Giuseppe Verdi | Il trovatore
Musikalische Leitung
Giampaolo Bisanti
Musical Direction
Birthplace:
Milan, Italy
Studies:
Conducting, clarinet, piano and composition at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, graduating with honors
Prizes:
Winner of the Dimitri Mitropoulos International Music Competition in Athens, 1998
Repertoire:
Mainly Italian repertoire, from Bellini, Donizetti to Verdi and Puccini and Verismo, first conducted Wagner opera (Der Fliegender Holländer) at Teatro Petruzzelli Bari (2018)
Career stages:
General Music Director of Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari/Italy 2017-2022), from September 2022 General Music Director of Opéra Royal de Wallonie Luettich
Stages:
Wiener Staatsoper, Staatsoper Hamburg, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Festival Peralada, Opéra Bastille Paris, Les Chorégies d'Orange,, Opernhaus Zürich, Stadttheater Basel, Opéra de Lausanne, New National Theatre Tokyo, Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Teatro Regio Torino, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Comunale Bologna, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Seattle Opera, et al.
Cooperation with orchestras:
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra RAI Torino, Philharmonie de Strasbourg, Russian Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra della Toscana, Haydn Orchestra Bozen Bolzano, et al.
More about Giampaolo Bisanti
Inszenierung
Immo Karaman
Direction
Birthplace:
Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Studies:
Musicology, theater, film and television studies and art history in Bochum, Berlin and Cologne
Psychology in Hagen
Prizes:
NRW Promotion Prize for Young Artists 2006
"Star of the Year" from the Münchner Abendzeitung for DEATH IN VENICE 2009
Nominated for the German theater prize FAUST 2010
Nomination for the Austrian Music Theater Prize 2017, 2020, 2023
Important productions:
IL RITORNO D'ULISSE IN PATRIA/Monteverdi 2005 STAATSOPER UNTER DEN LINDEN; BERLIN
DEATH IN VENICE/Britten 2009 Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Munich
PETER GRIMES/Britten 2009 Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf
DOCTOR ATOMIC/Adams 2011 Finnish State Opera Helsinki
DER FEURIGE ENGEL/Prokofiev 2014 Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf
KOMA/Haas 2018 Stadttheater Klagenfurt
OTELLO/Verdi 2021 Hanover State Opera
THE OTHER WOMAN/Rasch 2022 Semperoper Dresden
Career stages:
Assistant director 1996-2000 Musiktheater im Revier/Opera Wuppertal
Freelance director since 2000
More about Immo Karaman
photo: Sandra Then
Choreographie
Fabian Posca
Choreography
Fabian Posca studied musicology and theater studies. In 2010 he completed a master's degree in arts administration at London University. He is active both as a costume designer and as a choreographer. Engagements have taken him to the Staatsoper Berlin, Theater Dortmund, Theater Bonn, Staatstheater Kassel and Staatstheater Braunschweig, among others. La Tragédie de Carmen at the Leipzig Opera was his first directorial work. He has worked with Immo Karaman for many years on productions including Eugene Onegin in Saarbrücken, Puccini's La Rondine and Britten's The Turn of the Screw at the Leipzig Opera, Death in Venice and Prokofiev's L'Amour des trois organges at the Gärtnerplatztheater in Munich as well as Peter Grimes and Billy Budd at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Further works followed, including La Forza del destino and Aida at the Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Luisa Miller at the opera in Tel Aviv, Lady Macbeth of Mzensk in Klagenfurt as well as Die tote Stadt and most recently La Bohème in Wuppertal.
photo: Sandra Then
Bühnenbild
Alex Eales
Stage Design
Birthplace:
Bedford, United Kingdom
Studies:
Theatre Design at Wimbledon School of Art
Important productions:
Der Kirschgarten (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, 2022), Cri de cœur (Opera National de Paris, 2022), Bon Voyage, Bob (Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, 2019), Bluets (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, 2019), Schlafende Männer (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, 2018), 4:48 Psychose (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, 2017), Anatomy of a Suicide (Royal Court, 2017), Falstaff (Shanghai Opera House, 2016), Glückliche Tage (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, 2015), Reisende auf einem Bein (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, 2015), Alles weitere kennen sie aus dem kino (Deutsches Schauspielhaus, 2013)
Cooperations:
Katie Mitchell, John Haidar, Alan Lucien Øyen, Lucy Bailey
photo: Privat
Kostüme
Herbert Barz-Murauer
Costume Design
Herbert Murauer studied stage design at Mozarteum Salzburg. He was then engaged at the Staatstheater Stuttgart, among others, where he created numerous stage designs for plays and operas.
