Giacomo Puccini | La Bohème
Musikalische Leitung
Ramón Tebar
Musical Direction
Spanish Conductor Ramón Tebar is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of Opera Naples and Artistic Director of Spain’s Arantzazu Festival. He was previously Music Director of the Orquesta de Valencia, Artistic Director of the Florida Grand Opera and Principal Guest Conductor of Valencia’s Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia.
In the 2023/24 season he will debut at the San Francisco Opera with Elisir d’Amore, at the Hamburg State Opera with Don Pasquale, and at the Opéra national de Lorraine with I Capuleti e i Montecchi, while he will return to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein with Madama Butterfly. After a highly successful subscription debut with the Cincinnati Symphony in April 2023, Tebar will return in October 2023 for a second appearance with the orchestra. Other concert invitations this season lead him for the first time to the Jyväskylä Sinfonia and the Aarhus Symphony, and back to Norrlandsoperans Symfoniorkester in Sweden.
Last season saw Tebar make debuts with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Norrlandsoperans Syfoniorkester, the Würth Philharmoniker, and at the Frankfurt Opera with a new production of Saverio Mercadante’s Francesca da Rimini. That season he also returned to the Teatro Colón to conduct Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles, and to the Szczecin Philharmonic and the Basque National Orchestra in Bilbao for symphonic concerts.
Some of Tebar’s previous guest appearances in the opera pit include engagements at the Vienna State Opera (Madame Butterfly, La Bohème, Turandot, Don Pasquale), Gran Teatre del Liceu (L’Elisir d’Amore), the Cincinnati Opera (Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, Turandot), the Royal Swedish Opera (La Cenerentola), the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Madame Butterfly), the Gothenburg Opera (Tosca), the Savonlinna Festival (Carmen), in Pamplona’s Baluarte Theater (Otello), the Teatro Regio di Parma (Giovanna d’Arco), the Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra), Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (I Puritani), Teatro Regio Torino (L’Italiana in Algeri), Teatro Villamarta (Tosca), Mexico City’s Palacio Bellas Artes (Falla’s La Vida Breve and Moncayo’s La Mulata de Cordoba), the Palacio de la Ópera de a Coruña (West Side Story, Un Ballo in Maschera), and the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo (Carmen).
As a titled conductor Tebar has led productions of La Traviata, Aida, Nabucco, Don Carlo (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia); Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Florencia en el Amazonas, Carmen, Un Ballo in Maschera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, Cosí Fan Tutte, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula, Thaïs, La Rondine and M.D. Levy’s Mourning Becomes Electra (Florida Grand Opera); Aida, Turandot, Die Zauberflöte, Die Fledermaus, Don Pasquale, La Traviata, La Bohème, Cosí Fan Tutte, Maria de Buenos Aires, La Tragedie de Carmen, Haydn’s L’isola disabitata, and Daniel Catáns La Hija de Rappaccini (Opera Naples).
In addition to his operatic career, Tebar is sought after as a guest conductor with symphonic orchestras around the world. He has conducted the Spanish National Orchestra several times, and further guested with many of Spain’s other orchestras including the Barcelona Symphony, RTVE Orchestra in Madrid, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, and the orchestras in Castilla y Léon, Cordoba, Galicia, Gran Canaria, Navarra and Oviedo to name a few. Beyond Spain, Tebar has guest conducted such orchestras as the Philharmonia in London, Prague Philharmonia, Het Gelders Orkest, Malaysian Philharmonic, Armenian Philharmonic, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Normandie, Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie Chemnitz, Daejong Philharmonic, Aalborg Symphony, Szczecin Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Perú. Tebar was also previously the Artistic Director of the Santo Domingo Music Festival in Puerto Rico.
