Ballet by John Neumeier based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas | Lady of the Camellias
Marguerite Gautier
Anna Laudere
Principal
BORN
19.2.83 in Sigulda. Latvian
EDUCATION
Riga Ballet School
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Valentins Blinovs, Marianne Kruuse, Kevin Haigen, Irina Jacobson, Radik Zaripov
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2001, promoted Soloist in 2008 and Principal in 2011
CREATIONS
The Maiden-who-never-laughs in "Parzival – Episodes and Echo"
Calliope in "Orpheus"
The Friend (Isadora Duncan) in "Duse"
Anna Arkadyevna Karenina in "Anna Karenina"
A Widow in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Nachtwanderung from "Songs of the Night"
Purgatorio
Um Mitternacht
Beethoven Project I
Ghost Light
Beethoven Project II
A Foreign Sound (Thiago Bordin)
At Asyl-Um (Luva-Andrea Tessarini)
Anima (Edvin Revazov)
REPERTORY
Lady Capulet and Rosalind in "Romeo and Juliet"
Cinderella, Cinderella's Mother, A Stepsister and Princess from Another Country in "A Cinderella Story"
Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina, Primaballerina and Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya in "The Seagull"
Desdemona in "Othello"
Eleonora Bereda in "Nijinsky"
Odette and Princess Claire in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Marguerite Gautier and Manon Lescaut in "Lady of the Camellias"
Louise and La Fille du Pharaon in "The Nutcracker"
Ophelia in "Hamlet"
Mrs. Muskat in "Liliom"
Giselle and Myrtha in "Giselle"
Tatiana Larina in "Tatiana"
Solveig and Aase in "Peer Gynt"
Eurydice in "Orphée et Eurydice"
La Barbarina and Aschenbach's assistant, his mother and Tadzio's mother in "Death in Venice"
Aminta in "Sylvia"
The Queen and The Rose in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Penelope in *Odyssey"
The Siren in "The Prodigal Son" (George Balanchine)
Woman in Mauve and in Green in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
The Wife and the Ballerina in "The Concert" (Jerome Robbins)
Tatiana in "Onegin" (John Cranko)
The Queen of the Dryads in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
Queen Hermione in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Blanche Ingram in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Christmas Oratorio I-VI (she danced this role for the premiere)
Verklungene Feste
Saint Matthew Passion
Requiem
Vaslav
Seasons – The Colors of Time
Adagietto
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Le Sacre
Préludes CV
Winterreise
Messias
Turangalîla
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Nocturnes
Les Sylphides (Michail Fokine)
Jewels – Emeralds/Rubies (George Balanchine)
Reflet (Stefano Palmigiano)
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
GUESTING
Munich (Marguerite Gautier in "Lady of the Camellias", Bavarian State Opera), Stuttgart, Lausanne, London, Milan (Marguerite Gautier in "Lady of the Camellias", Teatro alla Scala), Tallinn, Riga, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Tokyo (World Ballet Festival 2015 and 2018), Beijing
AWARDS
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2008
Premio Positano Léonide Massine 2018
Latvian Excellence Award in Culture 2019
The Russian-Italian Prize Benois-Massine 2019
Order of the Three Stars – Highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia
More about Anna Laudere
Armand Duval
Edvin Revazov
Principal
BORN
30.12.83 in Sevastopol. Ukrainian
EDUCATION
Moscow School
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Boris Rachmanin, Radik Zaripov
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2003, Soloist in 2007, Principal since 2010
CREATIONS
Tadzio in "Death in Venice"
Parzival in "Parzival – Episodes and Echo"
Apollo in "Orpheus"
Gate Keeper in "Liliom"
Eugene Onegin in "Tatiana"
Count Alexei Kirillovich Vronsky in "Anna Karenina"
Tennessee in "The Glass Menagerie"
An Officer in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Christmas Oratorio
Purgatorio
Um Mitternacht
Beethoven Project I
Ghost Light
Beethoven Project II
Herr Sprüngli (Yohan Stegli)
Renku (Yuka Oishi / Orkan Dann)
REPERTORY
Günter and Arabian Dance in "The Nutcracker"
Romeo and Brother Lorenzo in "Romeo and Juliet"
Wolfgang Amadeus in "Windows on MOZART"
Semyon Semyonovich Medvedenko in "The Seagull"
Cassio in "Othello"
The Angel in "The Legend of Joseph"
Endymion in "Sylvia"
Kiefaber and Allan's Friend in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Armand Duval in "Lady of the Camellias"
The Man in the Shadow and Count Alexander in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
A Man in "Seasons – The Colors of Time"
Theseus/Oberon and Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Serge Diaghilev and Thomas Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Hamlet in "Hamlet"
Albert in "Giselle"
The Prince in "A Cinderella Story"
Peer Gynt in "Peer Gynt"
Orphée in "Orphée et Eurydice"
Gustav von Aschenbach and Frederick the Great in "Death in Venice"
King Florestan XXIV in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Liliom in "Liliom"
