Ballet by John Neumeier | Nijinsky
Thu, Jun. 19, 2025, 7.30 pm - 10.00 pm
Cast
Vaslav Nijinsky
Aleix Martínez
Principal
Aleix Martínez
BORN
17.5.92 in Barcelona. Spanish
EDUCATION
Escuela Ballet David Campos
Studio Ballet Colette Armand, Marseille
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
David Campos, Peter Lewton, Patrick Armand, Kevin Haigen
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2010. Soloist in 2014, Principal since 2021
CREATIONS
Louis in "Liliom"
Konstantin Dmitrievich Levin in "Anna Karenina"
HE in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Purgatorio
Beethoven Project I
Ghost Light
Beethoven-Projekt II
Epilogue
Vor dem Gestz (Alban Pinet)
3x2 für M&M (Constant Vigier)
Happy Valentine (Orcan Dann)
Aether (Luca Andrea Tessarini)
Soledad en Compañía (Aleix Martínez)
Countdown (Sasha Riva)
REPERTORY
The Hermit in "Parzival – Episodes und Echo »
Vaslav Nijinsky and Stanislav Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Vaslav Nijinsky as a student in "Le Pavillon d'Armide"
The Speaker in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
William in "As You Like It"
A young Aschenbach in "Death in Venice"
A Soldier (Moresca Dance) in "Othello"
Peasant Pas de deux in "Giselle"
Peer's Aspect – Innocence in "Peer Gynt"
A Bird in "A Cinderella Story"
Fritz in "The Nutcracker"
a man in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
Man III in "Bernstein Dances"
A Thorn in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Flute/Thisbe and Snug, the lion in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet"
Mann in Brick in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
A Gypsy in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
and solos in
Préludes CV
Vaslav
Kinderszenen
Winterreise
Messiah
Saint Matthew Passion
The Song of the Earth
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Blake Works V – The Barre Project (William Forsythe)
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Ne Nehledej"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2011
"Trencadís"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2012
"Soledad en Compañía..."
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2015
"Kleines Requiem"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2016
AWARDS
Prix de Lausanne 2008
Premio Positano Léonide Massine 2008
Amigo de Honor 2010, awarded by the Casa de la Danza, Madrid
Promising Young Talent 2012 – "tanz" magazine
Dr. Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Prize 2013
Find further information about Aleix Martínez here.
Performances
Romola Nijinsky
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
Stanislav Nijinsky
Evan L'Hirondelle
Corps de Ballet
Evan L'Hirondelle
BORN
9.6.2002 in ... Canadian
EDUCATION
Arts Umbrella Dance Förderprogramm, Vancouver
Canada's National Ballet School
MAIN TEACHERS
Peggy Baker, James Kudelka, Raymond Smith, Sergiu Stefanschi
ENGAGEMENTS
Ballett am Rhein 2020-2024
Hamburg Ballet since 2024
CREATION IN DUSSELDORF
solo in
From Time to Time (John Neumeier)
CREATION IN HAMBURG
An Ally in "Slow Burn" (Aszure Barton)
REPERTORY IN DUSSELDORF
The Salesman in "Geschlossene Spiele" (Demis Volpi)
Fritz in "The Nutcracker" (Demis Volpi)
Juro and Lobosch in "Krabat" (Demis Volpi)
Johannes in "Baal" (Aszure Barton)
and solos in
Herzog Blaubarts Burg (Demis Volpi)
Spectrum (Juanjo Arqués)
Come In (Aszure Barton)
Commentaries on the Floating World (Twyla Tharp)
Carmen (Roland Petit)
Le Sacre du printemps (Marcos Morau)
Phlegmatic Summer (Michèle Anne de Mey)
Enemy of the Figure (William Forsythe)
Salt Womb (Sharon Eyal)
REPERTORY IN HAMBURG
A young Aschenbach in "Death in Venice"
Leonid Massine in "Nijinsky"
Solo in
Blake Works V – The Barre Project (William Forsythe)
Photo @ Sigrid Reinichs
Performances
photo: Sigrid Reinichs
Serge Diaghilev
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
Bronislava Nijinsky
Ida Stempelmann
Corps de Ballet
Ida Stempelmann
BORN
29.5.2000 in Dusseldorf. German/Finn
EDUCATION
Ballet School Kaiserswerth
Royal Ballet School Antwerp
MAIN TEACHERS
Katrin Hansen, Kimmy Lauwens, Kevin Durwael, Genevieve Van Quaquebeke, Kevin Haigen, Raymond Hilbert
ENGAGEMENTS
National Youth Ballet 2018
Hamburg Ballet starting 2020/2021
CREATIONS
solos in
Beethoven Project II
The Invisibles (with the National Youth Ballet)
REPERTORY
Nanina in "Lady of the Camellias"
One of the Big Swan in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Bronislava Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Eurycleia in "Odyssey"
Bertha Mason in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
solos in
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
Ghost Light
Saint Matthew Passion
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Find further information about Ida Stempelmann here.
