Richard Strauss | Elektra
Musikalische Leitung
Kent Nagano
General Music Director of Hamburg
Kent Nagano is considered one of today’s outstanding conductors for both operatic and orchestral repertoire. Since September 2015, he has been General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg. In addition, he is committed as Artistic Director of the Ring project “The Wagner Cycles” of Dresdner Musikfestspiele with Dresdner Festspielorchester and Concerto Köln, and as patron of the Herrenchiemsee Festival. 2023 he was appointed Honorary Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra, in 2021 of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, in 2019 of the Concerto Köln, and in 2006 of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
The 2023/2024 season in Hamburg begins with four concerts, performing with the Philharmonische Akademie at the Laeiszhalle, then with the Philharmonic State Orchestra at the Rathausmarkt Open Air and the Elbphilharmonie. This will be followed by a series of opera productions at the State Opera in September and October, with a premiere of Mussorgski’s Boris Godunow in a production by Frank Castorf and a premiere of Strauss’s Salome in a production by Dmitri Tcherniakov, as well as performances of Sciarrino’s Venere e Adone and Britten’s Peter Grimes. Furthermore, as in every season Nagano will conduct symphonic concerts with the Philharmonic State Orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie, including the New Year’s performance.
His past years in Hamburg include opera productions such as Les Troyens, Lulu, Lady Macbeth von Mzensk, the world premiere of Stilles Meer and German premiere of Lessons in Love and Violence, the "Philharmonische Akademie" at St. Michaelis, open-air concerts at the Rathausmarkt and the world premiere of Pascal Dusapin's work Waves for organ and orchestra at the Elbphilharmonie. Orchestral tours with the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg have taken Kent Nagano to Japan, Spain and South America.
Kent Nagano has worked with the world's leading international orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique Radio France, the Orchestre de l’Opéra national in Paris, the Chicago and Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Wiener Symphoniker. Special projects were productions of Wagner's Das Rheingold with Concerto Köln and the Bernstein opera A quiet place at the Paris Opera. His operatic work has included Dusapin‘s Il viaggio, Dante at the Festival d‘Aix-en-Provence, Hindemith's Cardillac and Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites at the Opéra National de Paris and Henze’s The Bassarids and the premiere of Saariaho's L’amour de loin at the Salzburg Festival. Other world premieres conducted by Nagano include Bernstein's A White House Cantata and the operas Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin, Three Sisters by Peter Eötvös and The Death of Klinghoffer and El Niño by John Adams.
The 2023/24 season will see Kent Nagano make a wide variety of appearances at the Maison symphonique in Montréal, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Konzerthalle in Bamberg and the Kulturpalast in Dresden. In addition, he will conduct the Orchestre de l'Opera de Lyon and lead a new production of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich.
Under the artistic direction of Kent Nagano and the Intendant of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele Jan Vogler, Wagner's "Ring Tetralogy" will be performed in the artistic context of the period in which it was composed, based on the latest findings of research into Wagner and performance practice, and integrated into an extensive supporting program as part of the multi-year project "The Wagner Cycles" of the Dresdner Musikfestspiele from 2023 to 2026. The prelude was the performance of "Das Rheingold" at the Dresden Music Festival in 2023 and the tour to Cologne, Ravello and Lucerne under the musical direction of Kent Nagano. With "Die Walküre," the second work in the epochal narrative will follow in 2024.
Highlights of Kent Nagano's collaboration with the OSM as Music Director from 2006 to 2020 included the inauguration of the orchestra’s new concert hall La Maison Symphonique in September 2011, performances of the complete cycles of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, concert versions of Wagner's Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde and Das Rheingold, Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au Bücher, and Messiaen's Saint François d'Assise. Tours have taken Nagano and the orchestra to Canada including the Northern Territories, Japan, South Korea, Europe (latest 2019), Latin America and the USA. In July 2018, Kent Nagano conducted Krzysztof Penderecki’s St. Luke Passion with the OSM at the Salzburg Festival opening concert.
His recordings with the OSM on Sony Classical/Analekta include Mahler’s Orchestral Songs with Christian Gerhaher in 2013 and a complete recording of all of Beethoven’s symphonies in 2015. Decca released a recording of the North American premiere of L'Aiglon, a rarely performed opera by Honegger and Ibert in 2016, conducted by Nagano in 2015. Further releases by Decca are Danse Macabre with works by Dukas, Saint-Saens, Ives and others in 2016 as well as a recording of Bernstein's A quiet place in 2018 on the occasion of the composer's 100th birthday. John Adams' Common tones in simple time & harmony (Decca) was released in 2019, the Lukas Passion by Penderecki (BIS) and works by Ginastera, Bernstein and Moussa (Analekta) in 2020.
