Cast

Director

Andreas Kriegenburg

Birthplace:
Magdeburg, Germany

Studies:
Apprenticeship as a model carpenter

Prizes:
Europe Prize Theatrical Realities (2016), Faust-Theaterpreis (2008 & 2009), Nestroy-Theaterpreis (2005), Bayrischer Theaterpreis (1997)

Important productions:
"Diebe" (Deutsches Theater Berlin, 2010), "Prinz Friedrich von Homburg", "Das letzte Feuer" (Thalia Theater, 2008), "Der Prozess" (Münchner Kammerspiele, 2008), "Drei Schwestern" (Münchner Kammerspiele, 2006), "Niebelungen" (Münchner Kammerspiele, 2004), "Orestie" (Münchner Kammerspiele, 2002), et al.

Career stages:
House director at the Deutsches Theater Berlin (2009-2014), head director at the Thalia Theater Hamburg (2001-2009), house director at the Burgtheater Vienna (1999-2001), house director at the Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover (1997-1999), permanent director at the Berliner Volksbühne (1991-1996), assistant director at the Gerhart-Hauptmann-Theater Zittau and Frankfurt (Oder) (1984-1991), et al.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Andreas Kriegenburg

Conductor

Yoel Gamzou

Birthplace:
New York, USA

Masterclasses:
Conductor Winston Dan Vogel, Carlo Maria Giulini

Prizes:
Special Prize International Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition, ECHO Klassik Award emerging artist of the year “conductor” (2017), Princess Margriet Award of the European Cultural Foundation (2013), Berenberg Culture Prize (2012)

Important productions:
Lady Macbeth of Mzensk, Tosca, Der Rosenkavalier, Seven Deaths of Maria Callas, et al.

Stages:
Theater Bremen, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra National de Paris, Teatro San Carlo Neaples, Greek National Nopera Athen, Göteborgsoperan Sweden, Den Norske Opera Oslo, Staatstheater Kassel, Wiener Staatsoper, et al.

Career stages:
Generalmusicconductor of the Theater Bremen (since 2017/18), Artistic Director and Principal Conductor (2016), Principal Guest Conductor and Erster Kapellmeister of Staatstheater Kassel (2015), Former of the International Mahler Orchestra (2006)

Cooperation with orchestra:
Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Norwegian Radio Orchestar, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Bamberger Symphoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, Frankfurter Museumsorchester, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Hamburger Symphoniker, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen, Sinfonieorchester Aachen, Jena Philharmonie, Saarländisches Staatsorchester, Szczecin Philharmonic, Malaysian Philharmonic, Israel Philharmonic, et al.

Find further information about Yoel Gamzou here.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Christian Debus

Stage design

Harald B. Thor

Studies:
Stage and costume design at Mozarteum Salzburg

Prizes:
Austrian theatre prize „Nestroy“ for stage design for „Wassa Schelesnowa“ (2016), German theatre prize „Der Faust“ for best stage design for „Die Soldaten“ (Bayerische Staatsoper, 2015), et al.

Important productions:
"Platée" (Gothenburg Opera 2024) "Powder Her Face" (Semperoper Dresden 2023) "Wozzeck" (Valencia Opera 2022) "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" (Salzburg Whitsun Festival 2022 and Monte Carlo Opera 2023) "Fidelio" (Gran Teatro Havana 2020) "Babylon" (Berlin State Opera, 2019), "Snow Queen" (Munich State Opera 2019) "Les Huguenots" (Opéra National de Paris, 2018), "Die Frau ohne Schatten" (Hamburg State Opera, 2017), "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" and "Simone Boccanegra" (Salzburg Summer Festival, 2017 and 2019), "Satyricon" (Salzburg Easter Festival 2018), "Die Soldaten" (Bavarian State Opera, 2014), "Rigoletto" (New National Theatre Tokyo, 2013), "Der Ring des Nibelungen" (Bavarian State Opera, 2012), "Othello" (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2010), "Wozzeck" (Bavarian State Opera, 2008), et al.