Tebar’s work can also be heard on recordings with Joseph Calleja and the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana on the DECCA label, and with Gregory Kunde and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra on Universal.
photo: Koke Photography
Chorleitung
Christian Günther
Associate Chorus Master
Birthplace:
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Studies:
Conducting at University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, conducting lessons with Neeme Järvi, Jorma Panula and Gianluigi Gelmetti
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Assistant Chorus Master at Hamburg State Opera since the 2019/20 season
Career stages:
Assistant of the Chorus Master at Hamburg State Opera (2008-2019), regular guest appearances at NDR-Chorus (since 2018), Guest Chorus Master at Zürich Opera House (2018), Assistant of Eberhard Friedrich with the Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival (2017), Guest engagements at Music Festival Bremen, at Festival der Projektgruppe Neue Musik Bremen as well as at Oh Ton-Ensemble Oldenburg, Leader of the Ensemble “Atelier Neue Musik”, Lectureship at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen (since 2007), Associate Chorus Master and Leader of the children's chorus at Theater Bremen (2002-2007), 2nd Capellmeister at Theater Bremen (2005-2007), Conductor of the Ensemble “piano possible” Munich (1996-2007), Guest répétiteur at Stuttgart State Theater, Theater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and at the Biennale in Munich
Cooperation with choruses:
Chorus of Hamburg State Opera, NDR Chorus, Children's chorus of Theater Bremen, et al.
Rodolfo
Freddie de Tommaso
Schaunard
Nicholas Mogg
Baritone
Birthplace:
Manchester, United Kingdom
Studies:
International Opera Studio, Hamburg State Opera; National Opera Studio, London; Royal Academy of Music, London; Clare College, University Cambridge
Masterclass:
with Sir Simon Keenlyside, Christian Gerhaher, Malcolm Martineau, Brigitte Fassbaender, Gerald Finley, Sir Thomas Allen
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/23 season
Was Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from 2019/20 to 2022/23
Prizes:
Royal Over-Seas League Singers’ Section; Richard Lewis/Jean Shanks Award
Roles:
Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Ned Keene (Peter Grimes), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), Dandini (La Cenerentola), Steward (Flight), Herr Peachum (Die Dreigroschenoper), Melisso (Alcina), Jupiter (Orphée aux Enfers), et al.
Stages:
Hamburg State Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Wigmore Hall, Philharmonie de Paris, Het Concertgebouw, Festival Aix, Elbphilharmonie, Theater Lübeck
Cooperation with directors:
Keith Warner, Herbert Fritsch, Tim Albery, Orpha Phelan, Richard Jones
Cooperation with conductors:
Robin Ticciati, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Ton Koopman, Sir Roger Norrington, Yoel Gamzou, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Alan Gilbert, Kent Nagano
More about Nicholas Mogg
photo: linden.shots
Marcello
Gyula Orendt
Baritone
Birthplace:
Sfântu Gheorghe, Romania
Studies:
Transylvania Music University in Brașov, Franz-Liszt-Music Academy Budapest
Prizes:
Francisco Viñas Competition Barcelona (2010), Dalton Baldwin Award
Important parts:
Orfeo (L’Orfeo), Thésée (Hippolyte et Aricie), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Conte (Le Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Zurga (Les Pêcheurs de Perles), Schaunard (Ariadne auf Naxos), Schaunard (La Bohème), Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Gaveston, Stranger (Lessons in Love and Violence), et al.
Stages:
Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Komische Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, De Nederlandse Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Den Norske Opera, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Hungarian National Opera, Művészetek Palotája Budapest, Cité de la Musique l Philharmonie de Paris, Salle Pleyel, Musiikkitalo Helsinki, Konserthuset Stockholm, Maison de Radio France Paris, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Michael Boyd, Achim Freyer, Claus Guth, Barrie Kosky, Mario Arturo Marinelli, Katie Mitchell, Hans Neuenfels, Jossi Wieler, Sergio Morabito, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Daniel Barenboim, Sir George Benjamin, Jonathan Cohen, René Jacobs, Zoltán Kocsis, Ingo Metzmacher, Kent Nagano, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Jérémie Rhorer, Christophe Rousset, Stefan Soltesz, Robin Ticciati, et al.
