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Musikalische Leitung

Ramón Tebar

Musical Direction

Ramón Tebar

Spanish Conductor Ramón Tebar is currently Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of Opera Naples and Artistic Director of Spain’s Arantzazu Festival. He was previously Music Director of the Orquesta de Valencia, Artistic Director of the Florida Grand Opera and Principal Guest Conductor of Valencia’s Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia.

In the 2023/24 season he will debut at the San Francisco Opera with Elisir d’Amore, at the Hamburg State Opera with Don Pasquale, and at the Opéra national de Lorraine with I Capuleti e i Montecchi, while he will return to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein with Madama Butterfly. After a highly successful subscription debut with the Cincinnati Symphony in April 2023, Tebar will return in October 2023 for a second appearance with the orchestra. Other concert invitations this season lead him for the first time to the Jyväskylä Sinfonia and the Aarhus Symphony, and back to Norrlandsoperans Symfoniorkester in Sweden.

Last season saw Tebar make debuts with the Cincinnati Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, Norrlandsoperans Syfoniorkester, the Würth Philharmoniker, and at the Frankfurt Opera with a new production of Saverio Mercadante’s Francesca da Rimini. That season he also returned to the Teatro Colón to conduct Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles, and to the Szczecin Philharmonic and the Basque National Orchestra in Bilbao for symphonic concerts.

Some of Tebar’s previous guest appearances in the opera pit include engagements at the Vienna State Opera (Madame Butterfly, La Bohème, Turandot, Don Pasquale), Gran Teatre del Liceu (L’Elisir d’Amore), the Cincinnati Opera (Carmen, Roméo et Juliette, Turandot), the Royal Swedish Opera (La Cenerentola), the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Madame Butterfly), the Gothenburg Opera (Tosca), the Savonlinna Festival (Carmen), in Pamplona’s Baluarte Theater (Otello), the Teatro Regio di Parma (Giovanna d’Arco), the Ópera de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Rigoletto, Simon Boccanegra), Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (I Puritani), Teatro Regio Torino (L’Italiana in Algeri), Teatro Villamarta (Tosca), Mexico City’s Palacio Bellas Artes (Falla’s La Vida Breve and Moncayo’s La Mulata de Cordoba), the Palacio de la Ópera de a Coruña (West Side Story, Un Ballo in Maschera), and the Theatro Municipal de São Paulo (Carmen).

As a titled conductor Tebar has led productions of La Traviata, Aida, Nabucco, Don Carlo (Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia); Madama Butterfly, La Bohème, Florencia en el Amazonas, Carmen, Un Ballo in Maschera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Pasquale, Cosí Fan Tutte, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula, Thaïs, La Rondine and M.D. Levy’s Mourning Becomes Electra (Florida Grand Opera); Aida, Turandot, Die Zauberflöte, Die Fledermaus, Don Pasquale, La Traviata, La Bohème, Cosí Fan Tutte, Maria de Buenos Aires, La Tragedie de Carmen, Haydn’s L’isola disabitata, and Daniel Catáns La Hija de Rappaccini (Opera Naples).

In addition to his operatic career, Tebar is sought after as a guest conductor with symphonic orchestras around the world. He has conducted the Spanish National Orchestra several times, and further guested with many of Spain’s other orchestras including the Barcelona Symphony, RTVE Orchestra in Madrid, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, and the orchestras in Castilla y Léon, Cordoba, Galicia, Gran Canaria, Navarra and Oviedo to name a few. Beyond Spain, Tebar has guest conducted such orchestras as the Philharmonia in London, Prague Philharmonia, Het Gelders Orkest, Malaysian Philharmonic, Armenian Philharmonic, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Normandie, Robert-Schumann-Philharmonie Chemnitz, Daejong Philharmonic, Aalborg Symphony, Szczecin Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Perú. Tebar was also previously the Artistic Director of the Santo Domingo Music Festival in Puerto Rico.

Tebar’s work can also be heard on recordings with Joseph Calleja and the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana on the DECCA label, and with Gregory Kunde and the Orquesta Sinfonica de Navarra on Universal.

Performances

La Bohème

photo: Koke Photography

Chorleitung

Christian Günther

Rodolfo

Freddie de Tommaso

A phenomenal voice and talent in the tradition of the great Italian tenor voices, Freddie De Tommaso has captured wide spread acclaim with headline grabbing debuts and chart-topping album releases. The British-Italian tenor shot to fame in December 2021 when he jumped in as Cavaradossi in the Royal Opera House’s production of Tosca, thus becoming at the age of 28 the youngest ever tenor to perform the role on the iconic stage and the first Brit since 1963. De Tommaso, who was due to perform the role at a later date, took to the stage after the first interval when the tenor originally scheduled became unwell during the first of the three acts, prompting the press to unanimously declare that a new star was born.

An exclusive artist with Decca Classics and the first tenor to be signed to the label since 2007, his debut album Passione debuted at number 1 in the classical charts and won the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Newcomer. In June 2022 his second album Il Tenore shot again straight to number 1 in the charts upon its release, whilst his rendition of Nessun Dorma, featured on the album, reached over one million streams.