Career stages:
Design director and set designer at the Bavarian State Opera, set designer and lecturer at the Bavarian Theater Academy, scenic art supervisor for Walt Disney Productions, architect of concert halls and exhibitions (including the New Concert Hall at the Prinzregententheater, Geneva Motor Showroom, Vienna Theater Museum, Erfurt World of Temptations Foundation), et al.

Stages:
Theaters in Berlin, Frankfurt, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Zurich and Vienna, opera houses in Munich, Berlin, Dresden, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Vienna, Basel, Gothenburg, Paris, Toulouse, Barcelona, Valencia, Havana, Seoul and Tokyo, Summer Festival, Whitsun Festival and Easter Festival in Salzburg, et al.

Cooperations:
Andreas Kriegenburg, David Bösch, Rolando Villazon, Georg Schmiedleitner, Andreas Baesler, Stefan Huber, Kurt Horres, Christine Mielitz, Vera Nemirova, Max Simonischek, et al.

Find further information about Harald B. Thor here.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

Costume designer

Andrea Schraad

Andrea Schraad wurde 1973 in Dinklage geboren. Sie absolvierte ihr Kostümbildstudium bei Prof. Maren Christensen an der Fachhochschule für Design und Medien in Hannover. Ab 2000 wurde sie zunächst als feste Kostümassistentin, dann als Atelierleiterin und feste Kostümbildnerin am Thalia Theater in Hamburg engagiert. In dieser Zeit begann ihre langjährige Zusammenarbeit mit dem Regisseur Andreas Kriegenburg.

In neun Jahren am Thalia Theater Hamburg entstanden zahlreiche gemeinsame Schauspielarbeiten mit Andreas Kriegenburg. In der Spielzeit 2006/2007 arbeitete sie zusammen mit Kriegenburg erstmals an den Münchner Kammerspielen. Für ihre dortige Leistung bei der Inszenierung der „Drei Schwestern“ von Anton Tschechow wurde sie in der Kritikerum frage der Zeitschrift Theater heute als Kostümbildnerin des Jahres ausgezeichnet und bekam den renommierten Theaterpreis „Der Faust“ verliehen.

Weitere Schauspielarbeiten mit Kriegenburg entstanden am Deutschen Theater Berlin, an den Kammerspielen München, am Schauspiel Dresden, am Schauspiel Frankfurt, am Residenztheater München, bei den Salzburger Festspielen und am Burgtheater Wien.

Für Andreas Kriegenburgs Opernproduktionen (u. a. Glucks „Orpheus und Eurydike“, Theater Magdeburg; Verdis „Otello“, Deutsche Oper Berlin; Händels „Orlando“, Mozarts „Cosi fan tutte”, Semperoper Dresden; Piazzollas „Maria de Buenos Aires”, Theater Bremen; Bergs „Wozzeck“, Wagners „Der Ring des Nibelungen“ und Zimmermanns „Die Soldaten“, Bayerische Staatsoper) entwarf Andrea Schraad ebenfalls die Kostüme. 2009 erhielt sie zusammen mit ihm für die Ausstattung der Inszenierung „Der Prozess“ nach Kafka an den Münchner Kammerspielen abermals den Faust-Preis.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

Light

Andreas Grüter

Birthplace:
Lucerne, Switzerland

Studies:
Studied lighting design at the Bavarian Theater Academy August Everding in Munich

Important productions:
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Bayreuth Festival), Moses und Aron (Vienna State Opera), Elektra (Vienna State Opera), Rusalka (Frankfurt Opera), Le vin herbé (Ruhrtriennale), Leila und Madschnun (Ruhrtriennale), Tristan und Isolde (Ruhrtriennale), Simon Boccanegra (Salzburg Festival), Die Hugenotten (Opera Bastille in Paris), et al.