At the Bayerische Staatsoper, where he was General Music Director from 2006 to 2013, Kent Nagano commissioned new operas such as Babylon by Jörg Widmann, Das Gehege by Wolfgang Rihm and Alice in Wonderland by Unsuk Chin. New productions included Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina, Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten, Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites, Messiaen’s Saint François d'Assise, Berg’s Wozzeck, George Benjamin's Written on skin and Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Tours took Nagano and the Bavarian State Orchestra through Europe and Japan. In addition to Bruckner's Symphonies Nos. 4 and 7 (Sony), Kent Nagano has released several opera performances with the Bavarian State Orchestra on DVD: Unsuk Chin's opera Alice in Wonderland (2008) and Mussorgsky's Chowanschtschina (2009) with unitel classica/medici arts, Dialogue des Carmélites with Bel Air Classiques (2011) and Lohengrin (2010) with Decca.
Another very important period in Nagano’s career was his time as Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin from 2000-2006. He performed Schönberg’s Moses und Aron with the orchestra (in collaboration with Los Angeles Opera) and took them to the Salzburg Festival to perform both Zemlinsky’s Der König Kandaules and Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten, as well as to the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden with Parsifal and Lohengrin in productions by Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Recordings with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin for Harmonia Mundi include repertoire as diverse as Bernstein’s Mass, Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos. 3 & 6, Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, Wolf’s Mörike-Lieder, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8, Schönberg’s Die Jakobsleiter and Friede auf Erden, as well as Brahms’s Symphony No. 4 and Schönberg’s Variationen für Orchester Op. 31. In June 2006, at the end of his tenure with the orchestra, Kent Nagano was given the title Honorary Conductor by members of the orchestra – only the second recipient of this honour in their 60-year history. To this day he maintains a close friendship with the orchestra.
In October 2019, Kent Nagano and Mari Kodama expanded their joint recordings of Beethoven's works for piano and orchestra with Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 0 E-flat Major WoO 4, a nearly unknown work from the composer’s youth, and his Rondo for Piano and Orchestra WoO 6 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. The complete edition of Beethoven’s piano concerti was released on the Berlin Classics label.
Nagano was awarded Grammys for his recordings of Busoni’s Doktor Faust with Opéra National de Lyon, Prokofjew’s Peter and the Wolf with the Russian National Orchestra and Saariaho’s L’amour de Loin with the Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin. He has worked with labels such as BIS, Decca, Sony Classical, FARAO Classics and Analekta for many years, and has also recorded CDs with Berlin Classics, Erato, Teldec, Pentatone, Deutsche Grammophon and Harmonia Mundi.
To celebrate Kent Nagano's 70th birthday in 2021, a 3-CD box set of works by Olivier Messiaen was released in October on the BR Klassik label. The release includes live recordings of the works Poèmes pour Mi, Chronochromie and La Transfiguration de Notre Seigneur Jésus-Christ from his concerts with the Symphonieorchester und Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, demonstrating Nagano's close familiarity with Messiaen's musical language in a special way.
In September 2021, Kent Nagano published his second book with Berlin Verlag. In "10 Lessons of my Life", he recalls ten deeply personal encounters from which he learned important lessons, not only for his career but for his life more broadly. Among those experiences are encounters with the Icelandic pop artist Björk, Frank Zappa, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez and the Nobel Prize winner in physics Donald Glaser.
In 2015 Kent Nagano published "Erwarten Sie Wunder!" also in Berlin Verlag, a passionate appeal for the relevance of classical music in today's world. In 2019 the book was released in English by the Canadian McGill-Queen's University Press under the title ″Classical Music - Expect the Unexpected" and in 2015 under "Sonnez, merveilles!" in French by Éditions du Boréal.
Born in California, Nagano maintains close connections with his home state and was Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra from 1978-2009. His first major successes came with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1984, when Messiaen appointed him assistant to conductor Seiji Ozawa for the premiere of his opera Saint François d'Assise. Nagano’s success in America led to European appointments: Music Director of Opéra National de Lyon (1988-1998) and Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra (1991-2000). Kent Nagano became the first Music Director of Los Angeles Opera in 2003 having already held the position of Principal Conductor for two years.
Kent Nagano was awarded an honorary doctorate from McGill University in Montréal in 2005, an honorary doctorate from the Université de Montréal in 2006, and an honorary doctorate from San Francisco State University in 2018. Since 2017, Kent Nagano has been a "Compagnon" of the "Ordre des arts et des lettres" of Québec and in the fall of 2023, Kent Nagano was also awarded the title of "Chevalier" in the "Ordre des art et des lettres" of France. In February 2024, Kent Nagano was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the Federal President.
