Engelbert Humperdinck | Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
Wed, Dec. 25, 2024, 6.00 pm - 8.15 pm
Cast

Musikalische Leitung
Adam Hickox

Musical Direction
Adam Hickox
Birthplace:
Truro, England
Studies:
Music and composition with Robin Holloway at Gonville and Caius College Cambridge,
Conducting with Sian Edwards at the Royal Academy of Music
Prizes:
Ernest Read Conducting Prize
Repertoire:
Mozart, Humperdinck, Donizetti, Verdi, Pucci, Ravel, Tippett, Bernstein
Career stages:
Principal Conductor of The Glyndebourne Sinfonia
Assistant Conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic from 2019-2022
Stages:
Barbican Centre, Opera North, Royal Scottish Conservatoire, et al.
Cooperation with orchestras:
Orchestre de Paris, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Gävle Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra (Ireland)
Find further information about Adam Hickox here.
Performances
photo: Ben Ealovega

Leitung Kinderchor
Luiz de Godoy

Musical Direction
Luiz de Godoy
Birthplace:
Mogi das Cruzes, Brasil
Studies:
Piano at Universidade de São Paulo (Bachelor) and at Escola Superior de Artes Aplicadas (Master), Erasmus stay with focus on piano and conducting at Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, Diploma course conducting at Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien (with honors)
Prizes:
Würdigungspreis der Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien (2019), Scholarship from UNESCO, the European Union and the Brazilian Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, Erwin-Ortner-Preis zur Förderung der Chormusik (2016)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Leader Alsterspatzen since 2019/20
Repertoire:
Focus on choral symphonic repertoire (spiritual and secular oratorios; in particular Wiener Klassik and Deutsche Romantik), special relationship to performance practices of old and new music
Career stages:
conductor of the Wiener Sängerknaben (2016–2019), choir director of Chorakademie des Wiener Staatsopernchores (2016–2018), assistent of the artistic director of the Wiener Singakademie at the Wiener Konzerthaus (2015–2019), musical director of Opera Studio at Sommerfestival „ Música nas Montanhas“ in Poços de Caldas, Brasilien (2010–2012), corepeater of opera projekts at Theatro Municipal de São Paulo (2005–2009)
Stages:
Esplanade Singapur, Peking National Opera, Seoul Lotte Hall, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Taiwan National Theater, Teatro Real Madrid, Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Tokyo Opera City Hall, Wiener Konzerthaus, Wiener Musikverein; Carinthischer Sommer, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, Grafenegg Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Festival
Cooperations with orchestras (as conductor):
Camerata Schulz, ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Orquestra de la Armada de Chile, Orquestra Juvenil da Bahia, Polish Baltic Filharmonic, Schubert-Akademie Wien, Youth-Orchestra Singapur et al.
cooperations (choral rehearsal / assistance):
Berliner Philharmoniker, Les Sciècles, Mariinsky-Theaterorchester Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Symphoniker et al.
Cooperations with artists:
Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Ton Koopman, Sir Simon Rattle, Simone Young, Franz Welser-Möst
Performances
- Rathausmarkt Open Air
- Trionfi
- Kannst du pfeifen, Johanna
- Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
- Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
photo: Fernanda Nigro

Peter
Alexey Bogdanchikov

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
photo: PAULINA HOLBREICH

Gertrud
Katja Pieweck

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
- Eugen Onegin (concerted)
- Rigoletto
- Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
- Die Gänsemagd
- Falstaff
photo: Ida Aldrian

Hänsel
Ida Aldrian

mezzo-soprano
Ida Aldrian
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.
Find further information about Ida Aldrian here.
Performances
- Schwuppdiwupp - getürmt und umgestupst
- Boris Godunov
- Elektra
- Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
- Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
- Manon
- 6th Philharmonic Concert
- Rigoletto
- La Traviata
- Parsifal
- 6th chamber concert
- Tonangeber
- Die Gänsemagd
- Madama Butterfly
photo: Christoph Ziegler

Gretel
Olivia Warburton

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
- Ariadne auf Naxos (concerted)
- Falstaff
- Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank
photo: Elena Ramirez

Knusperhexe
Peter Galliard

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
- Mitridate, re di Ponto (concerted)
- Eugen Onegin (concerted)
- La Traviata
- Le Nozze di Figaro
- Die Gänsemagd
- Lohengrin
photo: Martina Cyman

