Richard Wagner | Parsifal
Musikalische Leitung
Patrick Hahn
Conductor
Birthplace:
Graz, Vienna
Studies:
University of Music and Performing Arts Graz/Kunstuniversität Graz (KUG)
Prizes:
Various awards, Chicago Jazz Festival
“Outstanding Soloist Award – Best Jazz Pianist”, 37th Annual Jazz Festival, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse
Career stages:
General Music Director: Sinfonieorchester und Oper Wuppertal
Principal Guest Conductor: Münchner Rundfunkorchester
Principal Guest Conductor: Royal Scottish National Orchestra (from 2024/25)
Previously Principal Guest Conductor and Artistic Advisor: Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic (2021-2023)
Stages:
Zürich Opera, Opera Frankfurt
Cooperation with orchestras:
Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Wiener Symphoniker, Deutsche Symphony Orchester Berlin, Bamberg Symphony, Wiener Symphoniker, et al.
photo: C&G Pictures
Amfortas
Christoph Pohl
Baritone
Birthplace:
Hanover, Germany
Studies:
Opera singing studies at University of Music and Drama Hanover in Hanover at Prof. Carol Richardson-Smith, member of International Opera Studio of Staatsoper Hamburg (2003–2005)
Master class:
Prof. Klesy Kelly (Cologne), Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Piotr Beczala, Neal Shicoff
Prizes:
prizewinner of Bundeswettbewerb Gesang, prizewinner of Deutscher Musikrat-Wettbewerb, Schumann-Liedwettbewerbs (2008), Christel-Goltz-Preis der Semperoperstiftung (2008)
Important parts:
Papageno (The Magic Flute), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Marcello (La Bohème), Dandini (La Cenerentola), Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Olivier and Count (Capriccio), Harlequin and Music Teacher (Ariadne auf Naxos), Frank/Fritz (Die tote Stadt ), Ottokar (Der Freischütz), Danilo (Die lustige Witwe), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Valentin (Faust), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Sevillia), Belcore (L'elisir d'amore), Schwanda (Svanda dudak), Heerrufer (Lohengrin), Lescaut (Manon Lescaut), Sharpless (Butterfly), Germont (La Traviata), Posa (Don Carlo), Guillaume Tell (Guillaume Tell), Spielmann (Königskinder), Eugen Onegin (Eugen Onegin), Amfortas (Parsifal), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Johannes (Morgen und Abend), Alfonso (Die Jüdin von Toledo)
Stages:
Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Leipzig, Maifestspiele Wiesbaden, Oper Frankfurt, Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Wigmore Hall London, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro La Fenice Venice, Bregenz Festival, Theater an der Wien, Opernhaus Zürich, Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Johannes Erath, Klaus Guth, Peter Konwitschny, Stefan Herheim, Robert Carsen, Graham Vick, Andreas Homoki, Hans Neuenfels, Calixto Bieito, Damiano Michieletto, Jetzke Mijnssen, Lydia Steyer, Torsten Fischer, Elisabeth Stöppler, Axel Köhler, Markus Bothe
Cooperation with conductors:
Peter Schneider, Christian Thielemann, Donald Runnicles, Michael Boder, Axel Kober, Ivor Bolton, Nicola Luisotti, Giorgio Morandi, Cornelius Meister, Omer Meier Wellber, Sebastian Weigle
Titurel
Han Kim
Bass
Birthplace:
Pohang, South Korea
Studies:
Bachelor, Seoul National University with Kwangchul Youn; Master Vocal performance, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Christian Elsner; Soloist’s Diploma Vocal performance, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe with Christian Elsner
Master class:
with Ann Murray, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (2019), with David Selig, Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe (2019)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2023/24 season
Was Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera 2021/22 and 2022/23
Important parts:
Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Leporello/Masetto (Don Giovanni), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte), Il conte Rodolfo (La sonambula), Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Don Fernando (Fidelio), Colline (La Bohème), Zuniga (Carmen)
Stages:
Theater Heidelberg
Cooperation with directors:
Sonja Trebes
Cooperation with conductors:
Dietger Holm
photo: Johannes Xaver Zepplin
Gurnemanz
Kwangchul Youn
Bass
Birthplace:
Cheongju, South Korea
Important parts:
Gurnemanz (Parsifal), Daland (Der fliegende Holländer), Pogner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Jacopo Fiesco (Simon Boccanegra), Hunding (Die Walküre), Conte des Grieux (Manon), Ramfis (Aida), et al.
