Giacomo Puccini | Madama Butterfly
Musikalische Leitung
Alexander Joel
Conductor
Birthplace:
London, United Kingdom
Studies:
Piano studies at the Academy of Music, conducting studies at the Vienna Conservatory of Music
Prizes:
European Conducting Competition in Spoleto (1996)
Repertoire:
Il Trovatore, Il Trittico, Tosca, Rigoletto, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen, Luisa Miller, La bohème, La Traviata, Manon Lescaut, Madama Butterfly, Macbeth, Faust, Salome, Lohengrin, Rosenkavalier, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, et al.
Career stages:
First Kapellmeister at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (2001 to 2007)
Generalmusikdirektor of the Staatstheater and Staatsorchester Braunschweig (2007 to 2014)
Stages:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Volksoper Wien, Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden, Les Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg, Malmö Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Opéra National de Lyon, Opéra national de Lorraine, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Staatsoper Hamburg, Dutch National Opera, Royal Danish Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semper Oper Dresden, Finnish national Opera, New National Theatre in Toyko, Staatstheater and Staatsorchester Braunschweig, et al.
Cooperation with orchestras:
WDR Rundfunkorchester, Duisburger Philharmoniker, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National de Montpellier, Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano, BBC Philharmonic, RSO Wien, ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra of the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, et al.
More about Alexander Joel
photo: Julia Wesley
Chor
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.
Cio-Cio San
Elena Guseva
Soprano
Birthplace:
Kurgan, Sibiria
Studies:
Choir conducting at Shostakovich College of Music and singing at Moscow Conservatory
Prizes:
First Prize at the Seventh Elena Obraztsova International Competition of Young Opera Singers (2009), Third Prize at the 48th International Singing Competition Francisco Vinas (2011), Third Prize as well as Audience Award at the 14 th Tchaikovsky Competition (2011)
Important parts:
Aida (Aida), Desdemona (Otello), Leonora (La forza del destino), Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), Mimì (La Bohème), Floria Tosca (Tosca), Liù (Turandot), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Lisa (Queen of Spades), Nastasia (The Enchantress), Iolanta, Yaroslavna (Prince Igor), Polina (The Gambler), Natasha Rostova (War and Peace), Jenufa (Jenufa), Foreign Princess (Rusalka), Micaëla (Carmen), Antonia (Les contes d'Hoffmann), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) , Emma (Khovanshchina), Marietta (The Dead City), et al.
Stages:
Teatro alla Scala Milan, Vienna State Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Stuttgart State Opera, Opéra de Lyon, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Theater Basel, Stanislavsky Theater Moscow, Bolshoi Theater Moscow, National Theater Prague, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Bregenz Festival, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Karoline Gruber, Michael Hartmann, Christof Loy, Alexander Titel, Jere Erkkilä, Andriy Zholdak, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Simone Young, Kent Nagano, Valery Gergiev, Alexander Lazarev, Alexander Vedernikov, Daniele Rustioni, Marco Armiliato, Mikhail Tatarnikov, Evgeny Brazhnik, Timur Zangiev, Modestas Pitrėnas, Björn Huestege, et al.
Suzuki
Ida Aldrian
mezzo-soprano
Birthplace:
Bruck an der Mur, Austria
Studies:
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Leopold Spitzer and Karlheinz Hanser; studies for Stage Performance (Opera and Musical Drama), Art Song and Oratorio with KS Marjana Lipovšek with honors; member of International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (2012/13–2013/14)
Master class:
With Ann Murray, Bernarda Fink, Reri Grist, Peter Kooij, Andrew Watts, Thomas Hampson, Wicus Slabbert, Alan Titus, Brigitte Fassbaender, et al.
Prizes:
Dr.-Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Preis of Stiftung zur Förderung der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (2014), prize winner of the jury ranking at international singing competition „Stella Maris“ (2014)
Relation to the State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2019/20
Important parts:
Wellgunde (Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung), Siegrune and Rossweiße (Die Walküre), Blumenmädchen and Stimme aus der Höhe (Parsifal ), 2. Maid (Daphne), Feodor (Boris Godunov), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Isabella (L'Italiana in Algeri), Adalgisa (Norma), Idamante (Idomeneo), Third Lady (The Magic Flute), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Penelope (Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria), Mercedes (Carmen), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Laura (Luisa Miller), Flora and Annina (La Traviata), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Meg Page (Falstaff), Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos), Orlofski (Die Fledermaus), et al.
Stages:
Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kölner Philharmonie, Wiener Konzerthaus, Musikverein Wien, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Grafenegg Festival, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Barocktage Melk, Styriarte, International Brucknerfest Linz, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Andreas Homoki, Georg Schmiedleitner, Laura Scozzi, Mariame Clément, Verena Stoiber, Peter Konwitschny, Stéphane Braunschweig, David Bösch, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Simone Young, Kent Nagano, Martin Haselböck, Marcus Bosch, Yutaka Sado, Pablo Heras-Casado, Christopher Moulds, Cornelius Meister, Fabio Luisi, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Simon Gaudenz, et al.
