Cast

Conductor and composer

Johannes Harneit

Birthplace:
Hamburg, Germany

Studies:
Composition and music theory with György Ligeti at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Conducting with Klauspeter Seibel at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, Assistance with Sergiu Celibidache in München

Prizes and scholarships:
1st prize “Internationaler Kompositionswettbewerb Hitzacker” (1986), composition scholarship Schloss Solitude Stuttgart (one-year scholarship 1990), “Composer in Residence” festival “Spannungen” in Heimbach (2000), “Composer in Residence” festival “Heidelberger Frühling” Heidelberg (2002), “Performance of the Year” (Opernwelt) for “Al gran sole carico d´amore” by Luigi Nono – musical director/conductor at the Staatsoper Hannover (2003), “Artist in Residence” Cantiere Internationale d´Arte di Montepulciano (2003), “World Premiere of the Year” (Opernwelt) for “i OPAL – Große Oper” by Hans-Joachim Hespos – musical director/conductor at the Staatsoper Hannover (2005), “Komponist für Heidelberg” Theater und Orchester Heidelberg (2014/2015)

Repertoire music theatre / important works:
Lulu / Wozzeck (Alban Berg), Carmen (Georges Bizet), Lucia di Lammermoor (Gaetano Donizetti), König Hirsch (Hans Werner Henze), Die Sache Makropulos (Leoš Janáček), Die lustige Witwe (Franz Lehár), Saint François d´Assise (Oliver Messiaen), Die Krönung der Poppea (Claudio Monteverdi), Don Giovanni / Die Zauberflöte / Entführung aus dem Serail (Wolfgang A. Mozart), Al gran sole carico d´amore / Prometeo (Luigi Nono), Hoffmanns Erzählungen (Jacques Offenbach), La Boheme / Tosca / Madame Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini), L´heure espagnole (Maurice Ravel), Lear (Aribert Reimann), Jakob Lenz (Wolfgang Rihm), Il Barbiere di Siviglia / La Cenerentola (Gioacchino Rossini), Pierrot Lunaire (Arnold Schönberg), Die Fledermaus (Johann Strauss), Salome (Richard Strauss), Eugen Onegin (Pjotr Iljitsch Tschaikowski), Aida / Macbeth / Nabucco / La Traviata / Don Carlos / Ein Maskenball (Giuseppe Verdi), Der fliegende Holländer (Richard Wagner), Die Soldaten (Bernd Alois Zimmermann), et al.

Stages:
Bayerische Staatsoper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Opernhaus Leipzig, Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Staatsoper Hannover, Theater Bremen, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen, Wuppertaler Bühnen, Theater Krefeld Mönchengladbach, Alte Oper Frankfurt, HAU Hebbel am Ufer Berlin, Staatstheater Darmstadt, Theater Heidelberg, Edinburgh International Festival, Theater Basel, Schauspielhaus Zürich, Theater Chur, Nationaltheater Belgrad, Teatro Poliziano Montepulciano, Teatro la Fenice Venedig, Theatro Alighieri Ravenna, Schauspielhaus Graz, et al.

Compositions:
Orchestral works, chamber and vocal music (about 100 compositions) as well as music theatre, chamber operas and 4 major operas: IchundIch (after “IchundIch” by Else Lasker-Schüler, commissioned by the Staatsoper Hamburg, premiere 2019 at the Hamburgische Staatsoper directed by Christian von Treskow, composed 2016–2019), Alice im Wunderland (after “Alice‘s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, commissioned by Theater & Philharmonie Thüringen, premiere 2015 at Theater Gera under the direction of Cornelia Poppe, composed 2012–2015), Abends am Fluss / Zwei Koffer im Keller – ein Opern-Doppelabend (based on texts by Gero Troike, commissioned by Leipzig Opera 2012, premiere 2015 at Heidelberg Theatre directed by Peter Konwitschny, composed 2009–2012), PYM (after “The Narrative of Arthur Gorden Pym of Nantucket” by Edgar Allan Poe, composed 1994–2000)

Collaboration with orchestras and ensembles:
Staatsorchester Darmstadt, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Sinfonietta Leipzig, Staatskapelle Weimar, Philharmonisches Orchester Heidelberg, Niedersächsisches Staatsorchester Hannover, Wuppertaler Sinfonieorchester, Oldenburgisches Staatsorchester, Neue Philharmonie NRW, WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Münchner Kammerorchester, Ensemble Resonanz Hamburg, Scharoun-Ensemble Berlin, Ensemble Modern Frankfurt, Ensemble Oriol Berlin, Ensemble Phönix (Schweiz), Ensemble Zürich (Schweiz), Orchester le phénix (Schweiz), Minnesota Orchestra (USA), Belgrade Symphony Orchestra (Serbien), Rousse Philharmonic Orchestra (Bulgarien), Radiosinfonieorchester Budapest (Ungarn), Cairo Symphony Orchestra (Ägypten), Dänisches Rundfunkorchester Kopenhagen, et al.