Stages:
Vienna State Opera, Opéra de Paris, Berlin State Opera, Bayreuth Festival, Salzburg Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival, Metropolitan Opera New York, Tongyeong Festival, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Harry Kupfer, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Daniel Barenboim, René Jacobs, Bertrand de Billy, Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Petrenko, et al.
photo: Kwangchul Youn
Parsifal
Benjamin Bruns
Tenor
Birthplace:
Hanover, Germany
Studies:
University of Music and Theatre in Hamburg
Prizes:
Winner of the International Singing Competition of the Rheinsberg Castle Chamber Opera (2002), 2nd prize in the German National Singing Competition (2002), Kurt Hübner Prize of the Bremen Theater (2008), Young Talent Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (2009)
Important parts:
Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serial), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Tito (La Clemenza di Tito), Max (Der Freischütz), Alwa (Lulu), Loge (Das Rheingold), Erik (Der fliegende Holländer), Lohengrin (Lohengrin), Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos), Narraboth (Salome), Matteo (Arabella), Kaiser (Frau ohne Schatten), Herodes (Salome), Parsifal (Parsifal), Siegmund (Walküre)
Stages:
Vienna State Opera, State Opera Unter den Linden, Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Teatro Real Madrid, Bayreuth Festival, Cologne Opera, Saxon State Opera Dresden, Bavarian State Opera, Zurich Opera House, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Colón, Opéra national du Rhin, Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Salzburg Easter Festival, Gran Teatre del Liceu, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Robert Wilson, Hellmuth Matiasek, Rosamund Gilmore, Jan Philipp Gloger, Barrie Kosky, Andrea Moses, Christof Loy, Katharina Thoma, David McVicar, Philipp Himmelmann, Mariame Clément, Michael Sturminger, Josef Ernst Köpplinger, Roland Schwab, Adrian Noble, La Fura dels Baus, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Christian Thielemann, Kirill Petrenko, Sir Simon Rattle, Simone Young, Gerd Albrecht, Christoph Eschenbach, Karen Kamensek, Adam Fischer, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Yannick Nezét-Séguin, Franz Welser-Möst, Ivor Bolton, Marc Minkowski, Daniel Harding, Laurence Équilbey, Pablo Heras-Casado, Cornelius Meister, Masaaki Suzuki, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Manfred Honneck, Alain Altinoglu, Andris Nelsons, Julia Jones, et al.
Cooperations with orchestras:
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, MDR Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Bavarian State Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Kammerorchester Basel, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, hr-Sinfonieorchester, Bach Collegium Japan, et al.
photo: Sara Schöngen
Klingsor
Mark Stone
Baritone
Studies:
Singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Prizes:
Decca Prize at the Kathleen Ferrier Awards (1998)
Important parts:
Wotan (Die Walküre), Gunther (Götterdämmerung), Alberich (Das Rheingold), White Knight (Alice’s Adventures Underground), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Balstrode (Peter Grimes), Protector (Written on Skin), Ford (Falstaff), Germont Pere (La Traviata), Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), et al.
Stages:
Grand Théâtre de Genève, Longborough Festival, Royal Opera House, Welsh National Opera, Valencia Palau de les Arts, Copenhagen Opera Festival, Queensland Opera, Mariisnky Theatre St Petersburg, Philadelphia Opera, Santa Fe Opera, et al.
photo: Simon Fowler
Kundry
Iréne Theorin
Soprano
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), Elektra (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.