He has been a freelance set and costume designer since 1996 and works regularly with Christof Loy – again in 2023 “Arabella” at Teatro Real in Madrid in a co-production with Oper Frankfurt. Their joint productions so far include "La Gioconda" in Bremen, "Manon", "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "Don Carlo" at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, "Der Rosenkavalier" and "La Bohème" at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels as well as "Ariadne auf Naxos" at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, "Saul" and "Roberto Devereux" at Bayersiche Staatsoper München and other productions in Frankfurt ("The Abduction from the Seraglio", "Faust", "Die Fledermaus") , at Grand Théâtre in Geneva, Det Kongelige Teater Copenhagen, Los Angeles Opera ("Il turco in Italia"), Teatro Real in Madrid, Rouen and Kungliga Operan Stockholm.
He also worked in Seoul with Elijah Moshinsky ("Don Carlo") and Helmut Lohner ("Falstaff").
Furthermore he collaborated with Johannes Erath in Frankfurt ("Giulio Cesare in Egitto"). He was responsible for the costume design for his “La Traviata” at Staatsoper Hamburg and as costume designer for “Die tote Stadt” at Oper Graz.
Other stage designs that were recently created include “Il barbiere di Siviglia” at Den Norske Opera in Oslo, Leoncavallo's “Zazà” at Theater an der Wien, “Carmen” at Nationaltheater Mannheim, Le Grenzi's “La divisione del mondo” at Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg , Mozart's “Lucio Silla” at Theater Basel and Giordano's “Fedora” at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm.
Furthermore he has worked at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie Brussels, at the Nationale Opera Amsterdam, at Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, the Korean National Opera in Seoul and at the Glyndebourne Festival.
Licht
James Farncombe
Lighting Designer
Birthplace:
Shropshire, United Kingdom
Studies:
Contemporary Art, Nottingham Trent University
Prizes:
WhatsOnStage Award for Best Lighting Design (2011), Obie Award/Special Mentions (2018)
Nominations: Laurence Olivier Award – Best Lighting Design (2016), Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design for a Play (2017), Golden Mask Award for Musical Theatre/Best Light Designer (2019)
Important productions:
Opera: Jenůfa, Lessons in Love and Violence (also Gran Teatre del Liceu, Dutch National Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Hamburg State Opera), Theodora (Royal Opera House); Lucia di Lammermoor (Metropolitan Opera, New York, Los Angeles Opera); Le Vin Herbé (Berliner Staatsoper); Innocence (also Helsinki and Royal Opera House), Pelléas et Mélisande, Alcina (also Bolshoi Theatre of Russia); Tristan und Isolde, Ariadne auf Naxos, Trauernacht (Aix-en-Provence); La Traviata (Opéra de Paris, Palais de Garnier, Wiener Staatsoper); Streetscene (Teatro Real, Madrid); Jenůfa (also Palau de les Arts, Valencia), Der Zwerg, (Dutch National Opera); Francesca Da Rimini (Opéra National du Rhin); Miranda (Opéra Comique); The Barber of Seville (Glyndebourne); Marriage of Figaro (Opera North); Pelléas et Mélisande (Den Norske Opera); Der fliegende Holländer, Ariodante (Scottish Opera); Benjamin, dernière nuit (Opéra de Lyon)
Ballet: Der Nussknacker, Carmen, L’Oiseau de feu (Norwegian National Ballet)
