Robert Schumann | Das Paradies und die Peri
Fri, Oct. 17, 2025, 7.30 pm - 9.15 pm
Cast

Musikalische Leitung
Felix Hornbachner

Chorleitung
Alice Meregaglia

Alice Meregaglia
Biography will be published shortly.
Performances

Peri
Vera-Lotte Boecker

Soprano
Vera-Lotte Boecker
Ab der Spielzeit 2017/18 wird Vera-Lotte Böcker Ensemblemitglied der Komischen Oper Berlin sein und dort u.a. Pamina, Micaela, Rosina, Donna Anna und Hermia in Offenbachs „Barbe-Bleue“ in einer Neuinszenierung von Stefan Herheim singen.
Von 2014 bis 2016 war Vera-Lotte Böcker am Nationaltheater Mannheim engagiert,
wo sie unter anderem als Pamina, Musetta, Gretel, Adele, Rosina,
Ismene (Mitridate), Autonoe (Die Bassariden), Eudoxie (La Juive), Jenny (Mahagonny), aber auch Eliza Doolittle und in der weiblichen Hauptpartie in Lucia Rochettis 2015 als Uraufführung des Jahres ausgezeichneter Oper „Esame di Mezzanotte“ zu erleben war.
Die Spielzeit 16/17 begann darüber hinaus mit der Rückkehr an die Bayerische Staatsoper als Princesse Eudoxie in Halevys „La Juive“ nach ihrem sensationellen Hausdebüt in dieser Rolle im Rahmen der Festspiele in Calixto Bieitos Neuinszenierung unter der musikalischen Leitung von Bertrand de Billy. Es folgte die Hauptpartie der Agnès in der Premiere von George Benjamins erfolgreicher Oper „Written on Skin” am Teatro Stabile di Bolzano.
Im April 2017 war Vera-Lotte Böcker zuletzt auch als Agnès am renommierten Moskauer Bolschoj-Theater in einer Co-Produktion mit dem Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in Katie Mitchells Inszenierung der Uraufführung zu erleben.
Vera-Lotte Böcker wurde in Brühl bei Köln geboren. Nach einem Studium der Philosophie und Literatur an der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin studierte sie Gesang an der Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler sowie an der Universität der Künste in Berlin, wo sie 2013 ihr Studium mit Auszeichnung abschloss. Sie ergänzte ihre Ausbildung im Opernstudio des Royal Danish Theatre in Kopenhagen.
Die junge Sopranistin ist Preisträgerin des Gesangswettbewerbes Vokal Genial der
Konzertgesellschaft München und des Bayerischen Rundfunks (2015, 1. Preis, Publikumspreis und Orchesterpreis), Stipendiatin des Deutschen Musikwettbewerbs und des Richard-Wagner-Verbandes Mannheim. 2014 wurde sie für ihre Interpretation der Agnès in George Benjamins Oper „Written on Skin” als Nachwuchssängerin nominiert und erhielt den Theaterpreis der Stadt Detmold. Ihr erstes Engagement führte sie noch während ihres Studiums ans Landestheater Detmold, wo sie u.a. als Adina, Micaëla, Gretel und Agnès debütierte.
Vera-Lotte Böcker sang bisher mit Dirigenten wie Dan Ettinger, Bertrand de Billy,Ruben Dubrovsky, Rossen Gergov, Alexander Soddy, Frank Ollu und Erich Wächter. Zu den Regisseuren, mit denen sie bereits zusammenarbeiten durfte, zählen u.a. Calixto Bieito, Frank Hilbrich, Nicola Raab, Achim Freyer und Peter Konwitschny.
Performances
photo: Rosa Frank

Sopran / Jungfrau
Eliza Boom

Eliza Boom
Biography will be published shortly.
Performances

Mezzosopran
Kady Evanyshyn

Mezzo-Soprano
Kady Evanyshyn
Birthplace:
Winnipeg, Canada
Studies:
Bachelor and Master of Music, The Juilliard School
Awards/Competitions:
First Prize of the New Orleans District and Second Prize of the Gulf Coast Region at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (2023), Award from the Gerda Lissner Lieder/Song Competition (2017/18), Winner of the John Erskine Prize at The Juilliard School (2017) and the Tudor Bowl at the Winnipeg Music Festival (2015)
Masterclasses:
Lioba Braun, Brigitte Fassbänder, Elena Garanča, Thomas Hampson, Malcom Martineau, Anne Sofie von Otter, Bo Skovhus, Emmanuel Villaume, and others
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2022/2023 season
Was member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera from 2019/20 to 2022/23
Important parts:
Annio (La clemenza di Tito), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Charlotte (Werther), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Siébel (Faust), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Mercédès (Carmen), Meg Page (Falstaff), Tisbé (La Cenerentola), Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas), Fjodor (Boris Godunov), Frau Reich (Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor), Phèdre (Hippolyte et Aricie), and others
Stages:
Opernhaus Zürich, Bregenzer Festspiele, Carnegie Hall, Opéra Royal de Versailles, Opera Holland Park, Verbier Festival, Aspen Music Festival
Song:
World Premiere of “Drei Grabschriften” (Stefano Gervasoni), Performances of “Animus II” (Druckman), “Folk Songs” (Berio) and “Liebeslieder Walzer” (Brahms), Competitor of the 2019 Wigmore Hall/Independent Opera Song Competition
Cooperation with Directors:
Edward Berkeley, Frank Castorf, Georges Delnon, James Darrah, Axel Ransich, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Jana Vetten, Stephen Wadsworth
Cooperation with Conductors:
Nicolas André, Paolo Arrivabeni, Giampaolo Bisanti, Daniele Callegari, William Christie, Jane Glover, Alexander Joel, Francesco Lanzillotta, Claire Levacher, Jeffrey Milarsky, Evelino Pidò, Teddy Poll, Avi Stein, Stephen Stubbs
Find further information about Kady Evanyshyn here.
Performances
- Carmen
- La clemenza di Tito
- Manon
- 3rd chamber concert
- Mitridate, re di Ponto (concerted)
- Falstaff
- Mitridate, re di Ponto
- Das Paradies und die Peri
- Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
- Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)
- Die Unruhenden
- La Traviata
- Elektra
photo: Brinkhoff/Mögenburg