photo: Chris Gloag
1. Gralsritter
Jürgen Sacher
Tenor
Birthplace:
Augsburg, Germany
Studies:
Church music and music education at the Leopold-Mozart Konservatorium in Augsburg, vocal studies with Leonore Kirschstein
Prizes:
Scholarship of the Richard Wagner Verband, Promotion Prize of the Hamburgische Staatsoper, appointment as Hamburger Kammersänger (2017)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Staatsoper Hamburg since 1991/92
Important parts:
Mime (Siegfried), Mime/Loge (Das Rheingold), Herodes (Salome), Knusperhexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Hauptmann/Andres (Wozzeck), Monostatos/1. Geharnischter (Die Zauberflöte), Maler/Prinz/Marquis/Kammerdiener (Lulu), Dr. Cajus (Falstaff), Tichon (Katja Kabanova), Truffaldino (Die Liebe zu den drei Orangen), Valzacchi (Der Rosenkavalier), David (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Junger Mann (Moses und Aron), Steuermann (Der fliegende Holländer), Peter Iwanow (Zar und Zimmermann), Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Walther von der Vogelweide (Tannhäuser), Goro (Madame Butterfly), Graf Elemer (Arabella), Raoul de St. Brioche (Die lustige Witwe), Novagerio (Palestrina), Orontes (Flavius Bertaridus), Asasello (Der Meister und Margarita), Tanzmeister (Ariadne auf Naxos), Graf von Kent (Lear), Reverend Adams (Peter Grimes), L´Aumonier (Dialogues des Carmélites), Aegisth (Elektra), Fedotik (Tri Sestri), Sylvester von Schaumburg (Mathis der Maler), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, La Monnaie, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Königliche Oper von Kopenhagen, Teatro alla Scala, Salzburger Festspiele, Theater an der Wien, Budapester Staatsoper, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Wagner Festival Budapest, Theater Dortmund, Staatstheater Braunschweig, Staatsoper Budapest, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Harry Kupfer, Willy Decker, Claus Guth, Mario Martone, Achim Freyer, Géza M. Tóth, Livia Sabag, Roger Vontobel, Stefan Herheim, Karoline Gruber, Vincent Boussard, Jochen Biganzoli, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Adam Fischer, Bertrand de Billy, Claudio Abbado, Kent Nagano, Semyon Bychkov, Horst Stein, Christian Thielemann, Ingo Metzmacher, Michael Boder, Kirill Petrenko, Simone Young, Daniel Barenboim, et al.
photo: Martina Cyman
2. Gralsritter
Hubert Kowalczyk
Bass
Birthplace:
Radom, Poland
Studies:
Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Prof. Martin Bruns and Prof. Dr. Michail Lanskoi; Istituto Superiore di Studi Musicali "Pietro Mascagni" in Livorno with Prof. Graziano Polidori; Young Talents Development Program - Opera Academy in Warsaw
Master class:
Lioba Braun, Helmut Deutsch, Brigitte Fassbaender, Tomasz Konieczny, Bogdan Makal, Olga Pasiecznik, Eytan Pessen, Rudolf Piernay, Matthias Rexroth, Harald Stamm, et al.
Important parts:
Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia), Colline (La Bohème), Crespel (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Haly (L'italiana in Algeri), Nourabad (Les Pêcheurs de perles), Oroveso (Norma), Pistola (Falstaff), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Zuniga (Carmen), et al.
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2021/22 season
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from 2019/20 to 2021/22
Stages:
Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Zurich Opera House, Bregenz Festival, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatr Wielki - Opera Narodowa, Opera Rara Festival in Krakow, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Calixto Bieito, David Bösch, Frank Castorf, Petra Deidda, Brigitte Fassbaender, Herbert Fritsch, Alexander Riemenschneider, Dmitri Tcherniakov, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Matteo Beltrami, Bertrand de Billy, Giampaolo Bisanti, Jonathan Brandani, Daniele Callegari, Paolo Carignani, Nicholas Carter, Vladimir Conta, Axel Kober, Volker Krafft, Carlo Montanaro, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Kent Nagano, Ivan Repušić, Sébastien Rouland, Robin Ticciati, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Lidiya Yankovskaya, et al.
photo: Martina Cyman
1. Knappe
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.