Theatre: Yerma (& Armory, NY), Measure for Measure (Young Vic); When We Have Sufficiently Tortured Each Other, Macbeth, People, Places & Things (also West End, UK Tour and St Ann’s Warehouse, NY; Olivier nomination for Best Lighting Design), Twelfth Night, Three Winters, The Plough and the Stars, Man and Superman (National); The Tragedy of King Richard the Second (Almeida); Ghost Stories (Lyric Hammersmith, West End & Tour); White Devil, As You Like It, A Mad World My Masters (RSC); The Tempest, Henry IV (St Ann’s NYC); Julius Caesar (Donmar at King’s Cross); Anatomy of Suicide (Royal Court & Hamburg Schauspielhaus); The Duchess of Malfi (Old Vic); The Dresser (Duke of York’s); The Ladykillers (also Gielgud), Swallows and Amazons (Vaudeville); Ibsen Huis, De Meiden (Toneelgroep, Amsterdam)
More about James Farncombe
Video
Philipp Contag-Lada
Video
Birthplace:
Stuttgart, Germany
Studies:
Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts
Prizes:
Theaterpreis DER FAUST for Bridget Breiner for the ballet "Der Tod und die Malerin",
Made for Mobile Award for "Echte Helden"
Important productions:
Ballet - Der Tod und die Malerin (Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen), opera - Salome (Dresden Semperoper), opera - Hänsel und Gretel (Staatsoper Stuttgart), dance film adaptation - Wir sagen uns Dunkles, generative art - Interfaces (NEUSTART KULTUR, Staatsballett Hannover), et al.
Career stages:
Video and media artist for theaters and museums for over 25 years
Guest lecturer at various universities for over 20 years
Label "7pc" - generative art and development of exhibition concepts and digital art for industrial clients
Expert in video mapping and digitality on stage at www.youtube.com/philipp7pc
Cooperations:
Marco Goecke, Bridget Breiner, Michael Schulz, Axel Ranisch, Alfonso Romero Mora, Florian Parbs, Etienne Pluss, Immo Karaman, Kaija Saariaho, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Werner Schröter, Hubertus Meyer-Burckhardt, et al.
More about Philipp Contag-Lada
photo: Mats Baecker
Dramaturgie
Ralf Waldschmidt
Dramaturgy
Birthplace:
Hanau on the Main, Germany
Studies:
Studied German, English and Theatre Studies at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt on the Main; received his doctorate (Dr. phil.) with a thesis on Richard Wagner's “Parsifal” (1987)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera
leading Dramaturge at the Hamburg State Opera since the 2021/22 season
Career stages:
Intendant of the Osnabrück Theatre (2011–2021), opera director at the Augsburg Theatre (2007–2011), chief dramaturge and deputy to the general director at the Bremen Theatre, dramaturge at the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden (1999–2003), Engagements as head dramaturge and member of the artistic management at the Staatstheater Darmstadt and the Freiburg Theatre, dramaturge at the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus and the Nationaltheater Mannheim (1987–1992), assistant director and dramaturge at the Saarländisches Staatstheater Saarbrücken and the Frankfurt Opera
Cooperations:
Ruth Berghaus, Jürgen Flimm, Nicolas Brieger, Bruno Klimek, Harry Kupfer, Urs Troller, Rosamund Gilmore, Urs Schaub, Peter Mussbach, Percy Adlon, Alexander May, Barrie Kosky, Yona Kim, Reinhild Hoffmann und Dirigenten wie Friedemann Layer, Marc Albrecht, Michael Gielen, Daniel Barenboim, Philippe Jordan, Lawrence Renes, Stefan Klingele, Sebastian Weigle, Dirk Kaftan, Andreas Hotz, Daniel Inbal, et al.
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.
Luna
Aleksei Isaev
Baritone
Aleksei Isaev was born in Dm.-Cherkasy in the Tver district in Russia.
He graduated from the Khanty-Mansiysk Center for the Arts for talent Children of the North and at the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music in the class of Professor M. Paskhalsky.
In 2011 he started to work at the Moscow Musical Theater Helikon Opera.