More about Kent Nagano
photo: Claudia Höhne
Klytämnestra
Violeta Urmana
Mezzo-soprano
Birthplace:
Marijampole, Lithuania
Studies:
Piano at the Juozas-Gruodis Conservatory in Kaunas, piano and singing at the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy in Vilnius
Master classes:
Master class at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich as well as Opernstudio of the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich
Prizes / Honors:
Royal Philharmonic Society Award for Singers (London), appointment as Austrian Kammersängerin (Vienna), Grand Duke Gedeminas of Lithuania (Lithuania), honorary degree of the Lithuanian Music and Theatre Academy (Vilnius), Commendatore dell'Ordine della Stella d'Italia (Italy), Commander’s Grand Cross of the Order of Merit to Lithuania, UNESCO Artist for Peace, et al.
Important parts:
Kundry (Parsifal), Eboli (Don Carlo), Amelia (Un ballo in maschera), Elisabetta (Don Carlo), Leonora (La forza del destino), Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), Odabella (Attila), Aida (Aida), La Gioconda (La Gioconda), Medea (Medea), Tosca (Tosca), Norma (Norma), Iphigénie (Iphigénie en Tauride,Iphigénie en Aulide), Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos), Brünnhilde (Siegfried), Sieglinde (Die Walküre), Isolde (Tristan und Isolde), Azucena (Il trovatore), Soprano/Mezzosoprano (Messa da Requiem), Klytämnestra (Elektra), Herodias (Salome), Jocaste (Oedipus rex), et al.
Stages:
Metropolitan Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Opéra national de Paris, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper,Staatsoper Hamburg, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Arena di Verona as well as appearances at festivals such as Bayreuther Festspiele, Salzburger Festspiele, Festival d‘Aix-en-Provence, Edinburgh International Festival and the BBC Proms
Cooperation with conductors:
Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Bertrand de Billy, Pierre Boulez, Semyon Bychkov, Riccardo Chailly, James Conlon, James Levine, Jesús López Cobos, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Sir Simon Rattle, Donald Runnicles, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Franz Welser-Möst, Christian Thielemann, et al.
Recordings :
Many CD and DVD recordings documenting her career: LA GIOCONDA, IL TROVATORE, OBERTO CONTE DI SAN BONIFACIO, UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, AIDA, LA FORZA DEL DESTINO, MACBETH, DON CARLO, ANDREA CHENIER, SIEGFRIED, PARSIFAL, CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA, VERDI'S REQUIEM (soprano and mezzo-soprano), DAS LIED VON DER ERDE and RÜCKERT-LIEDER by Mahler, MAETERLINCK-LIEDER by Zemlinsky, LA MORT DE CLÉOPÂTRE by Berlioz, BLUEBEARD'S CASTLE of Bartok, CD "Puccini rediscovered", Rossignol by Stravinsky, "Lieder" by R. Strauss, Berg, Liszt.
She also played the role of Kundry in Tony Palmer's film "The Search for the Holy Grail".
More about Violeta Urmana
photo: Ivan Balderramo
Elektra
Iréne Theorin
Birthplace:
Södra Hestra, Sweden
Studies:
Vocal performance at the Music Academy and Royal Opera School in Copenhagen
Prizes:
Singer of the Year in Spain for Brünnhilde in “Die Walküre” in Barcelona 2014
Order of the Dannebrog by Queen Margrethe ll of Denmark
Important parts:
Brünnhilde (Die Walküre), Brünnhilde (Götterdämmerung), Turandot (Turandot), Valencia (Elektra), Isolde (Tristan und Isolde), Färberin (Die Frau ohne Schatten), Ortrud (Lohengrin), Gioconda (La Gioconda), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana)
Stages:
Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Berliner Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper, Salzburg Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opera de Paris, Semperoper Dresden, Bayreuth Festival, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, Royal Swedish Opera, The New National Theatre Tokyo, Dutch National Opera, Opera Vlaanderen, Teatro Real Madrid, Oper Leipzig, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Wagner Festival in Budapest, Théâtre de la Monnaie, Oper Stuttgart, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Arena di Verona, The Royal Danish Theatre, The Mikhailovsky Theatre et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Fura del Baus, Katie Mitchell et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Daniel Barenboim, Mikko Franck, David Alden, Sir Simon Rattle, Marek Janwoski et al.