The current season sees him continuing his meteoric rise with a triple appearance at Gran Teatre del Liceu as Riccardo Un ballo in Maschera, Maurizio Adriana Lecouvreur and in recital with Lise Davidsen; a double appearance with Orchestra di Teatro alla Scala and Riccardo Chailly for Verdi Requiem and Inno delle Nazioni and his role debuts as Pollione Norma in Naples and Adorno Simon Boccanegra at the Wiener Staatsoper. Other engagements include Rodolfo La bohème in Berlin and Vienna and Pinkerton Madama Butterfly in Munich. In concert and recital he sings Verdi Requiem at Teatro Regio di Parma; performs in concert with Teatro di San Carlo Naples; with the Mannheim Philharmonic alongside Sonya Yoncheva; with Lise Davidsen at the Salzburg Easter Festival as well as solo recitals in the Czech Republic, Munich and Sofia.

Last season, De Tommaso was seen as Rodolfo La bohème and Cavaradossi at the Royal Opera House; Rodolfo La bohème at Teatro alla Scala; Cavaradossi at Santa Fe Opera for his US debut; Don José Carmen, Alfredo La traviata and Cavaradossi at Arena di Verona; Macduff Macbeth Wiener Staatsoper; Alfredo La traviata at Staatsoper Berlin and Bayerische Staatsoper; and at the Dutch National Opera with a staged production of Verdi Requiem. His concert appearances included an open air concert Opera for All in Munich alongside Sonya Yoncheva; the New Year’s Eve Concert at Teatro La Fenice in Venice; Tosca and Verdi Requiem at the Bergen International Festival and with the Orchestre National de Lyon; recitals at the Festival Castell Peralada; the opening concert of the Kissinger Sommer Festival and Verdi Requiem Verbier Festival.

Recent highlights include important company and role debuts at Teatro alla Scala as Maurizio in David McVicar’s production of Adriana Lecouvreur; at the Wiener Staatsoper as Don José Carmen; at the Bolshoi Theatre as Cavaradossi Tosca; at Semperoper Dresden as Pinkerton in a new production of Madama Butterfly, a role he also reprised at the Royal Opera House together with the much coveted Cavaradossi in Tosca; and at Arena di Verona as Alfredo La Traviata; Cassio Otello at the Royal Opera House under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano; Pinkerton, Macduff, Italian Singer and Ismaele Nabucco all at the Wiener Staatsoper; Verdi Requiem at Teatro di Massimo di Palermo; Riccardo Un ballo in maschera at the Verbier Festival; excerpts of Carmen with Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria; his return to Bayerische Staatsoper in their “Next Generation Talent” concert; and Ismaele with Dutch National Opera.

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music and subsequently the Opera Studio of Bayerische Staatsoper in 2019, De Tommaso burst onto the operatic scene as Cassio in Otello at the Royal Opera House and Ismaele in Nabucco with the Dutch National Opera. He then opened the 2020-21 season of the Wiener Staatsoper as Pinkerton with a new production of Madama Butterfly, aged 27. Engagements since include Tosca at the Bolshoi Theatre; Macduff, Ismaele and the Italian Tenor at the Wiener Stastsoper.

Performances

La Bohème

photo: Craig Gibson

Schaunard

Nicholas Mogg

Marcello

Gyula Orendt

Colline

Han Kim

Benoît

Grzegorz Pelutis

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

photo: Jörn Kipping

Mimì

Yaritza Véliz

Musetta

Katrina Galka

Parpignol

Aaron Godfrey-Mayes

Tenor

Aaron Godfrey-Mayes

Birthplace:
Mansfield, United Kingdom

Studies:
Mascarade Emerging Artist (2022-2023)
Mascarade Opera Studio (2021-2022)
Advanced Diploma, Royal Academy Opera
Master of Arts, Royal Academy of Music
Bachelor of Music, Royal Academy of Music

Master class:
Allan Clayton, Royal Academy of Music
Dennis O’Neill, Royal Academy of Music
Carmen Santoro, Mascarade Opera Studio
Ann Murray
Ian Partridge, Royal Academy of Music

Prizes:
1 st place, Royal Academy of Music Pavarotti Prize
3 rd place & Wil Keune Mozart Prize, Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition
1 st place, David Clover Festival of Singing Recital Prize
19 th century Italian opera prize, Mozart Singing Competition
Prize winner, Richard Lewis/Jean Shanks Award
1 st place, Nottinghamshire Masonic Music Association Bursary

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

Important parts:
Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Flute (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Alì (Adina), Albert Herring (Albert Herring), Triquet (Eugene Onegin)

Stages:
Teatro La Fenice, Garsington Opera, Nevill Holt Opera, Königliches Kurtheater Bad Wildbad, et al.

Cooperation with directors:
Oliver Mears, Marie Lambert-Le Bihan, Noa Naamat, Douglas Boyd, Paul Curran, Federico Grazzini, Pedro Ribeiro, Jean-Romain Vesperini, et al.

Cooperation with conductors:
Philippe Herreweghe, Trevor Pinnock, Iain Ledingham, Luciano Acocella, Jonathan Santagada, Douglas Boyd, Sian Edwards, Peter Robinson, Matthew Scott Rogers, Nicholas Chalmers, Dionysis Grammenos, Tom Seligman, et al.

Performances

photo: Jörn Kipping

Alcindoro

Keith Klein

Kinderchor

Alsterspatzen – Kinder- und Jugendchor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper

Chor

Chor der Hamburgischen Staatsoper

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.

More about Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Performances

photo: Foto: Felix Broede