During his time at the theatre, he sang the roles of Grigory Gryaznoy (The Tsar's Bride), Iago (Otello), Germont (La Traviata), Conte Di Luna (Il Trovatore), Nabucco (Nabucco), Onegin (Onegin), Prince Yeletsky, Count Tomsky (The Queen of Spades), Robert (Iolanta), Mazzepa (Mazzepa) Aleko (Aleko), Silvio (Pagliacci), Conte Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro). Rangoni (Boris Godunov), Escamillo (Carmen) Renato (Un ballo in maschera).
In 2013 he took part in the TV show "Great Opera" on the TV channel Culture. Also, together with the Helikon Opera and the TV channel Culture, he participated in the recording of several performances: Onegin (Onegin), Vedenetsky guest (Sadko), Mazzepa (Mazzepa), Germont (la Traviata), Scarpia (Tosca).
In 2016 he sang the role of Gryaznoy (The Tsar's Bride) at the Estonia Theater in Tallinn and the role of Renato (Un ballo in maschera) at the Birgitta Opera Festival in Tallinn. In 2017, he sang the roles of Renato (Un ballo in maschera) and Escamillo (Carmen) at the Bangkok Opera Festival. In 2018 he made his debut as Iago (Otello) at the State Theater, Wiesbaden. Then he made his debut in the premiere of Lucia di Lammermoor at the Dresden Semperoper where he played the role of Enrico. In 2019 returned to Semperoper in the same role.
He played the role of Mazzepa (Mazzepa) and the role of Robert (Iolanta) at the Theater an der Wien.
In 2019 he sang the role of Conte Di Luna (Il Trovatore) at the Mariinsky Theater, the role of Onegin (Onegin) at the Petruzzelli Opera House in Bari, the role of Nabucco and Yeletsky at the Saaremaa Opera Festival. In 2020 he sang the role of the Demon (The Demon) in Bordeaux, this performance became the Best Opera Performance of the 2020/2021 season in France.
In 2021, the singer made his debut as Scarpia (Tosca) at the Helikon Opera, played the role of Conte Di Luna (Il Trovatore) at the State Theater, Wiesbaden and Germont (La Traviata) in Helsinki.
In 2022 Aleksei sang the role of Mazzepa at Theater Biel Switz¬erland. Amonasro (Aida) at Helikon Opera. Gryaznoy (The Tsar's Bride). Scarpia (Tosca) at Kazan Opera. Count Igor (Count Igor) Ufa Opera.
Also, Vodnik (Rusalka) at the Theatre du Capitole Toulouse. He sang the same role at ROH Covent Garden.
photo: Aaron Cawley
Manrico
Gwyn Hughes Jones
Tenor
Birthplace:
Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom
Studies:
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Important parts:
Otello (Otello), Andrea Chénier (Andrea Chénier), Radames (Aida), Walther von Stolzing ( Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) , Calaf (Turandot), Don José (Carmen), Rodolfo (La bohème), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Tristan (Tristan und Isolde) e.a.
Stages:
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Grange Park Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Théâtre de la Monnaie, Brussels, Santa Fe Opera,e.a.
Cooperations with directors:
David Alden, Zuzana Gilhuus, Brenna Corner, Anthony Minghella, Jonathan Kent, Robert Wilson, Nicola Panzer, Phelim McDermott, Michael Barker-Caven
Cooperations with conductors:
Sir Antonio Pappano, Gustavo Dudamel, Gianluca Marcianò, Han-Na Chang, Michele Gamba, Daniel Oren, Fergus Sheil, James Levine, Edward Gardner, David Angus
photo: Mei Lewis
Leonora
Guanqun Yu
Soprano
Birthplace:
Yantai, Shandong
Studies:
Shandong University of Arts, Shanghai Conservatory of Music with Fugen Wei and Zhou Xiaoyan.