Alt
Annika Schlicht

mezzo-soprano
Annika Schlicht
Birthplace:
Stuttgart, Germany
Studies:
Singing at Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ in Berlin with Prof. Renate Faltin
Master class:
with Julia Varady, KS Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, KS Brigitte Fassbaender, KS Deborah Polaski und Patricia McCaffrey
Prizes:
3rd prize at international Wilhelm Stenhammar Competition in Sweden (2016), 2nd prize at Anneliese Rothenberger Wettbewerb (2013), Grand Prix an several special prizes at Giulio Perotti Competition (2012), 3rd Liedpreis and Förderpreis des Bronnbach e.V. at DEBUT Wettbewerb (2012), scholarship holder of Liz-Mohn Kultur Stiftung, scholarship holder of Richard-Wagner-Verband
Important parts:
Adriano (Rienzi), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Olga (Eugen Onegin), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Auntie (Peter Grimes), Försterin (Das schlaue Füchslein), 1. Magd (Elektra), Page (Salome), Flosshilde (Das Rheingold, Götterdämmerung), Siegrune (Die Walküre), Contessa di Coigny (Andrea Chenier), Mercedes (Carmen), Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos), 2. Dame (Die Zauberflöte), u. a.
Stages:
Deutschen Oper Berlin, Deutschen Oper am Rhein, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opera Bastille, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Berlin, Bergen International Festival, Salzburger Festspiele u. a.
Cooperation with directors:
Harry Kupfer, Hans Neuenfels, Luc Bondy, Claus Guth, Dmitri Tcherniakov und Johannes Erath, u. a.
Cooperation with conductors:
Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Metha, Donald Runnicles, Alondra de la Parra, Enrique Mazzola, Asher Fisch, Edward Gardner, Ingo Metzmacher, Christopher Moulds, Stefan Soltesz, Sebastian Weigle, u. a.
Performances
- Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)
- Das Paradies und die Peri
- Ariadne auf Naxos
- 3rd Philharmonic Concert
- Pique Dame
- Women's love and death
photo: Simon Pauly

Tenor
Kai Kluge

Jüngling
Eric Lunga Hallam

Gazna, Mann
Christoph Pohl

Baritone
Christoph Pohl
Birthplace:
Hanover, Germany
Studies:
Opera singing studies at University of Music and Drama Hanover in Hanover at Prof. Carol Richardson-Smith, member of International Opera Studio of Staatsoper Hamburg (2003–2005)
Master class:
Prof. Klesy Kelly (Cologne), Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Piotr Beczala, Neal Shicoff
Prizes:
prizewinner of Bundeswettbewerb Gesang, prizewinner of Deutscher Musikrat-Wettbewerb, Schumann-Liedwettbewerbs (2008), Christel-Goltz-Preis der Semperoperstiftung (2008)
Important parts:
Papageno (The Magic Flute), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Marcello (La Bohème), Dandini (La Cenerentola), Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Olivier and Count (Capriccio), Harlequin and Music Teacher (Ariadne auf Naxos), Frank/Fritz (Die tote Stadt ), Ottokar (Der Freischütz), Danilo (Die lustige Witwe), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Valentin (Faust), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Sevillia), Belcore (L'elisir d'amore), Schwanda (Svanda dudak), Heerrufer (Lohengrin), Lescaut (Manon Lescaut), Sharpless (Butterfly), Germont (La Traviata), Posa (Don Carlo), Guillaume Tell (Guillaume Tell), Spielmann (Königskinder), Eugen Onegin (Eugen Onegin), Amfortas (Parsifal), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Johannes (Morgen und Abend), Alfonso (Die Jüdin von Toledo)
Stages:
Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Leipzig, Maifestspiele Wiesbaden, Oper Frankfurt, Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Wigmore Hall London, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro La Fenice Venice, Bregenz Festival, Theater an der Wien, Opernhaus Zürich, Vlaamse Opera Antwerpen, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Johannes Erath, Klaus Guth, Peter Konwitschny, Stefan Herheim, Robert Carsen, Graham Vick, Andreas Homoki, Hans Neuenfels, Calixto Bieito, Damiano Michieletto, Jetzke Mijnssen, Lydia Steyer, Torsten Fischer, Elisabeth Stöppler, Axel Köhler, Markus Bothe
Cooperation with conductors:
Peter Schneider, Christian Thielemann, Donald Runnicles, Michael Boder, Axel Kober, Ivor Bolton, Nicola Luisotti, Giorgio Morandi, Cornelius Meister, Omer Meier Wellber, Sebastian Weigle
Find further information about Christoph Pohl here.
Performances

Engel
Xavier Sabata

Chor
Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper

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
- Luisa Miller
- La Bohème
- Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
- Der fliegende Holländer
- Manon
- Les Contes d'Hoffmann
- Eugene Onegin
- Eugen Onegin (concerted)
- Don Pasquale
- Rigoletto
- Maria Stuarda
- 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)
- Così fan tutte
- Le Nozze di Figaro
- HOUSE WARMING CONCERT
- Das Paradies und die Peri
- Ruslan und Ljudmila
- L'elisir d'amore
- The great silence
- Lohengrin
- Madama Butterfly
- Il Barbiere di Siviglia
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
- 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