More about Iréne Theorin
photo: Chris Gloag
Chrysothemis
Jennifer Holloway
Soprano
Origin:
USA
Studies:
University of Georgia, Manhattan School of Music
Prizes:
Outstanding Alumni Award of University of Georgia (2012)
Important parts:
Salome (Salome), Senta (Der fliegende Holländer), Chrysothemis (Elektra), Sieglinde (Walküre), Grete (Der ferne Klang), Leonore (Fidelio), Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes), Cassandre (Les Troyens), et al.
Stages:
Wiener Staatsoper, Oper Frankfurt, Bayerische Staatsoper, Oper Leipzig, Staatsoper Hamburg, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Teatro Colón, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Real, Los Angeles Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, English National Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos Lissabon, ABAO Bilbao, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Théâtre du Châtelet, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Bard Music Festival, Atlanta Opera, Canadian Opera Toronto, Santa Fe Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, The Israeli Opera Tel-Aviv-Yafo, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Willy Decker, Michael Shell, Alberto Fassini, Robert Carsen, Lydia Steier, Damiano Michieletto, Laurent Pelly, Christopher Alden, Graham Vick, Francisco Negrin, Richard Jones, Francesca Zambello, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Stephen Lawless, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Philippe Jordan, Kent Nagano, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Corrado Rovaris, Omer Meir Wellber, Daniel Oren, John Fiore, Sebastian Weigle, Florian Erdl, Lorin Maazel, Lawrence Foster, Frederic Chaslin, Gustavo Dudamel, Leonard Slatkin, Bertrand de Billy, Kazushi Ono, Vladimir Jurowski, Eun Sun Kim, Sir Richard Armstrong, Jaap van Zweden, Emmanuelle Haïm, Jesus Lopez Cobos, Herve Niquet, et al.
More about Jennifer Holloway
photo: Arielle Doneson
Aegisth
John Daszak
Birthplace:
UK
Studies:
Singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal Northern College of Music and Accademia D´Arte Lirica
Important parts:
Don José (Carmen), Grigori und Dimitri (Boris Godunow), Achilles (König Priam), Skuratov (From the House of the Death), Ismaele (Nabucco), Max (Der Freischütz), Pierre (War and Peace), Gustavus III (Un Ballo in Maschera), Elemer (Arabella), Zinovy (Lady Macbeth von Mzensk), Herod (Salome), Der Zwerg (Der Zwerg), Grisha Kuter’na (The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh), Alviano Salvago (Die Gezeichneten), Captain Vere (Billy Budd), Peter Grimes (Peter Grimes), Loge (Das Rheingold), Tambour-Major (Wozzeck), Kaufman (Jakob Lenz), Aegisth (Elektra)
Stages:
Welsh National Opera, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Bayerische Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera, Teatro all Scala, Teatro Real, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Opernhaus Zurich, Royal Opera House, Staatsoper Hamburg, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Cooperations with directors:
Barrie Kosky, David McVicar, Calixto Bieito
Cooperations with conductors:
Donald Runnicles, Vladimir Jurowski, Thomas Hengelbrock, Kent Nagano, David Robertson, Kirill Petrenko, Marc Albrecht, Daniel Barenboim, Simone Young, Franz Welser-Most, Ingo Metzmacher, Alviano Salvago, Alexander Soddy
photo: Robert Workman
Orest
Kyle Ketelsen
Birthplace:
Clinton, Iowa / USA
Studies:
University of Iowa and Indiana University
Prizes:
First Prize in several international vocal competitions, including Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Richard Tucker Music Foundation (Career Grant), George London Foundation, Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, Sullivan Foundation, Opera Index, MacAllister Awards, Maria Callas Award, Fort Worth Opera, National Opera Association, Connecticut Opera and Liederkranz Foundation
Important parts:
Escamillo (Carmen), Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande), Il Conte Rodolfo (La Sonnambula), King of Scotland (Ariodante), Méphistophélès (La Damnation de Faust), Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress), Leporello und Masetto (Don Giovanni), Alidoro (La Cenerentola), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Zoroastro (Orlando), Enrico VIII (Anna Bolena), Mr. Flint (Billy Budd), Don Fernando (Fidelio), Cadmus (Semele), Don Quixote (Master Peter’s Puppet Show), Pharaon (Moïse et Pharaon). In addition, he sang Handel's Messiah, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Brahms' Deutsches Requiem, Beethoven's 9. Sinfonie, Berlioz' Lélio, de Fallas El Retablo del Maese Pedro, Kaija Saariahos Cinq reflets au l'Amour de loin, Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, Stravinsky's Pulcinella, Mozart's Requiem, Haydn's Harmoniemesse, et al.