Prizes:
First place Belvedere Singing Competition, Award winner of the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition (2012)
Important parts:
Gilda (Rigoletto), Mimi (La Bohème), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Lina (Stiffelio, filmed new production at the Teatro Regio in Parma), Lucrezia (I due Foscari), Desdemona (Otello), Countess Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte), Maria Boccanegra (Simon Boccanegra), Nedda (Pagliacci), Rosina (linked productions Ghosts of Versailles and Le Nozze di Figaro, Los Angeles Opera), Liù (Turandot), Mathilde (Guillaume Tell), Micaela (Carmen), Elettra (Idomeneo), Aida, Leonora (Il trovatore), Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito), Elvira (Ernani), et al.
Stages:
Opera Studio of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Musikverein Vienna, Pacific Festival in Sapporo, Teatro Regio in Parma, Verdi Festival Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, Metropolitan Opera, Palau de les Arts Valencia, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Cologne Opera, Klagenfurt State Theater, Los Angeles Opera, Bregenz Festival, Frankfurt Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Hamburg State Opera, Bavarian State Opera Munich, Zurich Opera, Opéra de Marseille, Opera de Paris, Dutch National Opera, Ravinia Festival, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Marco Arturo Marelli, Ole Anders Tandberg, Roger Vontobel, Jetske Mijnssen, Lydia Steier, Robert Wilson, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Zubin Mehta, Fabio Luisi, Michele Mariotti, James Levine, James Conlon, Alexander Soddy, Ivor Bolton, Eun Sun Kim, Pinchas Steinberg, Gustavo Dudamel, James Conlon, et al.
More about Guanqun Yu
photo: Jiyang Chen
Azucena
Elena Maximova
Soprano
Birthplace:
Perm, Russia
Studies:
Moscow Tchaikovsky Conervatoire
Important parts:
Carmen (Carmen), Charlotte (Werther), Dalila (Samson et Dalila), La belle Dulcinée (Don Quichotte), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Isabella (L’italiana in Algeri), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Siebel (Faust), Nicklausse/Giulietta (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Polina (The Queen of Spades), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Marfa (Khovanshchina), Helene (War and Peace), Despina (Cosi fan tutte), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Marguerite (La damnation de Faust), Leonora (La Favorita), Preziosilla (La Forza del Destino), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Frederica (Luisa Miller), Eboli (Don Carlo), et al.
Stages:
Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera New York, Teatro alla Scala Milan, Royal Opera House Covent Garden London, Opéra National de Lyon, Opéra National de Paris, Staatsoper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Opernhaus Zurich, Grand Théâtre de Genève, St. Gallen Festival, Teatro Comunale Florence, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Paulau de les Arts Valencia, Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg, Tel Aviv Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, Sydney Opera House, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Peter Stein, Claus Guth, Krysztof Warlikowski, Stefan Herheim, Carlos Saura, Lev Dodin, Damiano Michieletto, Alexander Titel, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Zubin Mehta, Mariss Jansons, Lorin Maazel, Semyon Bychkov, Valery Gergiev, Kent Nagano, James Levine, David Zinman, Myung-Whun Chung, James Conlon, Simone Young, Gustavo Dudamel, Marco Armiliato, Fabio Luisi, et al.