Colline
Han Kim
Bass
Birthplace:
Pohang, South Korea
Studies:
Bachelor, Seoul National University with Kwangchul Youn; Master Vocal performance, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Christian Elsner; Soloist’s Diploma Vocal performance, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Christian Elsner
Master class:
with Ann Murray, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (2019), with David Selig, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (2019)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2023/24 season
Was Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera 2021/22 and 2022/23
Important parts:
Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Leporello/Masetto (Don Giovanni), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte), Il conte Rodolfo (La sonambula), Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Don Fernando (Fidelio), Colline (La Bohème), Zuniga (Carmen)
Stages:
Theater Heidelberg
Cooperation with directors:
Sonja Trebes
Cooperation with conductors:
Dietger Holm
photo: Johannes Xaver Zepplin
Benoît
Grzegorz Pelutis
Bass-baritone
Birthplace:
Słupsk, Poland
Studies:
Bachelor and Masters at Academy of Art in Szczecin, both graduated with honours, Janusz Lewandowski’s singing class (2016-2021)
Master classes:
Opera Academy Young Talent Development Programme of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera In Warsaw (since 2021):
Consant tutelage by: Izabela Kłosińska, Olga Pasiecznik, Eytan Pessen, Matthias Rexroth, Michał Biel, Katelan Tran Terrell;
Guest masterclasses: Edith Wiens, Ewa Podleś, Mariusz Kwiecień, Maciej Pikulski, Hedwig Fassbender, Tobias Truniger, Adrian Kelly, Vesselina Kassarova, Fausto Nardi, Małgorzata Walewska
Prizes:
3rd prize and Juan Pons Prize at I International Juan Pons Singing Competition - Palma de Mallorca, Spain, June 2022
2nd prize winner at 1st Swiss International Music Competition – online, July 2021
2nd prize winner and special prize winner of the Director of the K. Namysłowski Symphony Orchestra in Zamość at 7th Krystyna Jamroz National Vocal Competition - Kielce/Busko-Zdrój, Poland, February 2022
3rd prize winner at 7th National Vocal Competition in Drezdenko, Poland, November 2021
3rd prize winner in"Opera Singers" category at"Prague Romansiada" competition, Prague 2017
Only Polish contestant of Plácido Domingo's Operalia 2022
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2023/24
Important parts:
Chorąży “Ensign” (Hrabina - "The Countess"), Dudziarz (Halka), The Mayor “Burmistrz” (Szarlatan, czyli wskrzeszanie zmarłych - “Charlatan, or resurrection of the dead”), Escamillo (Carmen), Archiereios (King Roger), et al.
Stages:
Teatr Wielki – National Polish Opera, The Castle Opera in Szczecin, Polish Philharmonic "Sinfonia Baltica" named after Wojciech Kilar in Słupsk, Gorzów Philharmonic, Tadeusz Baird Philharmonic in Zielona Góra, Stanisław Moniuszko Philharmonic in Koszalin, Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic in Cracow, Various concerts across Europe, e. g. Berlin, Kaliningrad, Prague, Magdeburg, Warsaw, Varna
Cooperation with directors:
Mariusz Treliński, Barbara Wiśniewska, Rafał Matusz, Jitka Stokalska, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Jerzy Wołosiuk, Małgorzata Bornowska, Tadeusz Kozłowski, Michał Klauza, Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny, Stefan Plewniak, et al.
photo: Jörn Kipping
Musetta
Katrina Galka
Soprano
Birthplace:
Milwaukke, Wisconsin, USA
Prizes:
Second-prize winner in the Lotte Lenya Competition of the Kurt Weill Foundation (2022), Three-time regional award winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, first place Mario Lanza Scholarship, et al.
Important parts:
Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore), Fritzi (Die Weiden), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Controller (Flight), Cunegonde (Candide), Gilda (Rigoletto), Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Aithra (Die ägyptische Helena), Serpetta (La finta giardinierna), Johanna (Sweeney Todd), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Woglinde (Das Rheingold), Marie (La fille du régiment), et al.
Stages:
Wiener Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Glimmerglass Festival, Arizona Opera, Minnesota Opera, New Orleans Opera, Portland Opera, Opera San Jose, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Andreas Homoki, Tazewell Thompson, Andrea Moses, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Antonio Fogliani, Nicole Paiement, Ingo Metzmacher, et al.