Performances

• Bühne frei!

Director

Sascha-Alexander Todtner

Origin:
Austria

Studies:
Genetics and German Studies at the Paris-Lodron-Universität Salzburg as well as MultiMediaArt - Film Studies at the Fachhochschule Salzburg

Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Head stage manager since 2017/18

Important produtions:
Orfeo ed Euridice (Garðabær, 2012), Mefistofele (Bayerische Staatsoper, 2015), Peter Grimes (Theater an der Wien, 2015), Chowanschtschina (De nationale Opera Amsterdam, 2016), Wozzeck (Oper Frankfurt, 2016), Ariodante (Salzburger Pfingstfestspiele und Salzburger Festspiele 2017), et al.

Career stages:
Work experience with Roland Schwab and Christof Loy, assistant director of Christof Loy at the Theater an der Wien, De nationale Opera & Ballet Amsterdam, Oper Frankfurt, Salzburger Pfingstfestspiele and Salzburger Festspiele.
Direction of the revival of past productions at the Salzburger Festspiele (2017)

Performances

• Carmen
• La Bohème
• Bühne frei!
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• Pique Dame
• Così fan tutte

Moderation

Peter Hofbauer

Peter Hofbauer was stage manager at the Hamburg State Opera for 35 years. During this time, he was responsible for everything from the door to the edge of the stage: When does who have to stand where? Which part of the stage turns in which direction? How should the extras enter the stage? He has an answer to all these questions.

Performances

• Bühne frei!

photo: Michael Klaffke

Soprano

Hellen Kwon

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.

Performances

• Elektra
• Bühne frei!
• Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

photo: Martina Cyman

Soprano

Gabriele Rossmanith

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.

Find further information about Gabriele Rossmanith here.

Performances

• Bühne frei!
• 1st chamber concert

photo: Jörn Kipping

Soprano

Olivia Warburton

Birthplace:
Lincolnshire, United Kingdom

Studies:
Royal Academy of Music, London (Bachelor of Music with honours, Master of Arts with distinction, Artist Diploma in Opera studies), Hochschule für Musik und Tanz, Köln (Erasmus MA), Georg Solti Accademia, Tuscany.

Masterclasses:
Anne Sofie von Otter (Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme), Richard Bonynge (Georg Solti Accademia), Barbara Frittoli (Georg Solti Accademia), Rachel Willis-Sørensen (Royal Academy of Music), Florian Boesch (Royal Academy of Music).

Prizes:
Winner of Arthur Bucher Memorial Prize for highest mark in final recital, Prize winner at the 1st International Haydn Competition in Vienna, Finalist in Renata Tebaldi Competition 2022.

Important parts:
Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Euridice (L’anima del Filosofo), Anne Frank (Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank), Teseo (Teseo), Valetto (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Fox (The Cunning Little Vixen), L’enfant (L’enfant et les sortilèges), et al.

Stages:
Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar; Festival d’Aix en Provence; The Grange Festival; Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris; London Handel Festival; Halle Handel Festival; Wigmore Hall, London; Oxford Lieder Festival; The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace; Aldeburgh Festival; Lincoln Centre, New York; Royal Festival Hall, London et al.

Cooperations with directors:
Simon McBurney, Tim Supple, Jack Furness, Jonathan Moore, Kay Kuntze, Martin Duncan, Olivia Fuchs, Oliver Platt.

Cooperations with conductors:
John Adams, Masaaki Suzuki, Jane Glover, Gregor Bühl, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Jan Pascal Tortelier, Finnegan Downie Dear, Laurence Cummings, Victor Jacob, Ruben Gazarian, et al.

Find further information about Olivia Warburton here.

Performances

• Bühne frei!
• Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
• Ariadne auf Naxos
• Falstaff
• Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank

photo: Elena Ramirez

Soprano

Katja Pieweck

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.