Career stages:
Head of lighting at the Cologne Opera (since 2010)
Between 1991 and 1998 lighting technician at the Lucerne Theater

Cooperations:
Joachim Schlömer, Katharina Wagner, Willy Decker, Andreas Kriegenburg, et al.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Paul Leclaire

Dramaturge

Angela Beuerle

Origin:
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Studies:
Musicology, German and Scandinavian Studies, University of Hamburg; doctorate (Dr. phil.) with a thesis on medieval language theory

Career stages:
Freelance dramaturge for music theatre (since 2014), teaching at the theatre academy of the HfMT Hamburg (since 2014), dramaturge for music theatre at Staatstheater Stuttgart (2006-2014), freelance artistic participation at Hamburgische Staatsoper, Ruhrtriennale (until 2006); publishes regularly in the fields of opera, concert, music and literature

Cooperations:
Peter Konwitschny, La fura dels baus, Joachim Schlömer, Igor Bauersima, Yona Kim, Thomas Bischoff, Markus Dietz, Calixto Bieito, Andrea Moses, Jossi Wieler/Sergio Morabito, Lydia Steier, Philipp Himmelmann, u. a.

Performances

• La clemenza di Tito
• Der Freischütz
• Ariadne auf Naxos
• Die dunkle Seite des Mondes
• Frühlings Erwachen

Choreography

Volker Michl

Birthplace:
Tirschenreuth, Germany

Studies:
Stage dance and dance pedagogy Iwanson International School of Contemporary Dance and Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung Munich

Important productions:
- Tristan and Isolde (2008), Zurich Opera House, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf
- Trouble in Tahiti (2009), Munich State Opera
- Les Contes d'Hoffmann (2010), Zurich Opera House
- Der Ferne Klang (2010), Zurich Opera House
- I Masnadieri (2010), Zurich Opera House
- Parsifal (2011), Zurich Opera House, Liceu Opera Barcelona, Teatro Real Madrid, Nikikai
Opera Foundation Tokyo
- Lohengrin (2012), Teatro Alla Scala Milan, Opéra Bastille Paris
- Arabella (2014), Festspielhaus Salzburg, Semperoper Dresden
- Food makes you warm and money makes you sensual (2016), Deutsches Theater Munich
- West Side Story (2018), Staatstheater Kassel
- Les Mamelles de Tirésias (2019), Reaktorhalle Munich
- Operetta (2019), Schauspielhaus Kassel
- Rigoletto (2019), Glyndebourne Festival Opera
- Candide (2020), Staatstheater Kassel
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (2020), Prinzregententheater Munich
- The Magic Flute (2021), Salzburg State Theater
- Working (2021), Bavarian Theater Academy August Everding
- Two Ties (2022), Dresden State Operetta
- Twelfth Night (2022), Prinzregententheater Munich
- Le Siège de Corinth (2023), Theater Erfurt
- Evita (2023), Theater Magdeburg

Career stages:
Freelance dancer and dance teacher (since 1996), freelance choreographer for dance, drama and musical theater (since 2008), lecturer at the Iwanson International School of Contemporary Dance (since 1996),
Lecturer at the Otto Falckenberg School (since 2012), lecturer at the Bavarian Theater Academy August Everding (since 2014)

Cooperations:
Claus Guth, Schorsch Kamerun, Grischa Asagaroff, Jens-Daniel Herzog, Guy Joosten,
Florentine Klepper, Frieder Kranz, Philipp Rosendahl, Balázs Kovalik, Christiane Lutz,
Olivier Tambosi, April Hailer, Matthias Reichwald, Stefan Huber, Markus Dietz, Andreas Kriegenburg, et al.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Volker Michl

Associate Chorus Master

Christian Günther

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.