Harold Mitchell (Mitch) in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
The Prodigal Son in "The Prodigal Son" (George Balanchine)
Madge, a Witch in "La Sylphide" (Pierre Lacotte after Filippo Taglioni)
Man in Purple in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
Onegin in "Onegin" (John Cranko)
King Leontes in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
and solos in
Requiem
Nocturnes from "Songs of the Night"
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
Verklungene Feste
Fourth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Afternoon of a Faun
Le Sacre
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
Saint Matthew Passion
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Vaslav
Les Sylphides (Michail Fokine)
Reflet (Stefano Palmigiano)
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
GUESTING
Munich (Armand Duval in "Lady of the Camellias", Bavarian State Opera), Stuttgart, Lausanne, London, Milan (Armand Duval in "Lady of the Camellias", Teatro alla Scala), Tallinn, Riga, Moscow (Armand Duval in "Lady of the Camellias", Bolshoi Theatre), Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Tokyo (World Ballet Festival 2015 and 2018), Beijing
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Coco Rosie"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2011
"Zozula"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2012
"Anima"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2015
"Vesna"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2016
"Closed Rooms"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
"Rain memories"
Premiere: National Youth Ballet, 2017
"Shakespeare – Sonnets"
Premiere: Hamburg Ballet, 2019
HE FOUNDED
a new ballet company in 2023: The Hamburg Chamber Ballet – Edvin Revazov, as choreographic director, gives a new artistic home to refugee Ukrainian dancers.
HE STAGED NEUMEIER'S BALLET
"Anna Karenina" for the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow
AWARDS
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2007
German Theater Prize DER FAUST 2007
Danza&Danza Prize – Best Upcoming Dancer 2008
Premio Positano Léonide Massine 2018
John Neumeier Prize for Choreography 2023
More about Edvin Revazov
Manon Lescaut
Xue Lin
Principal
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"
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
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
GUESTING
The Little Mermaid in "The Little Mermaid" with the National Ballet of China in Wuhan, China
AWARD
Dr.-Wilhelm-Oberdörffer Prize 2014
More about Xue Lin
Des Grieux
Christopher Evans
Principal
BORN
2.11.94 in Loveland, CO. American
EDUCATION
BalletMet Dance Academy
Canada's National Ballet School
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Susan Dromisky, Alexander Gorbatsevich, Kevin Haigen
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2012, Soloist 2015, Principal since 2018
CREATIONS
Jim O'Connor in "The Glass Menagerie"
A Mystic in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Turangalîla
Beethoven Project I
Ghost Light
Beethoven Project II
Aether (Luca Andrea Tessarini)
Metamorphosis (Marc Jubete)
Beautiful Soul (Marcelino Libao)
REPERTORY
The King, Count Alexander and Quadrille in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Benvolio and Antonio in "Romeo and Juliet"
Fabian in "VIVALDI or What you will"
Albrecht in "Giselle"
Günther in "The Nutcracker"
Vladimir Lensky in "Tatjana"
The Prince and A Bird in "A Cinderella Story"
Theseus/Oberon and Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Arlequin in ‘Carnaval' and The Spirit of the rose in 'Le Spectre de la rose' in "Nijinsky"
Konstantin (Kostya) Gavrilovich Triplev in "The Seagull"
Armand Duval and Des Grieux in "Lady of the Camellias"
Man I in "Bernstein Dances"
Gustav von Aeschenbach in "Death in Venice"
Koll/Fortinbras in "Hamlet 21"
Love/Thyrsis/Orion in "Sylvia"
Catalabutte in "The Sleeping Beauty" (Neufassung 2021)
Harold Mitchell (Mitch) in "Endstation Sehnsucht"
Odysseus in *Odyssey"
Levin in "Anna Karenina"
Mann in Green in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
Basil in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
Prince Florizel in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
St John Rivers in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Préludes CV
Petrushka-Variations
Christmas Oratorio I-VI
The Song of the Earth
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Nocturnes
At Midnight
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Soul Sketch"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2016
"A Cosmic Second"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
AWARDS
Prix de Lausanne 2010
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2015
More about Christopher Evans
Prudence Duvernoy
Charlotte Larzelere
Soloist
BORN
March 20, 1998 in San Antonio, Texas. American
EDUCATION
Houston Ballet Academy
Houston Ballet II
MAIN TEACHERS
Cheryne Busch, Priscilla Nathan-Murphy, Susan Bryant, Sally Rojas, Andrew Murphy, Claudio Muñoz, Sabrina Lenzi
ENGAGEMENT
National Youth Ballet 2016-2018
Hamburg Ballet since 2018, Soloist since 2023