More about Ida Aldrian
photo: Christoph Ziegler
Kate Pinkerton
Claire Gascoin
Mezzosoprano
Birthplace:
France
Studies:
Bachelor’s degree at the Musikhochschule Leipzig, Master’s degree at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna,
Prizes:
Kammeroper Rheinsberg (2015), Brahms competition (2014) Clara-
Schumann competition (2014), owner of a scholarship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
Master classes:
Claudia Visca, Krassimira Stoyanova
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/2023 season
Important parts:
Ottone (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Carmen (Carmen), Testo (Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda), Aschenputtel (Cenerentola), Annina (Romilda e Costanza), et al.
Stages:
Staatstheater Cottbus, Oper Krakau, Opéra de Lyon, Royal Opera House Muscat, Opera de Tenerife, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Michael Sturminger, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Stéphane Fuget, Antonino Fogliani, et al.
More about Claire Gascoin
photo: Jörn Kipping
Pinkerton
Stefano La Colla
Tenor
Birthplace:
Turin, Italy
Studies:
La Colla graduated in singing from the Conservatory “Pietro Mascagni” in Livorno
Important parts:
Calaf (Turandot), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Radamès (Aida), Manrico (Il trovatore), Riccardo (Un ballo in maschera), Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana), Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut), Rodrigue (Le Cid), Enzo (La Gioconda), Pollione (Norma), et al.
Stages:
Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, La Monnaie de Bruxelles, Bayerische Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Opera Australia Sydney, Opéra de Toulon, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Arena di Verona, Teatro Regio di Torino, Festival Puccini di Torre del Lago, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Luc Bondi, Andrea Breth, Paul Curran, Gilbert Deflo, Jürgen Flimm, William Friedkin, Jean-Luis Grinda, Davide Livermore, Christof Loy, Mario Martone, Francesco Micheli, Olivier Py, Alessandro Talevi, Franco Zeffirelli, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Yves Abel, Daniele Callegari, Riccardo Chailly, Riccardo Frizza, Alexander Joel, Stefano Ranzani, Sir Simon Rattle, Donato Renzetti, Pinchas Steinberg, et al.
More about Stefano La Colla
photo: Massimo Sestini
Sharpless
Simone Piazzola
Baritone
Birthplace:
Verona, Italy
Studies:
Musical training with Alda Borelli
Prizes:
First prize in the “Marie Kraja” in Tirana (2005); winner of the Competition “Comunità Europea” of Teatro Lirico Sperimentale in Spoleto (2007); second Prize as well as the Audience Award at the Plácido Domingo's Operalia Competition in Verona (2013); winner of the Abbiati Prize (2013), Bastianini Prize (2017), Premio Abbiati della critica teatrale (2015, 2019), Arrigo Boito Prize (2020), Premio speciale per la Lirica Rocca di Castruccio (2020),
Important parts:
Conte di Luna (Il Trovatore), Rigoletto (Rigoletto), Marcello (La Bohème), Giorgio Germont (La Traviata), Cecil (Maria Stuarda), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Valentin (Faust), Simon Boccanegra (Simon Boccanegra), Sonora (La Fanciulla del West), Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor), Silvio (Pagliacci), Rodrigo (Don Carlo), Don Carlo di Vargas (La Forza del Destino), Amonasro (Aida), Renato (Un Ballo in Maschera), Ford (Falstaff), Ezio/Attila, Don Carlo/Ernani, De Siriex/Fedora et al.
Stages:
Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Arena di Verona, Teatro Real in Madrid, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Petruzzelli in Bari, ABAO in Bilbao, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Semperoper Dresden, Opéra National de Paris, San Francisco Opera, Canadian Opera Company Toronto, Opera Hong Kong, Megaron in Athens, Mariinsky Theatre, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro Bellini in Catania, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Teatro Regio in Parma, Ravenna Festival, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro, Comunale in Modena, Giordano Theatre in Foggia, Teatro Nuovo in Spoleto, Teatro Vittorio Emanuele in Messina, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Pier Luigi Pizzi, Hugo De Ana, Fancisco Negrín, Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera, Davide Livermore, Daniele Abbado, Boris Stetka, Andrea De Rosa, Michał Znaniecki, Dieter Dorn, Leo Muscato, Alex Ollé, Mario Pontiggia, Shawna Lucey, Joan Anton Rechi, Dietrich Hilsdorf, Mario Martone, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Bruno Campanella, Daniele Callegari, Richard Bonynge, Robert Carsen, Ferzan Ozpeteck, Roberto Abbado, Donato Renzetti, Riccardo Muti, Kazushi Ono, Paolo Arrivabeni, Daniel Barenboim, Miguel Angel Gomez Martinez, Nicola Luisotti, Diego Matheuz, Zubin Mehta, Daniele Rustioni, Myung-whun Chung, Daniel Oren, Asher Fisch, Michel Plasson, Ivan Repusic, Simone Young, Michele Mariotti, Bertrand De Billy, Speranza Scappucci, Gianandrea Noseda, Jesús López-Cobos, Giuseppe Vaccaro, et al.
photo: Francesca Marta
Goro
Andrew Dickinson
Tenor
Birthplace:
Liverpool, Great Britain
Studies:
studies at the Royal Academy Opera School (degree 2011)
Prizes:
Maureen Lehane Singing Competition at the Wigmore Hall (2014), British Wagner Association Competition (2015)
Important Parts:
Truffaldino (L'amour des trois oranges), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Max (Der Freischütz), Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Andrès/Cochenille/Frantz/Pitichinaccio (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Novice (Billy Budd), Hexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Beppe (I Pagliacci), Tom Rakewell (The Rakes Progress), Jonas (Le Prophete), White Minister (Le Grand Macabre), Quint (Turn of the Screw), Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia), Flute (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Kaufmann (Jakob Lenz), et al.