Performances

• Carmen
• Tosca
• Don Giovanni
• Der Freischütz
• Luisa Miller
• La Bohème
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• Manon
• Eugene Onegin
• Les Contes d'Hoffmann
• Don Pasquale
• Rigoletto
• La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)
• Il trovatore
• Falstaff
• La Traviata
• Parsifal
• Pique Dame
• Die dunkle Seite des Mondes
• Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
• Le Nozze di Figaro
• Così fan tutte

Baritone

Andrzej Dobber

Origin:
Poland

Studies:
Piano, organ and singing at Staatliche Hochschule in Krakau, scholarship holder at Nürnberger Konservatorium

Prizes:
Appointed Hamburger Kammersänger by the Senate of the Hanseatic City of Hamburg (2015), awarded the Gloria Artis Medal 2013 by the Polish Ministry of Culture, awarded the Fryderyk Statuette by the Polish Record Industry (2013)

Important parts:
Amonasro (Aida), Giorgio Germont (La traviata), Francesco (I due Foscari), Ezio (Attila), Scarpia (Tosca), Jack Rance (La fanciulla del West), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Nabucco, Simone Boccanegra, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Falstaff, Prince Igor, the Dutchman (Der fliegende Holländer), Tomski (Pique Dame), Jochanaan (Salome), Barak (Die Frau ohne Schatten), Don Pizarro (Fidelio), Amfortas (Parsifal), et al.

Stages:
Royal Opera House London, Royal Albert Hall London, Opéra national de Paris, Opéra national du Capitole in Toulous, Opéra National de Lyon, La Monnaie in Brussels, De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Palau de les Arts in Valencia, Teatro alla Scala Milan, Teatro Comunale di Firenze, Opernhaus Zürich, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper München, Staatsoper Hamburg, Semperoper Dresden, Oper Leipzig, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Komische Oper Berlin, Deutsch Oper am Rhein, TWON Warsaw, Mariinsky-Theater St. Petersburg, Metropolitan Opera in New York, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Vancouver Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile, NNT Tokyo, Aichi Prefectural Art Theatre Nagoya, Hong Kong Opera, Glyndebourne, Savonlinna Opera Festival, Orange Opera Festival, Arena di Verona, et al.

Cooperation with directors:
Lev Dodin, Vincent Boussard, Charles Roubaud, David Bösch, Georges Delnon, Katharina Thalbach, Harry Kupfer, Eimuntas Nekrošius, Andreas Homoki, Franco Zeffirelli, Willy Decker, Robert Wilson, Richard Jones, Achim Freyer, Nicolas Lenhof, et al.

Cooperation with conductors:
Christian Thielemann, Semyon Bychkov, Carlo Montanaro, Lawrence Foster, John Fiore, Omer Meir Wellber, Simone Young, Leonardo Sini, Jordi Bernàcer, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Riccardo Chailly, Lorin Maazel, Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Vladimir Jurowski, Mikhail Jurowski, Kirill Petrenko, Sir Colin Davis, Sir Roger Norrington, Gary Bertini, Pinchas Steinberg, Renato Palumbo, Kazushi Ono, Daniel Barenboim, Myung-Whun Chung, Daniele Rustioni, Stefano Ranzani, Carlo Rizzi, Fabio Luisi, Antoni Wit, Kent Nagano, Dan Ettinger, et al.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Andrzej Swietlik

Bass

Hubert Kowalczyk

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.

Find further information about Hubert Kowalczyk here.

Performances

• Der Freischütz
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• Rigoletto
• Il trovatore
• Parsifal
• Salome

photo: Martina Cyman

Julia Kleiter

Birthplace:
Dernbach/Westerwald, Germany

Studies:
Singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg with Prof. William Workman and singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Prof. Klesie Kelly-Moog

Important parts:
Feldmarschallin (Rosenkavalier), Eva (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Agathe (Der Freischütz), Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro), Donna Elvira and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Ilia (Idomeneo), Rosalinde (Fledermaus), Lisa (Das Land des Lächelns), Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice), et al.

Stages:
Zurich Opera House, Semperoper Dresden, Bavarian State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro Real Madrid, Teatro la Fenice, Teatro alla Scala, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Salzburg Festival, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Edinburgh Festival, Opéra Bastille, Théâtre la Monnaie in Brussels, Vienna Musikverein, Elbphilharmonie, Concertgebouw, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Berlin Philharmonie Cologne, et al.