Stages:
Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Metropolitan Opera, Dutch National Opera, Dallas Opera, Opéra National de Lyon, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Teatro Real Madrid, Bayerische Staatsoper, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Minnesota Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Houston Grand Opera, Chorégies d'Orange festival, Tanglewood Festival, Carnegie Hall, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Pacific, Glimmerglass Festival, Michigan Opera Theatre, De Nederlandse Opera, Madison Opera, Washington National Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Teatro Carlo Felice, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Simon McBurney, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Lluís Pasqual, Bernard Labadie, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Louis Langrée, Harry Bicket, Gianandrea Noseda, Michael Tilson Thomas, Masaaki Suzuki, Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Andrew Davis, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Muti, Itzhak Perlman, Franz Welser-Möst, et al.
More about Kyle Ketelsen
photo: Lawrence Brownlee
Pfleger des Orest
Liam James Karai
Bass-Baritone
Birthplace:
Hongkong, China
Studies:
MMUS & PGDip - Royal Northern College of Music, taught by Quentin Hayes
BSC – University of Leicester
Master class:
Olga Peretyatko (2022 Hamburg)
Piotr Beczała (2022 Salzburg Festspiele)
John Tomlinson (2022 RNCM)
Ann Murray (2022 RNCM)
Graham Vick (2021 RNCM)
Christopher Purves (2021 RNCM)
Prizes:
Sir John Tomlinson Scholarship (RNCM)
Andrew Lloyd Webber Scholarship (RNCM)
Frederic Cox Award (RNCM)
RNCM Silver Medal
Joaninha Trust Award Competition
Pomerance Prize (University of Leicester)
St Cecilia Opera Prize (Leicester festival of music & dramatic art)
Winner of the Opera solo Award (Leicester festival of music & dramatic art)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/2023 season
Important parts:
Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Leporello/Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Alidoro (Cenerentola), Escamillo (Carmen), Colline (La bohème)
Stages:
Salzburg Festspiele, Staatsoper Hamburg, English National Opera, Opera Holland Park, RNCM
Cooperation with directors:
Christof Loy, Angelina Nikonova, Victoria Newlyn, Sam Brown, Stuart Barker, Jonathan Cocker
Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Negano, Franz Welser-Möst, Peter Whelan, Adrian Kelly, Peter Robinson, Nicholas Kok, Paul Jenkins
More about Liam James Karai
photo: Caroline Winnicker
Vertraute
N.N.
Schleppträgerin
Marie Maidowski
Soprano
Birthplace:
Berlin, Germany
Studies:
Bachelor in singing and music theater with KS Prof. Julie Kaufmann at the Berlin University of the Arts Master in concert singing with KS Prof. Christiane Iven at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich
Master class:
19th Lotte Lehmann Week in Perleberg (2016)
Masterclass with Prof. Marga Schiml in Switzerland (2019)
Masterclass with Prof. Gabriele Lechner in Baden near Vienna (2020)
Prizes:
Scholarship from the Young Musicians Foundation in Mühlheim (2018) Scholarship from the Cusanuswerk study grant (since 2020) Finalist at the German National Singing Competition in the Junior Competition category (2020) Scholarship from the German Stage Association (2023) Staetshuys Fund Prize and Van Amelsvoort Prize for the best interpretation of a work by a female composer at the International Vocal Competition 2023 in `s Hertogenbosch with Lied Duo partner YoungSeob Jeon
Audience and jury prize at the HIDALGO Song Prize 2023 with Lied Duo partner YoungSeob Jeon
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from the 2024/25 season
Important parts:
Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Nurse (Alzheim), Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro), Silvia (L'isola disabitata), Lovis (Der Baumgeist), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Daphne Colgate (Georgia Bottoms), et al.
Stages:
Staatstheater Cottbus, Philharmonie Luxembourg, Cuvilliéstheater Munich, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Frank Hilbrich, Bernarda Horres, Tomo Sugao, Maximilian Berling, Isabel Hindersin, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Errico Fresis, Johannes Zurl, Johanna Soller, Aris Blettenberg, Henri Bonamy, Gad Kadosh, et al.
More about Marie Maidowski
photo: Adrienne Meister
Junger Diener
Seungwoo Simon Yang
Tenor
Birthplace:
Gwangyang, South Korea
Studies:
Singing at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with Prof. Carolyn Grace James
Master class:
Bo Skovhus, Eytan Pessen, Lioba Braun, Brigitte Eisenfeld, Gregory Kunde, Chris Merritt, Piotr Beczala, Dorothea Röschmann, Kwangchul Youn, Olga Peretyatko, Ralph Strehle, Harald Stamm, et al.