photo: Jörn Kipping
2. Knappe
Aebh Kelly
Mezzo-Soprano
Birthplace:
Dublin, Ireland
Studies:
Mascarade Emerging Artists, Florence
Georg Solti Accademia
Irish National Opera Studio
Royal Irish Academy of Music (BMus)
Master class:
Richard Bonynge, Aigul Akhmetshina, Freddie De Tommaso (Georg Solti Accademia), Vivica Genaux (Mascarade Emerging Artists), Tara Erraught, Paula Murrihy (Irish National Opera), Bernarda Fink (Neue Stimmen Masterclass), Ann Murray (Royal Irish Academy of Music)
Prizes:
2nd Prize & Dermot Troy Prize (Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition)
Final Round (Neue Stimmen)
1st Prize (Maura Dowdall Concerto Competition)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2024/2025 season.
Important parts:
Dido (Dido & Aeneas), Flora (La Traviata), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Popova (The Bear), Endimione (La Calisto), Catherine (A Thing I Cannot Name), Melissa (La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina)
Stages:
Teatro La Fenice, Theater und Orchester Heidelberg, Teatr Wielki Opera, National Opera House Wexford, Cork Opera House, National Concert Hall Dublin
Cooperation with directors:
Marie Lambert-Le Bihan, Noa Naamat, Jean-Romain Vesperini, Pedro Ribiero, Federico Grazzini, Olivia Fuchs, Sonja Trebes
Cooperation with conductors:
Laurent Wagner, Roland Kluttig, Jonathan Santagada, Jonathan Bloxham, Wyn Davies, Christian Curnyn, Fergus Sheil, Killian Farrel, David Brophy, Jonathan Cole-Swinard
photo: Jörn Kipping
3. Knappe
Ziad Nehme
Tenor
Birthplace:
Tripoli, Libanon
Studies:
Diploma in Singing at the Lebanese National Conservatory in Beirut, Master in Opera at the University Mozarteum Salzburg
Master classes:
with Siegfried Jerusalem, Kurt Moll, Barbara Bonney, Andrew Watts, Marjana Lipovsek
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from 2008/09 to 2009/10
Important parts:
Conte Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Arbace (Arbace), Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Camille de Rosillon (Die lustige Witwe), Boni (Die Csárdásfürstin), Male Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia), Schwan (Carmina Burana), Nerone (Agrippina), Oronte (Alcina), Truffaldino (Die Liebe zu drei Orangen), Marquis (Spieler), 1. Jude (Salome), et al.; zeitgenössisches Repertoire: Uraufführungen Esame di mezzanotte (Lucia Ronchetti), L’ombre de Venceslao (Martin Matalon), Anoia (Gordon Kampe) sowie Werke von Brett Dean, Giacinto Scelsi, Georges Aperghis
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Nationaltheater Mannheim, Staatstheater Kassel, Stadttheater Bremerhaven, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, Theater Kiel, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Staatstheater Mainz, Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Opéra de Marseille, Opéra de Montpellier, Opéra de Rennes, Opéra de Marseilles, Opéra de Reims, Göteborg Konserthuset, Teatro Real Madrid, Shanghai Grand Theatre, Philharmonie de Paris, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Berliner Philharmonie, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Hans Neuenfels, Tatjana Gürbaca, Achim Freyer, Lydia Steier, Harry Kupfer, Tilman Knabe, Sasha Waltz, Markus Bothe, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev, Simone Young, Dan Ettinger, Kent Nagano, Alessandro De Marchi, Lorenzo Viotti, Alexander Soddy, Stefan Soltesz, Barbara Hannigan, et al.