Cooperation with directors:
Stefan Herheim, Andrea Moses, Andreas Homoki, Peter Stein, Jens-Daniel Herzog, Sven-Eric Bechtholf, Robert Wilson, Martin Kusej, Guy Joosten, Tobias Moretti, Robert Carsen, Pina Bausch, et al.

Cooperation with conductors:
Stefan Herheim, Andrea Moses, Andreas Homoki, Peter Stein, Jens-Daniel Herzog, Sven-Eric Bechtholf, Robert Wilson, Martin Kusej, Guy Joosten, Tobias Moretti, Robert Carsen, Pina Bausch, among others.Collaboration with conductors:Christian Thielemann, Fabio Luisi, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Giovanni Antonini, Zubin Metha, Daniel Harding, Phillipe Jordan, Thomas Hengelbrock, Philippe Herreweghe, Andris Nelsons, Semyon Bychkov, Herbert Blomstedt, Daniel Barenboim, Donald Runnicles, Franz-Welser Möst, Marc Minkowski, Helmut Rilling, Jeffrey Tate, Ivor Bolton, Marek Janowski, Ingo Metzmacher, et al.

Find further information about Julia Kleiter here.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Frank Schumann

Soprano

Alina Wunderlin

Birthplace:
Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Studies:
Musicology in Frankfurt, singing and vocal pedagogy with Rudolf Piernay and Snežana Stamenković at the Mannheim University of Music
2018 to 2020 Member of the International Opera Studio of the Cologne Opera

Prizes:
Laureate of the Paula Salomon Lindberg Competition Berlin (2017), winner of the special prize for opera at the Concours International de Chant Marmande, France (2018)

Important parts:
Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Rossignol (Stravinsky), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Waldvogel (Siegfried), et al.

Stages:
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Teatro Real, Oper Dortmund, Volksoper Vienna, Komische Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf, Tonhalle Zurich, Isarphilharmonie Munich,
Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz Munich, Deutschlandfunk Cologne, KKL Lucerne, Stadtcasino Basel, Philharmonie Berlin, Cologne Opera, et al.

Cooperations with directors:
Lydia Steier, Josef E. Köpplinger, Ben Baur, Michael Hampe, Peter Konwitschny, Christiane Lutz, Jean Renshaw, Christian von Götz, Kirsten Uttendorf and Alexandra Liedtke, et al.

Cooperations with conductors:
Marc Minkowski, Philippe Herreweghe, Paavo Järvi, Rainer Mühlbach, Leslie Suganandarajah, Gabriel Venzago, Gabriel Feltz, Rubén Dubrovsky, et al.

Find further information about Alina Wunderlin here.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Sylviane Brauer

Johan Reuter

Zu den Opernplänen des dänischen Bass-Baritons zählen 2016 u.a. „Il Tabarro“ und „Gianni Schicchi“ in Kopenhagen, Enescus „Oedipe“ in London und „Der fliegende Holländer“ in Hamburg, München, Kopenhagen und Helsinki geplant. 2017 stehen u.a. „Dead Man Walking“ in Kopenhagen, Elektra in München und Henzes Elegie für junge Liebende am Theater an der Wien auf seinem Programm.