Prizes:
1st Prize Elise Meyer Competition (2020), 1st Prize of the Mozart Singing Competition (2020), Special Prize and 2nd Prize of the Maritim Music Award (2019), 2nd Prize of the Maritim Music Award (2018), 1st Prize of the Korean Singing Competition (2015), 1st Prize of the Korea Talent Award (2015), 1st Prize of the Ehwa & Kyunghyang Competition (2014), 1st Prize Shin Young-Ok Voice Competition (2014), 1st Prize of the Shinhan Music Award (2014)
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 from 2020/21 to 2023/24
Important parts:
Lord Arturo Bucklaw (Lucia di Lammermoor), Pong (Turandot), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Beppe (Pagliacci), Jaquino (Fidelio), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Pilade (Oreste), Nemorino (L'Elisir d'amore), Rodolfo (La Bohème), et al.
Stages:
Hamburg State Opera, Zurich Opera, Salzburg Festival
Cooperation with directors:
Guy Montavon, Yona Kim, Sascha Alexander Todtner, Amélie Niermeyer
Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Nagano, Stefano Ranzani, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Daniele Callegari, Giampaolo Bisanti, Leonardo Sini, Matteo Beltrarmi, Paolo Arrivabini, Giacomo Sagripanti, et al.
photo: Johannes Xaver Zepplin
Alter Diener
William Desbiens
Baritone
Birthplace:
Québec City, Canada
Studies:
Bachelor in voice. Mannes School of Music in New York
Prizes:
Finals at the Paris opera competition at the Palais Garnier
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from the season 2024/25
Important parts:
Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Schaunard (La Boheme), Conte almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Dandini (La cenerentola)
Stages:
Opéra de Québec, Teatro la fenice, Theater und Orchester Heidelberg, Landestheater Linz, Palais Garnier
Cooperation with directors:
Robert Lepage, Fabricio Melano, Damon Nestor Ploumis, Marie Lambert-Le Bihan, Jean-Romain Vesperini, Guillermo
Cooperation with conductors:
Wyn Davis, Jonathan Santagada, Elias Grandy, Kens Lui, Claudio Novati, Thomas Rösner, Jorge Parodi
More about William Desbiens
photo: Marco Borrelli
Aufseherin
Katja Pieweck
Soprano
Birthplace:
Hannover, Germany
Studies:
Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg with Prof. Ks. Judith Beckmann
Prizes:
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer Preis of the Körber-Stiftung (2007), Cultural Prize of the Berenberg Bank Hamburg (2000), First Prize of the International Robert Stolz Singing Competition in Hamburg (2000), Masefield Fellowship of the Alfred Toepfer Stiftung
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 1999/2000, member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (1997/98 to 1998/99)
Important parts:
Adalgisa (Norma), Mercédès (Carmen), Hexe (Königskinder), Smeton (Anna Bolena), Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor), Marquise de Berkenfield (La fille du régiment), Sélysette (Ariane et Barbe-Bleue), Arsamene (Xerxes), Sancta Susanna (Klementia), Gertrud/Sandmännchen (Hänsel und Gretel), Frau des Dorfrichters (Jenufa), Valencienne (Die lustige Witwe), Witwe Browe (Zar und Zimmermann), Lola (Cavalleria Rusticana), Damigella Pallade (L’Incoronazione di Poppea), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro), Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Schenkwirtin (Boris Godunov), Mutter (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites), Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Frugola (Il Tabarro), Goneril (Lear), Berta/Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Marchese Melibea (Il Viaggio a Reims), Ariadne (Ariadne), Adelaide (Arabella), Annina (Der Rosenkavalier), Aufseherin/1. Magd (Elektra), Curra/Preziosilla (La Forza del Destino), Annina (La Traviata), Meg Page/Alice Ford (Falstaff), Giovanna/Maddalena (Rigoletto), Fenena (Nabucco), Emilia (Otello), Fricka (Das Rheingold), Siegrune/Sieglinde (Die Walküre), Magdalena (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), Ortrud (Lohengrin), Adriano (Rienzi), Eglantine (Euryanthe), Ericlea (Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria), Larina (Eugen Onegin), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Semperoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Staatstheater Mainz, Bayerische Staatsoper, Oper Leipzig, Internationale Herrenchiemsee Festspiele, Staatsoper Hannover, et al.
Zusammenarbeit mit Regisseuren:
Peter Konwitschny, Karoline Gruber, Claus Guth, Willy Decker, Achim Freyer, Roger Vontobel, Stefan Herheim, Michael Thalheimer, et al.