More about Elena Maximova
photo: Francesco Rossini
Ferrando
Alexander Roslavets
Bass
Birthplace:
Brest, Belarus
Studies:
Rimsky-Korsakov Staatskonservatorium in St. Petersburg bei Professor Nikolai Okhotnikov (2009-2014), Young Artist Programme Bolschoi-Theater in Moskau (2014-2016)
Master classes:
With Elena Obraztsova, Edda Moser, Dmitry Vdovin, Evgeny Nesterenko, Irina Bogacheva, Lubov Orfenova, Neil Shicoff, Bernd Weikl, Carol Vaness, John Fisher
Prizes:
Third prize in the first International Music Competition in Harbin (2018), third and special prize in the Queen Sonja International Music Competition (2017), second prize in the second International Opera Singing Competition of Portofino (2017), special prize in the 36th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition (2017), grand prix and audience prize in the second International Eva Marton singing competition in Budapest (2016), second prize in the sixth Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition (2016), grand prix in the Special Foundation Of The President Of Belarus Supporting Talented Youth (2016), first prize in the seventh International Competition of Opera Singers in Saint-Petersburg (2015), diploma in the 10th Elena Obraztsova International Competition Of Young Opera Singers (2015), special prize in the first International Christmas Vocal Competition in Minsk (2014), grand prix in the 42nd Russian National Vocal Graduates Competition in St. Petersburg (2014)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 2016/17
Important parts:
Malyuta Skuratov (Die Zarenbraut), Mephistopheles (Faust), König Dodon (Der goldene Hahn), Colline (La Bohème), Bartolo (Le Nozze de Figaro), Commenadatore, Masetto (Don Giovanni), Brander (La Damnation de Faust), Il Conte di Monterone (Rigoletto), 5.Jude (Salome), Lodovico (Otello), Il Sagrestano und Cesare Angelotti (Tosca), Raimondo Bidebent (Lucia di Lammermoor), Peter Quince (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Lo zio Bonzo (Madama Butterfly), Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Fafner (Das Rheingold), Fafner (Siegfried), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), King René (Iolanta), Banco (Macbeth), Prince Gremin (Eugen Onegin), Daland (Der Fliegende Holländer), Vodnik (Rusalka), Dulcamara (L’Elisir d’Amore), Ali Baba (Ali Baba), et al.
Stages:
Mikhailovsky Theater, Bolschoi Theater, Tschaikowsky-Konzertsaal in Moskau, Bolschoi Theater in Weißrussland, St. Petersburger Philharmonie benannt nach Schostakowitsch, Ungarische Staatsoper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Berliner Philharmoniker, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Rimas Tuminas, Calixto Bieito, Tito Capobianco, Paul Curran, Stanislav Gaudasinsky, Peter Stein, Alexey Stepaniuk, Achim Freyer, Liliana Cavani, Mariusz Trelinski, Melly Still, Jan Bosse, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Adam Fischer, Robin Ticciati, Henrik Nanasi, Vladimir Jurowski, Ainars Rubikis, Daniele Rustioni, Tugan Sokhiev, Fabio Mastrangelo, Anton Grishanin, Michal Klauza, Gregor Bühl, Kent Nagano, Paolo Carignani, Renato Palumbo, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Yves Abel, Stefano Ranzani, Carlo Rizzari, Christof Prick, Nathan Brock, Sergei Stadler, Yuri Simonov, Michail Jurowski, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Alexander Anisimov, et al.
photo: Martin Paulsson
Inez
Olivia Boen
Soprano
Birthplace:
Chicago, USA
Studies:
Opera Course at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2021), Master of Music with Distinction at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (2019), Bachelor of Music in Voice from Oberlin Conservatory of Music (2017)
Prizes:
Finalist Guildhall Gold Medal Prize (2021), Awarded English Song Prize from London Song Festival (2019), Third Place Hurn Court Singing Competition (2019), First Place Musicians Club of Women Lynne Cooper Harvey Foundation Award (2018), Awarded Frank Huntington Beebe Fund for Musicians Grant (2018), First Place Tuesday Musical Competition (2017)
Master classes:
Renée Fleming, Roderick Williams, Thomas Hampson, Eric Owens, Helmut Deutsch, Marilyn Horne, Thomas Quasthoff, Dame Felicity Lott, Kamal Khan, Kate Royal
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/2023 season
Important parts:
Alice Ford (Falstaff), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Sifare (Mitridate), Servilia (La Clemenza di Tito), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Musetta (La Bohéme), Susanna (Il Segreto di Susanna), Queen Mother (The Little Green Swallow), Alcina (Alcina), Romilda (Serse), et al.
Stages:
Opéra national de Paris, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Wigmore Hall, Grant Park Music Festival, Oxford Lieder Festival, Verbier Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Barbican Centre, Ravinia Festival, International Meistersinger Academy, Samling Institute, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Frank Castorf, Immo Karaman, Lee Blakeley, Stephen Medcalf, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Sir Andrew Davis, Valery Gergiev, Dominic Wheeler, Stanislav Kochanovsky, et al.
More about Olivia Boen
photo: Simon Pauly
Ruiz
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
Ein alter Mann
Chorsolist
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
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