Stages:
Ensemble member at the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 2016 to 2022, collaboration with Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Ensemble Resonanz, Danish National Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Arts New York, Hyogo Performing Arts Center Japan, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Mozarteum Salzburg, Podium Festspiele, Bregenzer Festspiele, Glyndebourne Festival, Royal Festival Hall London, Stephansdom Wien, Liszt Academy Budapest, Berliner Dom, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Ivo Van Hove, David McVicar, Olivier Py, David Poutney, Graham Vick, Deborah Warner, Doug Fitch, Fiona Shaw, Frederic Wake-Walker, David Alden, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Donald Runnicles, Robin Ticciati, James Conlon, Alan Gilbert, Enrique Mazzola, Vladimir Jurowski, et al.
More about Andrew Dickinson
Il Principe Yamadori
Mateusz Ługowski
Baritone
Birthplace:
Działdowo, Poland
Studies:
Solo sining and chor conducting, Vocal- and Conducting isntitute Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznań (graduated 2022)
Prizes:
Special Prize by Prof. Tadeusz Pszonka in 10th National Vocal Competition in Mława, Poland (2022), 2nd Prize 10th National Vocal Competition, Mława (2022), Grand Prix International Festival of Arts “Sakura Blossom” (2021), 1st Prize MAP International Music Competition Los Angeles (2021), 1st Prize 4th International Moscow Music Compeitions (2021), Award of Excellence in Angel Voice Classic/2nd Prize Angel Voice Classic in “Opera-Youth”/1st Prize in “Slavic” (2021), 1st Prize International Competition ArtSong Opucs (2021), Grand Prix International vocal and choral competition (2021)
Master classes:
Mariusz Kwiecień, Marcin Koziel, Eytan Pessen, Bogdan Makal, Izabela Kłosińska, Maestro Adi Bar, Maestro Marco Guidarini, Viorica Cortez, Ubaldo Fabbri, et al.
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/2023 season
Important parts:
Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi), Guglielmo (Cosí fan tutte), et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Rares Zaharia, Krzysztof Cicheński, Paweł Szkotak, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Noar Shani, Adi Bar, Grzegorz Wierus, Marco Guidarini, et al.
More about Mateusz Ługowski
photo: Jörn Kipping
Lo zio Bonzo
Tigran Martirossian
Bass
Birthplace:
Yerevan, Armenia
Studies:
Musical studies at the Gnessin State Academy of Music with Prof. Artur Eizen and Prof. Pavel Lisitsian
Prizes:
Prize winner of nine international singing competitions, inter alia, second prize in the “Neue Stimmen” Competition in Gütersloh (1997), second prize in the 2nd International Singing Competition in Shizuoka (2000), first prize in the Ondina Otta Competition in Marburg (1999)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 2005/06
Important parts:
Ramfis (Aida), König René (Jolanthe), Salieri (Mozart und Salieri), Fiesco (Simon Boccanegra), Dulcamara (L’Elisir d’Amore), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Sulpice (La Fille du Régiment), Colline (La Bohème), Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Selim (Il Turco in Italia), Banco (Macbeth), Pagano (I Lombardi alla prima Crociata), Daland (Der fliegende Holländer), Dossifei (Chowanschtschina), Fasolt (Das Rheingold), Rodolfo (La Sonnambula), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor) Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola), Philippe II (Don Carlos), Méphistophélès (Faust), Fürst Galizky (Fürst Igor), Ein Eremit (Der Freischütz), Doktor (Wozzeck), Oroveso (Norma) , Pimen (Boris Godunov), et al.
Stages:
Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow, Bolshoi Theatre, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Teatro Real in Madrid, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Salzburg Festival, Theater an der Wien, Bregenz Festival, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opéra Bastille, St. Galler Festspiele, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Achim Freyer, Yona Kim, Jochen Biganzoli, David Alden, Andreas Homoki, Vincent Boussard, Stefan Herheim, Florentine Klepper, Francesca Zambella, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Sir Colin Davis, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Mstislav Rostropovich, Carlo Rizzi, Simone Young, Plácido Domingo, Kent Nagano, Sylvain Cambreling, Valery Gergiev, Michel Plasson, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Daniel Oren, Mark Wigglesworth, Philippe Jordan, Daniele Callegari, Riccardo Frizza, et al.
More about Tigran Martirossian
Yakusidè
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
Il Commissario Imperiale
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
L'Ufficiale del Registro
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
La Madre di Cio-Cio San
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
La Cugina
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
La Zia
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
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
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