Zusammenarbeit mit Dirigenten:
Simone Young, Sir Simon Rattle, Peter Schneider, Ingo Metzmacher, Gerd Albrecht, Sebastian Weigle, Rolf Beck, Krzysztof Penderecki, et al.
photo: Ida Aldrian
Erste Magd
Renate Spingler
Mezzo-soprano
Birthplace:
Kempten, Germany
Studies:
Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Munich
Master class:
with Prof. Reri Grist
Prizes:
Honored by the Hamburg Senate with the title of “Hamburger Kammersängerin” (2017)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 1986/87
Important parts:
Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier), Margret (Wozzeck), Sdena (Das Fest im Meer), Gräfin Helfenstein/Üppigkeit (Mathis der Maler), Sigrune/Rossweiße/Wellgunde (Der Ring des Nibelungen), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Herodias (Salome), Adelaide (Arabella), Flora (La Traviata), Larina (Eugen Onegin), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Prinz Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Lœna (La belle Hélène), Brigitta (Die tote Stadt), Mary (Der fliegende Holländer), Geneviève (Pelléas et Mélisande), Mère Jeanne de l’Enfant-Jésus (Dialogues des Carmélites), Circe (I.th.Ak.A.), Gräfin Geschwitz (Lulu), Mercédès (Carmen), Hippolyta (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Marthe Schwerdtlein (Faust), Lola/Mama Lucia (Cavalleria Rusticana), Ottavia (L’Incoronazione di Poppea), 2. Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Tebaldo (Don Carlos), Emilia (Otello), Gaea (Daphne), Hänsel/Hexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Miss Baggott (Der kleine Schornsteinfeger), Auntie (Peter Grimes), Die böse Königin (Schneewittchen), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Oper Frankfurt, Semperoper Dresden, Theater Bonn, Oper Leipzig, Theater Bremen, La Monnaie, Oper Köln, Königliche Oper Kopenhagen, Prinzregententheater München, Theater an der Wien, Theatro Municipale de Sao Paulo, Gran Teatre del Liceu, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Ruth Berghaus, Willy Decker, Gian-Carlo di Monaco, Dieter Dorn, Adolf Dresen, August Everding, Jürgen Flimm, Achim Freyer, Ramin Gray, Caroline Gruber, Claus Guth, Hans Hollmann, Andreas Homoki, Günter Krämer, Harry Kupfer, Nikolaus Lehnhoff, Juri Ljubimov, Marco Aturo Marelli, Christian Pade, Simon Philips, Ernst-Theo Richter, Nils-Peter Rudolf, Johannes Schaaf, Sir Peter Ustinov, Christoph von Bernuth, Robert Wilson, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Gerd Albrecht, Marc Albrecht, Marco Armiliato, Gary Bertini, Michael Boder, Nathan Brock, Semyon Bychkov, Giuliano Carella, Bertrand de Billy, Jaqcues Delaôte, Alessandro di Marci, Peter Eötvös, Alfred Eschwé, Lawrence Foster, Michael Halasz, Eliahu Inbal, René Jacobs, Günter Jena, Alexander Joel, Karen Kamensek, Paul Kildea, Bernhard Klee, Jun Märkl, Cornelius Meister, Ingo Metzmacher, Kent Nagano, Garcia Navarro, Giuseppe Patané, Christoph Prick, Wolfgang Rennert, Donald Runnicles, Michael Schønwandt, Peter Schreier, Klauspeter Seibel, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Leonard Slatkin, Alexander Soddy, Stefan Soltesz, Marcello Viotti, Sebastian Weigle, Bruno Weil, Simone Young, Lothar Zagrosek, Hans Zender, et al.
More about Renate Spingler
Zweite Magd
Anna-Maria Torkel
Alto
Birthplace:
Bremen, Germany
Studies:
School music at the University of Bremen Math and music
Bachelor's and Master's degree in singing at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama
Prizes:
2012 Brahms Scholarship
2013 Scholarship holder of the Franz Wirth Memorial Foundation
2014 2nd prize at the Gustav Mahler Competition
Important parts:
Hänsel (Humperdinck Hänsel und Gretel), Bertha (Rossini Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Nancy (Flotow Martha), Lucy (Brecht Dreigroschenoper)
Stages:
Theater Bremen, Thalia Theater Hamburg, Staatstheater Wiesbaden
Cooperations with directors:
Marco Stormann, Georg Dittrich, Alexander Riemenschneider, Michael Talke
Cooperations with conductors:
Markus Poschner, Alexander Soddy, Thomas Hengelbrock, Alan Gilbert
More about Anna-Maria Torkel
photo: Patrick Leo
Dritte Magd
Jana Kurucová
Mezzosoprano
Birthplace:
Kežmarok, Slovakia
Education / Studies:
Classical singing at the Konzervatórium J. L. Bellu in Banska Bystrica, in Bratislava as well as at the Musikhochschule in Graz, opera studio of the Bayerische Staatsoper (season 2005/2006), ensemble member of the Theater Heidelberg (2006 to 2009), ensemble member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin ( 2009 to 2018)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2019/20 season
Important parts:
Niklausse/Muse (Les contes d‘Hoffmann), Prinz Orlovsky (Die Fledermaus), Isolier (Le comte Ory), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Marta (Faust), Carmen (Carmen), Elisabetta (Maria Stuarda), Romeo (I capuleti e i Montecchi), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Meg Page (Falstaff), Fuchs (Das schlaue Füchslein), Maffio Orsini (Lucrezia Borgia), Melisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Mercedes (Carmen), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Fenena (Nabucco), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Idamante (Idomeneo), Sesto (La clemenza di tito), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Ramiro (La finta giardiniera), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), et al.
