridate, re di Ponto (concerted)
- Eugen Onegin (concerted)
- 7th Philharmonic Concert
- PhiSch - das Staatsorchester hautnah...
- Don Pasquale
- Don Pasquale (concerted)
- Rigoletto
- Maria Stuarda
- La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)
- Il trovatore
- Falstaff
- 8th Philharmonic Concert
- La Traviata
- The Odyssey
- Parsifal
- Pique Dame
- Opening concert of the Hamburg International Music Festival
- Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank
- Romeo and Juliet
- Die dunkle Seite des Mondes
- Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
- 9th Philharmonic Concert
- Salome
- NATIONAL YOUTH BALLET: Die Unsichtbaren
- Nijinsky
- Frühlings Erwachen
- Così fan tutte
- Le Nozze di Figaro
- 10th Philharmonic Concert
- Demian
- Nijinsky Gala L
- 1st Philharmonic Concert
- The Seagull
- HOUSE WARMING CONCERT
- Das Paradies und die Peri
- 3. Blaues Konzert
- Schulkonzert
- 2nd Philharmonic Concert
- Kids only #1: Erwachsene verboten
- Ruslan und Ljudmila
- Lady of the Camellias
- 3rd Philharmonic Concert
- Surrogate Cities
- L'elisir d'amore
- 4th Philharmonic Concert
- New Year's Eve concert
- 5th Philharmonic Concert
- Monster´s Paradise
- Kids only #2: Überall doch nirgends zuhause
- 6th Philharmonic Concert
- POINT OF NO RETURN
- The great silence
- Lohengrin
- 7th Philharmonic Concert
- Women's love and death
- Madama Butterfly
- 8th Philharmonic Concert
- Il barbiere di Siviglia
- Special concert music festival
- 9th Philharmonic Concert
- Kids only #3: Ich zieh aus!
- Wonderland
- 10th Philharmonic Concert
- Nijinsky Gala LI
photo: Foto: Felix Broede