photo: Kartal Karagedik
4. Knappe
Mziwamadoda Sipho Nodlayiya
Tenor
Birthplace:
Cape Town, South Africa
Studies:
Postgraduate Diploma in Opera Performance (2023), Diploma in Opera Performance (2021)
Master class:
Martin Hundelt – Johannesburg International Mozart festival (2024)
Levy Sekagapane - Opera UCT Masterclass Series (2023)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2024/25
Important parts:
Camille, Count de Rosillon (The Merry Widow), Hendrik Cesars (Sara Baartman), Cochenille (Le Conte d’Hoffmann, Bertrando (L’inganno felice), Ernesto (don Pasquale)
Stages:
Artscape Opera House, Pam Golding/Baxter Theatre
Cooperation with directors:
Steven Stead, Matthew Wild, Claudia Blersch, Christine Nolte, Janice Honeyman, Zenobia Kloppers
Cooperation with conductors:
Jeremy Silver, Kamal Khan, Richard Cock, Jochen Rieder
photo: Jörn Kipping
Blumenmädchen I, 1
Yeonjoo Katharina Jang
Soprano
Birthplace:
South Korea
Studies:
Bachelor's degree in singing at Seoul National University
Master's degree in opera singing at the Franz Liszt University of Music Weimar
Relation to the Staatsoper Hamburg:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera 2022/23 and 2023/24
Important parts:
Susanna/Barbarina (Le Nozze di Figaro), Queen of the Night/First Lady/Papagena (The Magic Flute), Giannetta (L'elisir d'amore), Gilda (Rigoletto), Olympia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann), Thibault (Don Carlos), Ciboulette (Ciboulette), et al.
Stages:
Hamburg State Opera, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Landestheater Neustrelitz, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Seollyeon Konwitschny-Lee, Sascha-Alexander Todtner, Vladislav Parapanov, Stephan Witzlinger, Roman Hovenbitzer, Christian Weise, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Stefan Lano, Paolo Arrivabeni, Mark Wigglesworth, Matteo Beltrami, Daniel Geiss, Leo Hussain, Louis Lohraseb, Nicolas Andre, Volker Krafft, Yoel Gamzou, et al.
photo: Sangdon Lee
Blumenmädchen 1,2
Hongping Ruan
Soprano
Birthplace:
Hangzhou, China
Studies:
Studies singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg
Prizes:
1st prize at the “Mozart Prize Competition 2023” of the Absalom Foundation
2nd prize at the “Elise Meyer Singing Competition 2023” of the Elise Meyer Foundation
3rd song duo prize and special prize for song duo at the “Gustav Mahler Competition 2024” of the ROCHNA Foundation
1st prize at the “International singing Competition Lav Mirski” 2024 in Croatia
Important parts:
Frasquita (Carmen)
Stages:
Shenzhen Dance & Opera Theatre
Cooperations with directors:
Petra Deidda, Robin Guarino
Cooperations with conductors:
Vladimir Conta
photo: Taizhi Shao
Blumenmädchen I. 3
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.
photo: Christoph Ziegler
Blumenmädchen II. 1
Na'ama Shulman
Soprano
Birthplace:
Israel
Studies:
Bachelor (with honors) and Master of Music in Classical Singing at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance
Prizes:
Second Prize at the International Opera Competition in Jerusalem (2018), First Prize at the Charles Schneider Competition (2017), First Prize at the Tavor-Fintz Memorial Competition (2016)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from 2018/19 till 2019/20
Important parts:
Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Musetta (La bohème), Clorinda (La Cenerentola), Despina (Così fan tutte), Servilia (La clemena di Tito), Najade (Ariadne auf Naxos), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), Juliette (Die tote Stadt), Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Diana (Orpheus in der Unterwelt), Bacchis (La belle Hélène), 2. Niece (Peter Grimes), Lidochka (Moscow, Tscherjomuschki), et al.
Stages:
Staatsoper Hamburg, Theater Magdeburg, Staatstheater Mainz, The Jerusalem Opera, Piccolo Opera Festival Friuli Venezia Giulia, Jerusalem Theatre, Tel Aviv Museum of Art, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Kirill Serebrennikov, Vera Nemirova, Olivia Fuchs, Stephen Lawless, Karen Stone, Igor Pison, Mirella Weingarten, Ulrich Wiggers, Shirit Lee Weiss, Anna Bernreitner, Eva Buchmann, Monica Waitzfelder, Ari Teperberg, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Nagano, Paolo Carignani, Nathan Brock, Ricardo Minasi, Roland Kluttig, Christoph Gedschold, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Matteo Beltrami, Anna Skryleva, Svetoslav Borisov, Sebastiano Rolli, Pablo Mielgo, Paolo Spadaro, et al.
