Ballet by John Neumeier based on the novel by Alexandre Dumas | Lady of the Camellias
Marguerite Gautier
Ida Praetorius
Principal
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"
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"
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
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
Armand Duval
Jacopo Bellussi
Principal
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
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 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
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
Jacopo Bellussi has been appointed Artistic Director of the Nervi Festival from the 2025 edition
More about Jacopo Bellussi
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