Sandmännchen
Aebh Kelly

Mezzo-Soprano
Aebh Kelly
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
Find further information about Aebh Kelly here.
Performances
- Boris Godunov
- Jubiläumsgala: 30 Jahre Internationales Opernstudio
- Dollhouse
- Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
- Ariadne auf Naxos
- Ariadne auf Naxos (concerted)
- Maria Stuarda
- La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)
- Parsifal
- Konzert des Internationalen Opernstudios
- Die Gänsemagd
- Salome
- La Traviata
- Madama Butterfly
photo: Jörn Kipping

Taumännchen
Marie Maidowski

Soprano
Marie Maidowski
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.
Find further information about Marie Maidowski here.
Performances
- Boris Godunov
- Jubiläumsgala: 30 Jahre Internationales Opernstudio
- Elektra
- Dollhouse
- Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
- Ariadne auf Naxos
- „Muss denn in diesem Land immer alles politisch sein?“
- Ariadne auf Naxos (concerted)
- Il trovatore
- Parsifal
- Le Nozze di Figaro
- Konzert des Internationalen Opernstudios
- Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
- The great silence
photo: Jörn Kipping

Kinderchor
Alsterspatzen – Kinder- und Jugendchor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper

Alsterspatzen – Kinder- und Jugendchor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
Die Alsterspatzen bezaubern seit vielen Jahrzehnten als Lebkuchen- oder Straßenkinder, als Ministranten und Elfenchor. In der Spielzeit 2019/20 übernahm Luiz de Godoy die Leitung des Kinder- und Jugendchores der Hamburgischen Staatsoper. Die jungen Sängerinnen und Sänger stehen in Produktionen wie „Hänsel und Gretel“, „Carmen“ oder „La Bohème“ neben Ensemblemitgliedern und internationalen Gästen auf der großen Bühne der Staatsoper. Darüber hinaus sind sie mit dem Philharmonischen Staatsorchester unter anderem in der Elbphilharmonie und im Rahmen eigener Projekte in der opera stabile zu erleben.
Wir danken der Alster-Hof Melzner-Stiftung für die Unterstützung.
Find further information about Alsterspatzen – Kinder- und Jugendchor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper here.
Performances
- Rathausmarkt Open Air
- Trionfi
- Carmen
- Boris Godunov
- Tosca
- La Bohème
- Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
- Frühlings Erwachen
- Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
- Die Unruhenden
- Special concert music festival
- Konzert Alsterspatzen
photo: Niklas Marc Heinecke

Orchester
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

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
- Die Kreide im Mund des Wolfs
- Ariadne auf Naxos
- Manon
- 6th Philharmonic Concert
- Ariadne auf Naxos (concerted)
- Les Contes d'Hoffmann
- Mitridate, re di Ponto
- Eugene Onegin
- Mitridate, re di Ponto (concerted)
- Eugen Onegin (concerted)
- 7th Philharmonic Concert
- PhiSch - das Staatsorchester hautnah...
- Don Pasquale
- Don Pasquale (concerted)
- 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: Die Unsichtbaren
- Nijinsky
- Frühlings Erwachen
- Così fan tutte
- Le Nozze di Figaro
- 10th Philharmonic Concert
- Demian
- Nijinsky Gala L
- 1st Philharmonic Concert
- The Seagull
- HOUSE WARMING CONCERT
- Das Paradies und die Peri
- 3. Blaues Konzert
- Schulkonzert
- 2nd Philharmonic Concert
- Kids only #1: Erwachsene verboten
- Ruslan und Ljudmila
- Lady of the Camellias
- 3rd Philharmonic Concert
- Surrogate Cities
- L'elisir d'amore
- 4th Philharmonic Concert
- New Year's Eve concert
- 5th Philharmonic Concert
- Monster´s Paradise
- Kids only #2: Überall doch nirgends zuhause
- 6th Philharmonic Concert
- POINT OF NO RETURN
- The great silence
- Lohengrin
- 7th Philharmonic Concert
- Women's love and death
- Madama Butterfly
- 8th Philharmonic Concert
- Il barbiere di Siviglia
- Special concert music festival
- 9th Philharmonic Concert
- Kids only #3: Ich zieh aus!
- Wonderland
- 10th Philharmonic Concert
- Nijinsky Gala LI
photo: Foto: Felix Broede