In Kopenhagen wird er Mahlers „Kindertotenlieder“ und „Des Knaben Wunderhorn“, in Lyon Faurés Requiem singen. Johan Reuter studierte an der Königlichen Musikakademie und an der Akademie der Königlichen Oper seiner Heimatstadt Kopenhagen und nahm an Meisterkursen von Ernst Haefliger, von Anthony Rolfe Johnson und Richard Trimborn teil. Seit 1996 ist er Ensemblemitglied der Oper von Kopenhagen, wo ein breites Repertoire singt. Zu den wichtigsten Produktionen der letzten Jahre zählen „Lulu“ an der Metropolitan Opera in New York und in Kopenhagen, Maskarade konzertant in Amsterdam und szenisch in Kopenhagen, „Die Walküre“ in Toronto, „Die Frau ohne Schatten“ in London, Berlin und Zürich, „Tosca“ und „Cavalleria rusticana/I Pagliacci“ in Kopenhagen, „Der fliegende Holländer“ in Kopenhagen, Berlin und Madrid, „Nabucco“ an der Deutschen Oper Berlin, Braunfels‘ „Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna“ konzertant bei den Salzburger Festspielen, halbszenische Aufführungen „Wozzeck“ unter Esa-Pekka Salonen in Dortmund und Los Angeles, „Vec Makropulos“ in New York unter Jiri Belohlavek und bei den Salzburger Festspielen unter Esa-Pekka Salonen, Wotan in „Das Rheingold“ in München unter Kent Nagano, in Berlin und bei den Bayreuther Festspielen unter Christian Thielemann, „Das Rheingold“ und „Siegfried“ unter Adam Fischer in Budapest, „Tristan und Isolde“ konzertant in Berlin unter Marek Janowski, „Die Zarenbraut“ unter Mark Elder, Theseus in der Uraufführung von Harrison Birtwistles „The Minotaur“, „Elektra“, „Salome“ und „Wozzeck“ (Warner/ Harding) in London, „Arabella“ in Wien, „The Rake’s progress“ unter Christopher Hogwood und Gurlitts „Wozzeck“ in Madrid, „Le Nozze di Figaro“ am Theater an der Wien und in Berlin, „Macbeth“ in Lissabon, „Zaide“ und „Alceste“ unter Ivor Bolton bei den Salzburger Festspielen, Schischkov in Janaceks „Aus einem Totenhaus“ unter Marc Albrecht in Paris und Madrid, „Wozzeck“ in Essen (Schaaf/Soltesz), „Don Giovanni“ in Frankfurt, „Le Nozze di Figaro“, Leporello in „Don Giovanni“, Kothner in „Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg“ (Konwitschny/ Metzmacher) und Guglielmo in „Così fan tutte“ in Hamburg.

Auf dem Konzertpodium sang er Haydns „Schöpfung“ und „Die Jahreszeiten“, Mahlers 8. Symphonie, „Rückert-Lieder“ und „Das klagende Lied“, Beethovens 9. Symphonie, Brahms‘ „Vier ernste Gesänge“ in der Orchesterversion von Glanert und Brahms‘ „Ein deutsches Requiem“, Mozarts „Requiem“, Berlioz‘ „Romeo et Juliette“, „Peer Gynt“, Michelangelo Lieder von Schostakowitsch in Amsterdam, Berlin, London, Athen, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Brüssel, Florenz, Pisa, Perugia, Madrid, Lissabon, Thessaloniki, Aarhus, bei den Salzburger und Bregenzer Festspielen unter Dirigenten wie Marc Albrecht, Semyon Bychkov, Paul MacCreesh, Valeri Gergiev, Leopold Hager, Philippe Herreweghe, Marek Janowski, Zubin Mehta, Marc Minkowski, Kazushi Ono, Michael Schønwandt oder Lothar Zagrosek.
Er gab Liederabende in Kopenhagen, München, Hannover, Bergen und Madrid.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

Tenor

Maximilian Schmitt

Birthplace:
Regensburg, Deutschland

Studies:
Vocal studies with Prof. Anke Eggers at the Berlin University of the Arts, Munich Opera Studio

Important parts:
Idomeneo, Tamino (The Magic Flute), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Florestan (Fidelio), Max (Der Freischütz), Erik (The Flying Dutchman), Siegmund (Die Walküre), et al.

Stages:
Amsterdam Opera, Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg, Vienna State Opera, La Scala in Milan, Cologne Opera, Opéra de Dijon, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Heidelberger Frühling, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Musikverein Vienna, Cologne Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall in London, et al.

Cooperations with conductors:
Marc Albrecht, Zubin Mehta, François Xavier Roth, Franz Welser-Möst, Claudio Abbado, Kirill Petrenko, Teodor Currentzis, Daniel Harding, Jacub Hrusa, Jonathan Nott, Manfred Honeck, Philippe Herreweghe, Thomas Hengelbrock, Fabio Luisi, Trevor Pinnock, René Jacobs and Robin Ticciati, Kent Nagano, et al.