Performances
Thomas Nijinsky
Pepijn Gelderman
Corps de Ballet
Pepijn Gelderman
BORN
27.2.2000 in Arnhem, Netherlands. Dutch
EDUCATION
Boys Action, Arnhem
Codarts Rotterdam
Royal Conservatoire The Hague
ArtEZ University of the Arts, Arnhem
School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazoń, Christian Schön
ENGAGEMENTS
National Youth Ballet in 2019
The Latvian National Ballet in 2022
Hamburg Ballet in 2023
CREATION
The Invisibles (with the National Youth Ballet)
REPERTORY
King Florestan XXIV in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Thomas Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Prince Leopold in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Kiefaber in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Performances
The Ballerina, Tamara Karsavina
Xue Lin
Principal
Xue Lin
BORN
9.11.91 in Beijing. Chinesin
EDUCATION
Beijing Dance Academy
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Yuanmei Cai, Kevin Haigen, Marianne Kruuse
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2011, Soloist since 2016, Principal since 2022
CREATIONS
The Ballerina Istomina as Cleopatra in "Tatiana"
A Mystic in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Meine Vorstellung von der Wirklichkeit (Braulio Alvarez)
3x2 für M&M (Constant Vigier)
Mizaru – Kikazaru – Iwazaru (Miljana Vracaric)
Into this Wild Abyss (Braulio Alvarez)
Meant to Fly (Winnie Dias)
At Asyl-Um (Luca Andrea Tessarini)
Aether (Luca Andrea Tessarini)
REPERTORY
Odette, Princess Claire and Quadrille in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Rosalind and Emilia in "Romeo and Juliet"
Silvia in "Préludes CV"
The Little Mermaid in "The Little Mermaid"
La Primavera in "Othello"
Moyna and Zulma in "Giselle"
Manon Lescaut and Olympia in "Lady of the Camellias"
Louise, La Fille du Pharaon, The Chinese Bird and Pas de huit in "The Nutcracker"
La Barbarina and Aschenbach's assistant, his mother and Tadzio's mother in "Death in Venice"
The Ballerina, Tamara Karsavina in "Nijinsky"
Masha in "The Seagull"
Woman I in "Bernstein Dances"
Anna Karenina and Lidia Ivanovna in "Anna Karenina"
Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Princess Florine, The Rose and Aurora, the Dawn in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Pallas Athene in "Odyssey"
Pas de six in "Napoli" (August Bournonville / Lloyd Riggins)
Olga in "Onegin" (John Cranko)
Amor and a Friend in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
Princess Perdita in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
and solos in
Préludes CV
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Saint Matthew Passion
Messiah
The Song of the Earth
Turangalîla
Bach Suite 2
Nocturnes
Dialogue
Kinderszenen
Shall we dance?
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Broadway's Pavlova
At Midnight
Epilogue
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
Blake Works V – The Barre Project (William Forsythe)
GUESTING
The Little Mermaid in "The Little Mermaid" with the National Ballet of China in Wuhan, China
AWARD
Dr.-Wilhelm-Oberdörffer Prize 2014
Find further information about Xue Lin here.