Performances

• Elektra
• Bühne frei!
• Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
• Der fliegende Holländer
• Les Contes d'Hoffmann
• Eugene Onegin
• Rigoletto
• Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)

photo: Ida Aldrian

Mezzo-soprano

Renate Spingler

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.

Find further information about Renate Spingler here.

Performances

• Boris Godunov
• Bühne frei!
• La Traviata

Mezzo-soprano

Kristina Stanek

Birthplace:
Krefeld, Germany

Studies:
Master studies with distinction at the Royal Academy of Music, London

Prizes:
Best young singer at the European Music Festival in Rome, Italy; 1st prize at the Mozart Competition in Prague, Czech Republic; 1st prize at the Rotary Music Competition, Germany

Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since season 2020/21

Important parts:
Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), Prinzessin Eboli (Don Carlos), Azucena (Il trovatore), Carmen (Carmen), Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), 2. Norn (Götterdämmerung), Maddalena (Rigoletto), et al.

Stages:
Staatsoper Hamburg, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Theater Basel, et al.

Cooperation with directors:
Hans Neuenfels, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Michael Thalheimer, Lydia Steier, Yuval Sharon, David Bösch, Sebastian Baumgarten, Barbara Frey, et al.

Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Nagano, Christian Thielemann, Marco Armiliato, Philipp Jordan, Antonello Manacorda, Marek Janowski, Ivor Bolton, Marc Albrecht, Giampaolo Bisanti, Axel Kober, Jonathan Darlington, Erik Nielsen, Kristiina Poska, Joana Mallwitz, Titus Engel, Christopher Moulds, Gianluca Capuano, Jonathan Stockhammer, David Parry, Christian Curnyn, Michele Spotti, Thomas Guggeis, et al.

Find further information about Kristina Stanek here.

Performances

• Luisa Miller
• Bühne frei!
• Eugene Onegin
• Il trovatore

photo: Felix Grünschloß

Tenor

Peter Galliard

Birthplace:
Chur, Switzerland

Studies:
With Rico Peterelli, Conservatory in Feldkirch with Maria Eibenschütz, at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Rudolf Knoll

Prizes:
First Prize at the International Mozart Competition (1985), Förderpreis of the Kanton Graubünden (1987), Dr. Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Preis of the Stiftung zur Förderung der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (1989), honored by the Hamburg Senate with the title of “Kammersänger” (2017)

Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 1986/87

Important parts:
Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Jaquino (Fidelio), Cassio (Otello), Froh and Loge (Das Rheingold), Alfred and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Peter Iwanow (Zar und Zimmermann), Bardolfo (Falstaff), Hauptmann (Wozzeck), Knusperhexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Lenski (Eugen Onegin), Narraboth (Salome), Don Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro), Prinz and Hauptmann (Lulu), L’Aumonier (Dialogues des Carmélites), Melot (Tristan und Isolde), Walther von der Vogelweide (Tannhäuser), Wolfgang Capito (Mathis der Maler), Goro (Madama Butterfly), Red Whiskers (Billy Budd), Dämon (L’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe), Bischof von Budoja (Palestrina), Mime (Siegfried), et al.

Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Lucerne Festival, Salzburger Osterfestspiele, Opéra National de Paris, Enescu Festival in Bukarest, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, Semperoper Dresden, Oper Leipzig, Staatstheater Nürnberg, et al.

Cooperation with directors:
Claus Guth, August Everding, Johannes Schaaf, Harry Kupfer, Peter Konwitschny, Johannes Erath, Renaud Doucet, Georg Schmiedleitner, Stefan Herheim, Herbert Wernicke, Calixto Bieito, Willy Decker, Paul-Georg Dittrich, et al.

Cooperation with conductors:
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christian Thielemann, Ingo Metzmacher, Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Kent Nagano, Lawrence Foster, Gerrit Prießnitz, Marcus Bosch, Philippe Jordan, Paolo Carignani, Vaclav Luks, et al.

Performances

• Carmen
• Tosca
• Bühne frei!
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
• Mitridate, re di Ponto
• Eugene Onegin
• La Traviata
• Le Nozze di Figaro

photo: Martina Cyman

Tenor

Jürgen Sacher

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.

Performances

• Boris Godunov
• Bühne frei!
• Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
• Les Contes d'Hoffmann
• Falstaff
• Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
• Salome
• Le Nozze di Figaro

photo: Martina Cyman

Tenor

Seungwoo Simon Yang

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.