More about Katrina Galka
photo: Brian Parillo
Parpignol
Aaron Godfrey-Mayes
Tenor
Birthplace:
Mansfield, United Kingdom
Studies:
Mascarade Emerging Artist (2022-2023)
Mascarade Opera Studio (2021-2022)
Advanced Diploma, Royal Academy Opera
Master of Arts, Royal Academy of Music
Bachelor of Music, Royal Academy of Music
Master class:
Allan Clayton, Royal Academy of Music
Dennis O’Neill, Royal Academy of Music
Carmen Santoro, Mascarade Opera Studio
Ann Murray
Ian Partridge, Royal Academy of Music
Prizes:
1 st place, Royal Academy of Music Pavarotti Prize
3 rd place & Wil Keune Mozart Prize, Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition
1 st place, David Clover Festival of Singing Recital Prize
19 th century Italian opera prize, Mozart Singing Competition
Prize winner, Richard Lewis/Jean Shanks Award
1 st place, Nottinghamshire Masonic Music Association Bursary
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2023/24
Important parts:
Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Flute (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Alì (Adina), Albert Herring (Albert Herring), Triquet (Eugene Onegin)
Stages:
Teatro La Fenice, Garsington Opera, Nevill Holt Opera, Königliches Kurtheater Bad Wildbad, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Oliver Mears, Marie Lambert-Le Bihan, Noa Naamat, Douglas Boyd, Paul Curran, Federico Grazzini, Pedro Ribeiro, Jean-Romain Vesperini, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Philippe Herreweghe, Trevor Pinnock, Iain Ledingham, Luciano Acocella, Jonathan Santagada, Douglas Boyd, Sian Edwards, Peter Robinson, Matthew Scott Rogers, Nicholas Chalmers, Dionysis Grammenos, Tom Seligman, et al.
photo: Jörn Kipping
Alcindoro
Keith Klein
Bass-Baritone
Birthplace:
Overland Park, Kansas, United States of America
Studies:
Bachelors Degree in Vocal Performance, Eastman School of Music
Masters Degree in Vocal Performance, Florida State University
Prizes:
Laffont Competition Regional 3rd Place Winner, Metropolitan Opera, 2024
Laffont Competition District Winner, Metropolitan Opera, 2024
Barbara and Stanley Richman Memorial Award, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, 2022
NATS SouthEast Conference- Best College Male Florida State University, 2019
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2024/25
Important parts:
Dr. Grenville (La Traviata), Colline (La boheme), Sparafucille (Rigoletto), Angelotti (Tosca), Notary (Der Rosenkavalier) Dr. Podsnap (Awakenings)
Stages:
Santa Fe/Crosby Theatre, Opera Colorado/Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Florida Grand Opera/ Adrienne Arscht Theatre, Lyric Opera of Kansas City/Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Opera Theatre of St. Louis/ Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts
Cooperation with directors:
James Robinson, Patricia Racette, Chia Patiño, Matthew Lata
Cooperation with conductors:
Patrick Summers, Roberto Kalb, Daniella Candillari, Benton Hess
More about Keith Klein
Kinderchor
Alsterspatzen – Kinder- und Jugendchor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
Die Alsterspatzen bezaubern seit vielen Jahrzehnten als Lebkuchen- oder Straßenkinder, als Ministranten und Elfenchor. In der Spielzeit 2019/20 übernahm Luiz de Godoy die Leitung des Kinder- und Jugendchores der Hamburgischen Staatsoper. Die jungen Sängerinnen und Sänger stehen in Produktionen wie „Hänsel und Gretel“, „Carmen“ oder „La Bohème“ neben Ensemblemitgliedern und internationalen Gästen auf der großen Bühne der Staatsoper. Darüber hinaus sind sie mit dem Philharmonischen Staatsorchester unter anderem in der Elbphilharmonie und im Rahmen eigener Projekte in der opera stabile zu erleben.
Wir danken der Alster-Hof Melzner-Stiftung für die Unterstützung.
More about Alsterspatzen – Kinder- und Jugendchor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
photo: Niklas Marc Heinecke
Chor
Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
The chorus members appear on stage at the Hamburg State Opera in a different role almost every night. From one day to the next, they might be sailors, pilgrims or conspirators, then courtiers, hunters, the deranged or the imprisoned. In the role of crusaders in I Lombardi alla prima Crociata they travel to Jerusalem, other nights they are invited to Madama Butterfly's marriage or acclaim Prince Igor. The ladies and gentlemen of the opera chorus demonstrate their artistic prowess, their flexibility, and their love of the stage in every performance.