Cooperation with orchestras:
Magdeburgische Philharmonie, Ramat Gan Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Simfònica De Les Illes Balears, Ashdod Symphony Orchestra, Israel NK Orchestra, Concerto Hamburg, et al.
Blumenmädchen II. 2
Gabriele Rossmanith
Soprano
Birthplace:
Stuttgart, Germany
Studies:
Violin studies at the Musikhochschule Trossingen, vocal studies with Sylvia Geszty at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart; Ks. Brigitte Eisenfeld (Studium)
Prizes:
1st Prize Mozartfestwettbewerb (1985), honored by the Hamburg Senate with the title of “Hamburger Kammersängerin” (2011)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera from 1988 to 2022 and Artistic Director of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since season 2020/21
Important parts:
Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Blanche (Dialogues des Carmélites), Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), Despina (Così fan tutte), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Micaëla (Carmen), Morgana (Alcina), Oscar (Un Ballo in Maschera), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Nedda (I Pagliacci), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Anne Truelove (The Rake’s Progress), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Musetta (La Bohème), Sophie/Marianne Leitmetzerin (Der Rosenkavalier), Woglinde/Wellgunde (Das Rheingold), Ortlinde (Die Walküre), Hanna Glawari (Die lustige Witwe), Clorinda (La Cenerentola), Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos), Blumenmädchen (Parsifal), Fortuna/Giunone (Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria), Vierte Magd (Elektra), szenischer Liederabend (Schumann und Schönberg), et al.
Stages:
Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe (1985-88), guest engagements in Munich, Antwerp, Brussels, Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Glyndebourne Festival, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Willy Decker, Christof Loy, Guy Joosten, Harry Kupfer, Bob Wilson, Marco Arturo Marelli, Peter Konwitschny, Renaud Doucet, Achim Freyer, Calixto Bieito, John Dew, Vera Nemirova, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Horst Stein, Christian Thielemann, Donald Runnicles, Michel Plasson, Sir Antonio Pappano, Robin Ticciatti, Silvio Varviso, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Ivor Bolton, Kirill Petrenko, Gerd Albrecht, Ingo Metzmacher, Simone Young, Kent Nagano, et al.
photo: Jörn Kipping
Blumenmädchen II. 3
Marta Świderska
Mezzo-Soprano
Origin:
Poland
Studies:
Bachelor’s degree in Singing at the Karol Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice in Poland with Dr. Pawel Sobierajski, Master’s degree in Singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main with Professor Thomas Heyer
Master class:
with B. Fassbender, C. Lehmann, U. Finazzi, I. Bogacheva, P. Esswood, Ingrid Kremling, Wieslaw Ochman, et al.
Prizes:
Second prize in the Jan Kiepura Singing Competition in Sosnowiec in Poland, first prize and the Grand Prix in Vocal Competition „Impressio Art“ “ in Sopot in Poland, participation with honors in the Third Singing Competition „J.E.J.Reszków“ in Czestochowa in Poland, second prize and special prize for the best mezzosoprano in the Second International Giulio Perotti Singing Competition in Ückermunde in Germany, et al.
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera (2015/16-2016/17)
Important parts:
Erda (Siegfried), Baba the Turk (The Rake’s progress), Dora S. (Benjamin), Marthe (Faust), Filipiewna and Olga (Eugene Onegin), 3. Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Brigitta (Die tote Stadt), Eine Theatergarderobiere (Lulu), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Baltic Opera, Oper Leipzig, Komische Oper Berlin, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Michael Thalheimer, Jette Steckel, Katharina Thalbach, Christoph Marthaler, Yona Kim, Paul Esterhazy, Linus Fellbom, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Nagano, George Jackson, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Renato Palumbo, Anthony Bramall, Riccardo Minasi, Gregor Bühl, Volker Krafft, Josep Caballé Domenech, Christoph Gedschold, Alexander Joel, Philipp Pointner, Péter Halász, Alexander Vedernikov, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, Tadeusz Kozlowski, Peter Ruzicka, et al.
photo: Cyrus Allear
Stimme aus der Höhe
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.
photo: Christoph Ziegler
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.
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