Stages:
Teatro de la Maestranza in Sevilla, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Nationaltheater Prag, Teatro Petruzzelli in Bari, Oper Peking, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Oslo, Semperoper Dresden, Bayerische Staatsoper, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, New National Theater Tokyo, Musikfestival Klangvokal in Dortmund, Banská Bystrica, Festival Svátky hudby v Praze, Filharmonie Reduta in Bratislava, Bratislava Nationaltheater, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Laurent Pelly, David Alden, Robert Borgmann, Philipp Himmelmann, Katharina Thalbach, David Herrmann, Roland Schwab, Philipp Stölzl, Christof Loy, Kirsten Harms, Andreas Homoki, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Pedro Halffter, Enrique Mazzola, Michele Mariotti, Ido Arad, Donald Runnicles, Daniel Cohen, Stefan Soltesz, Fabio Luisi, Zubin, Mehta, Alessandro de Marchi, Jacques Lacombe, Omer Meir Wellber, Carlo Rizzi, Ivan Repusic, Moritz Gnann, Jonathan Darlington, Marco Letonja, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Giacomo Sagripanti, Constantin Trinks, Yves Abel, Ottavio Dantone, Matteo Beltrami, Jonathan Nott, et al.
More about Jana Kurucová
photo: Martina Cyman
Vierte Magd
N.N.
Fünfte Magd
Hellen Kwon
Soprano
Birthplace:
Seoul, South Korea
Studies:
Hochschule für Musik Köln with Dietger Jacob (1979-1984)
Prizes:
First prize in the Novara International Singing Competition (1984), winner of the Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer Preis (1987), Rolf-Mares-Preis in the category “Exceptional Performances of an Actresses” for her interpretation of “Frau” in Wolfgang Rihm’s “Das Gehege” (2010), Grammy Award Nomination for the recording of Walter von Braunfels’ “Die Vögel” conducted by Lothar Zagrosek, honored with the title of “Hamburger Kammersängerin” by the Hamburg Senate (2011), “Order of Civil” by the Korean Government for exceptional artistic achievements (2013), “Star of Ewha” Prize (2018)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 1987/88
Important parts:
The Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier), Zdenka (Arabella), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Blonde/Konstanze (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Donna Anna/Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Despina/Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Elettra (Idomeneo), Vitellia (La clemenza di Tito), Musetta/Mimì (La Bohème), Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly), Liú (Turandot), Violetta Valéry (La Traviata), Gilda (Rigoletto), Oscar (Un Ballo in Maschera), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Micaëla (Carmen), Norina (Don Pasquale), Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore), Adele/Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus), Agathe (Der Freischütz), Senta (Der fliegende Holländer), Minni (La Fanciulla del West), Frau (Das Gehege), Salome/Herodias (Salome), Chrysothemis (Elektra), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Bayreuther Festspiele, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Oper Leipzig, Oper Stuttgart, Oper Köln, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Festwochen, Salzburger Festspiele, Opernhaus Zürich, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Festival d‘Aix-en-Provence, Opéra Comique de Paris, Glyndebourne Festival, Den Norske Opera, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Teatro Filarmonico Verona, The Israeli Opera, Jerusalem Opera Festival, New National Theatere Tokio, Korean National Opera, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Achim Freyer, Peter Konwitschny, Johannes Schaaf, Günther Krämer, Marco Marelli, Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, Peter Sellars, John Dew, Adolf Dresen, Nikolas Brieger, Johannes Erath, Claus Guth, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Giuseppe Sinopoli, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Horst Stein, Neville Marriner, Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Jeffrey Tate, Marcello Viotti, Simone Young, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Kent Nagano, Christian Thielemann, et al.
photo: Martina Cyman
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