Performances

• Jubiläumsgala: 30 Jahre Internationales Opernstudio
• Elektra
• Bühne frei!
• 6th Philharmonic Concert
• Les Contes d'Hoffmann
• Mitridate, re di Ponto
• Falstaff
• Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)

photo: Johannes Xaver Zepplin

Baritone

Alexey Bogdanchikov

Birthplace:
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Studies:
Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre, Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow

Prizes:
Winner of the 57th International Singing Competition "Voci Verdiane" in Busseto (2019), Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Preis (2017), Special Prize at the “Neue Stimmen” competition (2013), representative for Russia at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition (2013), second prize at the European Vocal Competition “Debut” (2012), third prize at the Armel Opera Competition in Hungary (2010)

Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 2015/16

Important parts:
Barrett (The Servant), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Eugen Onegin (Eugen Onegin), Robert (Iolanta), Prinz Jeletzki (Pique Dame), Belcore (L’Elisir d’Amore), Marcello (La Bohème), Moralès (Carmen), Graf (Le Nozze di Figaro), Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette), Rodrigo (Don Carlo), Frank und Fritz (Die tote Stadt), Silvio (Pagliacci), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Valentin (Faust), Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor), Carlo Gérard (Andrea Chénier von Umberto Giordano), Malatesta (Don Pasquale), et al.

Stages:
Armel Opernfestival in Szeged, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Guangzhou Opera House, Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti in Modena, Teatro Municipale in Piacenza, Teatro Delle Muse in Ancona, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Astrakhan Opera House, Magnitogorsk Opera House, Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre Moscow, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Hannover, Sankt Galler Festspiele, et al.

Cooperation with conductors:
Jader Bignamini, Francesco Ivan Ciampa, Emmanuel Villaume, Renato Palumbo, Erich Wächter, Alexander Joel, Stefano Ranzani, Josep Caballé Domenech, Nathan Brock, Gregor Bühl, Kent Nagano, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Christoph Gedschold, Carlo Rizzari, Christopher Ward, et al.

Find further information about Alexey Bogdanchikov here.

Performances

• Bühne frei!
• Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
• Manon
• Pique Dame

photo: PAULINA HOLBREICH

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
• Bühne frei!
• 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

Baritone

Grzegorz Pelutis

Birthplace:
Słupsk, Poland

Studies:
Bachelor and Masters at Academy of Art in Szczecin, both graduated with honours, Janusz Lewandowski’s singing class (2016-2021)

Master classes:
Opera Academy Young Talent Development Programme of the Teatr Wielki – Polish National Opera In Warsaw (since 2021):
Consant tutelage by: Izabela Kłosińska, Olga Pasiecznik, Eytan Pessen, Matthias Rexroth, Michał Biel, Katelan Tran Terrell;
Guest masterclasses: Edith Wiens, Ewa Podleś, Mariusz Kwiecień, Maciej Pikulski, Hedwig Fassbender, Tobias Truniger, Adrian Kelly, Vesselina Kassarova, Fausto Nardi, Małgorzata Walewska

Prizes:
3rd prize and Juan Pons Prize at I International Juan Pons Singing Competition - Palma de Mallorca, Spain, June 2022
2nd prize winner at 1st Swiss International Music Competition – online, July 2021
2nd prize winner and special prize winner of the Director of the K. Namysłowski Symphony Orchestra in Zamość at 7th Krystyna Jamroz National Vocal Competition - Kielce/Busko-Zdrój, Poland, February 2022
3rd prize winner at 7th National Vocal Competition in Drezdenko, Poland, November 2021
3rd prize winner in"Opera Singers" category at"Prague Romansiada" competition, Prague 2017
Only Polish contestant of Plácido Domingo's Operalia 2022

Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2023/24

Important parts:
Chorąży “Ensign” (Hrabina - "The Countess"), Dudziarz (Halka), The Mayor “Burmistrz” (Szarlatan, czyli wskrzeszanie zmarłych - “Charlatan, or resurrection of the dead”), Escamillo (Carmen), Archiereios (King Roger), et al.

Stages:
Teatr Wielki – National Polish Opera, The Castle Opera in Szczecin, Polish Philharmonic "Sinfonia Baltica" named after Wojciech Kilar in Słupsk, Gorzów Philharmonic, Tadeusz Baird Philharmonic in Zielona Góra, Stanisław Moniuszko Philharmonic in Koszalin, Karol Szymanowski Philharmonic in Cracow, Various concerts across Europe, e. g. Berlin, Kaliningrad, Prague, Magdeburg, Warsaw, Varna

Cooperation with directors:
Mariusz Treliński, Barbara Wiśniewska, Rafał Matusz, Jitka Stokalska, et al.