With a membership around 70, the chorus of the Hamburg State Opera has been one of the world’s best opera choruses for many years. The varied repertoire – almost always in the original language – is multifaceted and includes baroque operas and dramatic operas, major works by Verdi and Wagner as well as contemporary pieces. At the start of the 2013/14 season, Eberhard Friedrich took over the post of Chorus Master.
photo: Niklas Marc Heinecke
Orchester
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
Orchestra
The Philharmonic State Orchestra is Hamburg’s largest and oldest orchestra, looking back on many years of musical history. When the “Philharmonic Orchestra” and the “Orchestra of the Hamburg Municipal Theatre” merged in 1934, two tradition-steeped orchestras combined. Philharmonic concerts have been performed in Hamburg since 1828, artists such as Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms being regular guests of the Philharmonic Society. The history of the opera company goes back even further: Hamburg has been home to musical theatre since 1678, even if a regular opera or theatre orchestra was only formed later. To this day, the Philharmonic State Orchestra has embodied the sound of the Hansa City, a concert and opera orchestra in one.
During its long history, the orchestra encountered great artist personalities. Apart from composers of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, such as Telemann, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Mahler, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, since the 20th century chief conductors such as Karl Muck, Joseph Keilberth, Eugen Jochum, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Horst Stein, Aldo Ceccato, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gerd Albrecht, Ingo Metzmacher and Simone Young have shaped the orchestra’s sound. Renowned conductors of the pre-war era such as Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Karl Böhm and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt gave brilliant performances, as did outstanding conductors of our times: suffice it to mention Christian Thielemann, Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Petrenko, Adam Fischer and Sir Roger Norrington.
Starting with the 2015/2016 season, Kent Nagano has taken on the position of Hamburg’s General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra and the Hamburg State Opera and since June 2023 also its honorary conductor. In his first season Kent Nagano initiated a new project, the Philharmonic Academy, focusing on experimentation and chamber music. In 2016, Nagano and the Philharmonic toured South America, followed by concert tours to Spain and Japan in 2019, and in the spring of 2023, the Philharmonic State Orchestra made its debut at New York's Carnegie Hall under his direction, which was acclaimed by audiences and the press. Since 2017 Kent Nagano and the Philharmonic State Orchestra have continued the traditional Philharmonic Concerts at the new Elbphilharmonie, for which they commissioned Jörg Widmann to compose the oratorio ARCHE, which was given its world premiere during the hall’s opening festivities. The concert recording has been released by ECM, for which Widmann received the OPUS KLASSIK as Composer of the Year 2019, and ARCHE was performed again in 2023 to great acclaim.
The Philharmonic State Orchestra offers approximately 35 concerts per season and performs more than 240 performances per year at the Hamburg State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier, making it Hamburg’s busiest orchestra. The stylistic bandwidth covered by the 140 musicians, ranging from historically informed performance practice to contemporary works and including concert, opera and ballet repertoire, is unique throughout Germany. Chamber Music has a long tradition at the Philharmonic State Orchestra: what began in 1929 with a concert series for chamber orchestra has been continued since 1968 by a series of chamber music only.
In 2008 Simone Young and the Philharmonic State Orchestra won the Brahms Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society. The orchestra has recorded the complete Ring by Wagner as well as the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner – the latter in the rarely-performed original versions – as well as works by Mahler, Hindemith and Berg, and has released DVDs of opera and ballet productions by Hosokawa, Offenbach, Reimann, Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Puccini, Poulenc and Weber.
The members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra feel equally beholden to Hamburg’s musical tradition and responsible for the city’s artistic future. Since 1978 the musicians have been participating in education programmes in Hamburg’s schools. Today, the orchestra maintains a broad education programme, including school and kindergarten visits, patronage for music projects, introductory events for children and family concerts. The orchestra’s own academy prepares young musicians for their professional careers. The Philharmonic’s musicians thereby make an equally enjoyable and valuable contribution to tomorrow’s music education in the music metropolis of Hamburg.
More about Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
photo: Foto: Felix Broede