Find further information about Maximilian Schmitt here.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Christian Kargl

Actor

Clemens Sienknecht

The musician, actor and director Clemens Sienknecht was born in 1964 in
Hamburg.
A degree in teaching and various attempts to become rich and famous with rock bands
led him to the theater. Since 1993, he has worked continuously in
collaboration with Christoph Marthaler.
Together with Barbara Bürk, he developed the format series "... albeit with
a different text and a different melody", which has been performed at the Schauspielhaus Hamburg with editions of "Effi Briest", "Anna Karenina" and "Die Nibelungen" and will be continued in February 2025 with "Kabale und Liebe".
Further productions have been staged in Basel, Berlin, Bochum, Dresden, Düsseldorf,
Hanover, Cologne and Zurich.

Performances

• Der Freischütz

photo: Katja Strempel

Bass

Han Kim

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

Performances

• Carmen
• Tosca
• Der Freischütz
• La Bohème
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• Manon
• La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)
• Parsifal

photo: Johannes Xaver Zepplin

Baritone

William Desbiens

Birthplace:
Québec City, Canada

Studies:
Bachelor in voice. Mannes School of Music in New York, Mascarade Emerging artist program

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

Find further information about William Desbiens here.

Performances

• Jubiläumsgala: 30 Jahre Internationales Opernstudio
• Elektra
• Der Freischütz
• Les Contes d'Hoffmann
• Eugene Onegin
• Rigoletto
• La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)
• La Traviata
• Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
• Konzert des Internationalen Opernstudios

photo: Jörn Kipping

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.

Performances

• Rathausmarkt Open Air
• Hamburg Theatre Night
• Trionfi
• Carmen
• Tosca
• La clemenza di Tito
• Der Freischütz
• La Bohème
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• Der fliegende Holländer
• Les Contes d'Hoffmann
• Eugene Onegin
• Don Pasquale
• Maria Stuarda
• La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)
• Il trovatore
• Falstaff
• La Traviata
• Pique Dame
• Die dunkle Seite des Mondes
• Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
• Così fan tutte

photo: Niklas Marc Heinecke

Orchestra

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

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.

Performances

• Rathausmarkt Open Air
• 1st Academy Concert - Program I
• 1st Academy Concert - Program II
• 1st Academy Concert - Program III
• 4th Academy Concert
• Trionfi
• Carmen
• The Times Are Racing
• 1st Philharmonic Concert
• Kannst du pfeifen, Johanna
• Boris Godunov
• Special chamber concert
• Tosca
• Jubiläumsgala: 30 Jahre Internationales Opernstudio
• La clemenza di Tito
• Orchesterprobenbesuch
• 2nd Philharmonic Concert
• Don Giovanni
• Jane Eyre
• 3rd Philharmonic Concert
• Elektra
• Der Freischütz
• Luisa Miller
• La Bohème
• Slow Burn
• 4th Philharmonic Concert
• Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• The Nutcracker
• New Year's Eve concert
• Der fliegende Holländer
• 5th Philharmonic Concert
• THE ART OF Lise Davidsen
• Despot
• Ariadne auf Naxos
• Manon
• 6th Philharmonic Concert
• Les Contes d'Hoffmann
• Mitridate, re di Ponto
• Eugene Onegin
• 7th Philharmonic Concert
• PhiSch - das Staatsorchester hautnah...
• Don Pasquale
• Rigoletto
• Maria Stuarda
• La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)
• Il trovatore
• Falstaff
• 8th Philharmonic Concert
• La Traviata
• The Odyssey
• Parsifal
• Pique Dame
• Opening concert of the Hamburg International Music Festival
• Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank
• Romeo and Juliet
• Die dunkle Seite des Mondes
• Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
• 9th Philharmonic Concert
• Salome
• National Youth Ballet
• Nijinsky
• Frühlings Erwachen
• Così fan tutte
• Le Nozze di Figaro
• 10th Philharmonic Concert
• Demian
• Nijinsky Gala L

photo: Foto: Felix Broede