Performances
The new dancer, Leonid Massine
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
REPERTORY
Benvolio in "Romeo and Juliet"
Petrushka in ‘Petrushka’ and Leonid Massine in "Nijinsky"
Performances
The Dancer Nijinsky
Alessandro Frola
Principal
Alessandro Frola
BORN
3.9.2000 in Parma, Italy. Italian
EDUCATION
Profession Dance Parma
Fomento Artístico Cordobés, Córdoba, Veracruz/Mexico
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Lucia Giuffrida, Francesco Frola, Adria Velásquez, Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Gigi Hyatt
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2019, Soloist in 2022, Principal since 2023
CREATIONS
The Shadow in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Peter and Igor
Epilogue
REPERTORY
Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Endymion in "Sylvia"
Prince Désiré, Catalabutte and Cupid's Blessing in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Wolf Beifeld in "Liliom"
Frederick the Great in "Death in Venice"
Pas de deux in "A Cinderella Story"
The Man in the Shadow, Prince Siegfried and Prince Alexander in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Love in "Bernstein Dances"
Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet"
Allan Gray in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Arlequin in ‘Carnaval' and The Spirit of the rose in 'Le Spectre de la rose' in "Nijinsky"
Drosselmeier in "The Nutcracker"
Armand in "Lady of the Camellias"
A Suitor / The War in "Odyssey"
Frederick the Great in "Death in Venice"
Mr Brocklehurst in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
The thing with feathers (Demis Volpi)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Blake Works V – The Barre Project (William Forsythe)
AWARD
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2023
Find further information about Alessandro Frola here.
Performances
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"
Tybalt in "Romeo and Juliet"
Petrushka in ‘Petrushka’ in "Nijinsky"
Performances
Emiliano Torres
Corps de Ballet
Emiliano Torres
BORN
August 8, 1996 in Paraná, Argentina. Argentinian
EDUCATION
Estudió arte Carla Tista
Houston Ballet Academy
MAIN TEACHERS
Susana Gomez, Carla Tista, Eugenia Ibarzabal, Priscilla Murphy, Sabrina Lenzi, Andrew Murphy, Claudio Muñoz
ENGAGEMENTS
National Youth Ballet 2017-2019
Hamburg Ballet since 2019
REPERTORY
The Spanish Prince in "The Sleeping Beauty"
Romeo and Tybalt in "Romeo and Juliet"
Count N. in "Lady of the Camellias"
Shaw in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Jaschu in "Death in Venice"
Flute/Thisbe in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
The Golden Slave in ‘Sheherazade' and The Faun in 'L'Après-midi d'un faune' in "Nijinsky"
Solos in
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Saint Matthew Passion
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
Find further information about Emiliano Torres here.
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
Maria Seletskaja
Conductor
Maria Seletskaja
Maria Seletskaja graduated from Tallinn Ballet School in 2002 and continued her studies at St. Petersburg Vaganova Ballet Academy. From 2003 to 2006, she studied choreography at Tallinn University.
She has been a soloist with Estonian National Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin, Zurich Ballet and the Royal Ballet of Flanders and guested in many theatres around the world.
While pursuing her career in dance, Maria studied both piano and violin. She studied music theory, harmony, and orchestration at Berklee College of Music in Boston and conducted under James Tuggle's tutelage. During her final years as a dancer, she was also an assistant conductor at Stuttgart Ballet where she made her conducting debut in April 2017.
Since 2018, Maria has dedicated herself fully to conducting. In 2021, she began her Master’s studies in orchestral conducting with Maestro Arvo Volmer at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre.
Performances
photo: kiurkaasik
Piano
Ondrej Rudcenko
Musical Coordinator and Pianist
Ondrej Rudcenko
Biography will be published shortly.
Performances
Viola
Naomi Seiler
Principal Viola
Naomi Seiler
Naomi Seiler began performing early on with her siblings in the Seiler Quartet, and joined the class of Jürgen Geise at the Mozarteum Salzburg as a junior student when she was 14. She continued her studies with Ulrich Koch in Freiburg and with Hirofumi Fukai in Hamburg. The winner of several awards performs both chamber music (including with the Seiler Quartet and Via Salzburg in Toronto) and as a soloist in Germany, France, Italy, South America and Japan, combined with radio and television appearances. Naomi Seiler has been principal viola of the Philharmonic State Orchestra since 1989. A sought-after chamber musician, she is a champion of chamber music within her own orchestra and teaches at the Hamburg Academy of Music and Theatre.
Performances
photo: Claudia Höhne
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
- Die Unsichtbaren
- Nijinsky
- Frühlings Erwachen
- Così fan tutte
- Le Nozze di Figaro
- 10th Philharmonic Concert
- The Little Mermaid
- 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
- N.N.
- 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
- Die grosse Stille
- 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