CREATION
solo in
Beethoven Project II
REPERTORY
Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Prudence Duvernoy in "Lady of the Camellias"
Princess Natalia und one of the Big Swan in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Mercury in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Penelope and Eurycleia in "Odyssey"
Mary Rivers in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Broadway's Pavlova
Beethoven Project II
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
More about Charlotte Larzelere
Gaston Rieux
Matias Oberlin
Principal
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
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"
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"
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)
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Flash"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
AWARD
Scholarship from the "Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation" (2011-2013)
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2019
More about Matias Oberlin
Monsieur Duval
Florian Pohl
Soloist
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
More about Florian Pohl
Olympia
Emilie Mazon
Soloist
BORN
9.8.95 in Hamburg. American/German
EDUCATION
The School of the Georgia Ballet
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Gigi Hyatt, Janusz Mazon
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2013. Soloist since 2017
CREATIONS
Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya, Kitty in "Anna Karenina"
and solos in
Beethoven Project I
Ghost Light
REPERTORY
La Primavera in "Othello"
Bathilde in "Giselle"
Marie, "The Beautiful Girl from Granada" and "Esmeralda and the Clowns" in "The Nutcracker"
Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet"
Solveig in "Peer Gynt"
Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya in "The Seagull"
Desdemona in "Othello"
Olympia in "Lady of the Camellias"
Princess Claire in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Woman II in "Bernstein Dances"
The Angel in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
Princess Sorokina in "Anna Karenina"
Sylvia in "Sylvia"
Ophelia in "Hamlet 21"
Princess Aurora, Cupid's Blessing and the Shooting Star in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Marie in "Liliom"
and solos in
Winterreise
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Beethoven Project II
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
AWARD
Dr. Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Prize 2017
More about Emilie Mazon
Graf N.
Louis Haslach
Corps de Ballet
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"
Nanina
Ida Stempelmann
Corps de Ballet
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
CREATION
solo in
Beethoven Project II
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
More about Ida Stempelmann
The Duke
Lasse Caballero
Corps de Ballet
BORN
21.2.2000 in Hamburg, Germany. German
EDUCATION
Ballet School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kristin Strauss, Eric Miot, Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Christian Schön
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2019
REPERTORY
The Unicorn in "The Glass Menagerie"
A Russian Prince in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Prince Siegfried in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
The Duke in "Lady of the Camellias"
and solo in
Saint Matthew Passion
More about Lasse Caballero
Conductor
Markus Lehtinen
Conductor
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.
Piano
Michal Bialk
Pianist
Michal Bialk was born in 1982 in Krakow. Intensive collaboration with Elza Kolodin, Matthias Kirschnereit, Jan Wijn and Oleg Maisenberg, as well as master courses with Jacques Rouvier (Perrigueux), Vera Gornostaeva (Paris), Piotr Anderszewski (Linz) and Krystian Zimerman (Basel) provide a core theme in his artistic development. Since his debut with the Krakow Philharmonic he has regularly given concerts in nearly all the countries of Europe, North Africa and Asia, including performances at, among others, the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Festivals, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Festival International de Colmar of Vladimir Spivakov. Furthermore, he is a permanent guest soloist of numerous orchestras in France, Italy, Germany and Turkey. A special place among his concert activities is his collaboration with John Neumeier of the Hamburg Ballett since 2006.
Michal Bialk is a first place recipient at international piano competitions in Poland, France, Spain, Italy and Turkey. He has on several occasions been distinguished for the best interpretation of Polish and Spanish music. Additionally he has received the "Prix d'Espoir" from the Pro Europa Foundation and the European Advancement Award for Young Artists at the cultural award presentation ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Orchestra
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.
More about Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
photo: Foto: Felix Broede