Cooperation with conductors:
Jerzy Wołosiuk, Małgorzata Bornowska, Tadeusz Kozłowski, Michał Klauza, Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny, Stefan Plewniak, et al.

Performances

• Kannst du pfeifen, Johanna
• Tosca
• Jubiläumsgala: 30 Jahre Internationales Opernstudio
• La Bohème
• Bühne frei!
• Ariadne auf Naxos
• Manon
• Rigoletto
• La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)
• Konzert des Internationalen Opernstudios

photo: Jörn Kipping

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
• Bühne frei!
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• Ariadne auf Naxos
• Rigoletto
• Il trovatore
• Parsifal
• Salome

photo: Martina Cyman

Bass

Alexander Roslavets

Birthplace:
Brest, Belarus

Studies:
Rimsky-Korsakov Staatskonservatorium in St. Petersburg bei Professor Nikolai Okhotnikov (2009-2014), Young Artist Programme Bolschoi-Theater in Moskau (2014-2016)

Master classes:
With Elena Obraztsova, Edda Moser, Dmitry Vdovin, Evgeny Nesterenko, Irina Bogacheva, Lubov Orfenova, Neil Shicoff, Bernd Weikl, Carol Vaness, John Fisher

Prizes:
Third prize in the first International Music Competition in Harbin (2018), third and special prize in the Queen Sonja International Music Competition (2017), second prize in the second International Opera Singing Competition of Portofino (2017), special prize in the 36th International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition (2017), grand prix and audience prize in the second International Eva Marton singing competition in Budapest (2016), second prize in the sixth Galina Vishnevskaya International Opera Singers Competition (2016), grand prix in the Special Foundation Of The President Of Belarus Supporting Talented Youth (2016), first prize in the seventh International Competition of Opera Singers in Saint-Petersburg (2015), diploma in the 10th Elena Obraztsova International Competition Of Young Opera Singers (2015), special prize in the first International Christmas Vocal Competition in Minsk (2014), grand prix in the 42nd Russian National Vocal Graduates Competition in St. Petersburg (2014)

Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 2016/17

Important parts:
Malyuta Skuratov (Die Zarenbraut), Mephistopheles (Faust), König Dodon (Der goldene Hahn), Colline (La Bohème), Bartolo (Le Nozze de Figaro), Commenadatore, Masetto (Don Giovanni), Brander (La Damnation de Faust), Il Conte di Monterone (Rigoletto), 5.Jude (Salome), Lodovico (Otello), Il Sagrestano und Cesare Angelotti (Tosca), Raimondo Bidebent (Lucia di Lammermoor), Peter Quince (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Lo zio Bonzo (Madama Butterfly), Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Fafner (Das Rheingold), Fafner (Siegfried), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), King René (Iolanta), Banco (Macbeth), Prince Gremin (Eugen Onegin), Daland (Der Fliegende Holländer), Vodnik (Rusalka), Dulcamara (L’Elisir d’Amore), Ali Baba (Ali Baba), et al.

Stages:
Mikhailovsky Theater, Bolschoi Theater, Tschaikowsky-Konzertsaal in Moskau, Bolschoi Theater in Weißrussland, St. Petersburger Philharmonie benannt nach Schostakowitsch, Ungarische Staatsoper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Berliner Philharmoniker, et al.

Cooperation with directors:
Rimas Tuminas, Calixto Bieito, Tito Capobianco, Paul Curran, Stanislav Gaudasinsky, Peter Stein, Alexey Stepaniuk, Achim Freyer, Liliana Cavani, Mariusz Trelinski, Melly Still, Jan Bosse, et al.

Cooperation with conductors:
Adam Fischer, Robin Ticciati, Henrik Nanasi, Vladimir Jurowski, Ainars Rubikis, Daniele Rustioni, Tugan Sokhiev, Fabio Mastrangelo, Anton Grishanin, Michal Klauza, Gregor Bühl, Kent Nagano, Paolo Carignani, Renato Palumbo, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Yves Abel, Stefano Ranzani, Carlo Rizzari, Christof Prick, Nathan Brock, Sergei Stadler, Yuri Simonov, Michail Jurowski, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Alexander Anisimov, et al.

Performances

• Boris Godunov
• Don Giovanni
• Bühne frei!
• Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
• Eugene Onegin
• Maria Stuarda

photo: Martin Paulsson