Mixed Bill with works by Pina Bausch, Hans van Manen, Demis Volpi and Justin Peck | The Times Are Racing
Adagio
Olivia Betteridge
Soloist
BORN
21.12.99 in Westmead, Australia. Australian
EDUCATION
Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Gigi Hyatt, Janusz Mazon, Anna Urban, Leslie Hughes, Lucinda Dunn, Paul Boyd, Wim Broeckx
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2017, Soloist in 2023
REPERTORY
Marie in "The Nutcracker”
Olympia in "Lady of the Camellias"
Princess Claire and The Butterfly in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Rosalinde in "Romeo and Juliet"
Evening Star in "A Sleeping Beauty" (Neufassung 2021)
Calipso in "Odyssey"
Diana Rivers in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Broadway's Pavlova
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Epilogue
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Shakespeare Sonnets (Marc Jubete, Aleix Martínez and Edvin Revazov)
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
More about Olivia Betteridge
Lormaigne Bockmühl
Corps de Ballet
BORN
25.10.2001 in Cavite, Philippines. Filipina
EDUCATION
ACTS Manila
School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kevin Haigen, Raymond Hilbert, Chelo Gemina, Jun Saagundo, Stacey Denhamm, Gigi Hyatt, Leslie Hughes, Anna Urban
ENGAGEMENT
National Youth Ballet in 2021
Hamburg Ballet since 2023
CREATION
The Invisibles (with the National Youth Ballet)
REPERTORY
Nausicaa in "Odyssey"
and solo in
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
photo: Silvano Ballone
Charlotte Kragh
Soloist
BORN
3.7.1999 in Copenhagen, Danemark. Danish
EDUCATION
Norwegian National Ballet School
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Sandra Wiesner, Gigi Hyatt, Anna Urban, Leslie Hughes, Carolina Praetorius
ENGAGEMENTS
Ballett Dortmund 2018-2020
Ballett am Rhein 2020-2024
Hamburg Ballett seit 2024
REPERTORY IN DORTMUND
A big swan and Spanish Dance in "Swan Lake" (Xin Peng Wang)
and solos in
A Midsummer Night's Dream (Alexander Ekman)
Moto Perpeto (Jacopo Godani)
REPERTORY IN DUSSELDORF
Bathilde in "Giselle" (Demis Volpi)
Pumphutt in "Krabat" (Demis Volpi)
Isabel in "Enemy in the Figure" (William Forsythe)
and solos in
Artifact Suite (William Forsythe)
Rubies (George Balanchine)
Polyphonia (Christopher Wheeldon)
The Four Temperamente (George Balanchine)
Big Blur (Demis Volpi)
Salt Womb (Sharon Eyal)
REPERTORY IN HAMBURG
Solos in
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
The thing with feathers (Demis Volpi)
AWARDS
Gold Medal at the 27th Concours international de danse classique de Grasse (2014)
3rd Prize at the Nordic Baltic Ballet Competition (2014)
Photo @ Sigrid Reinichs
photo: Sigrid Reinichs
Charlotte Larzelere
Soloist
BORN
March 20, 1998 in San Antonio, Texas. American
EDUCATION
Houston Ballet Academy
Houston Ballet II
MAIN TEACHERS
Cheryne Busch, Priscilla Nathan-Murphy, Susan Bryant, Sally Rojas, Andrew Murphy, Claudio Muñoz, Sabrina Lenzi
ENGAGEMENT
National Youth Ballet 2016-2018
Hamburg Ballet since 2018, Soloist since 2023
CREATION
solo in
Beethoven Project II
REPERTORY
Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Prudence Duvernoy in "Lady of the Camellias"
Princess Natalia und one of the Big Swan in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Mercury in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Penelope and Eurycleia in "Odyssey"
Mary Rivers in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Broadway's Pavlova
Beethoven Project II
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
More about Charlotte Larzelere
Daniele Bonelli
Soloist
BORN
29.8.2001 in Pietrasanta, Italy. Italian
EDUCATION
Scuola di Ballo dell’Accademia Teatro alla Scala
MAIN TEACHERS
Leonid Nikonov, Loreta Alexandrescu
ENGAGEMENTS
Ballett am Rhein 2020-2024
Hamburg Ballet since 2024
CREATIONS IN DUSSELDORF
Albrecht in "Giselle"
and solo in
A kiss to the world (Dominique Dumais)
REPERTORY IN DUSSELDORF
The Judge in "Geschlossene Spiele" (Demis Volpi)
The Uncle and an Escort of the Snow Queen in "The Nutcracker" (Demis Volpi)
Tonda in "Krabat" (Demis Volpi)
The Toreador in "Carmen (Roland Petit)
The Teacher in "The Lesson" (Flemming Flindt)
Ekart in "Baal" (Aszure Barton)
and solos in
La Cantatrice chauve (Andrey Kaydanovskiy)
Le Sacre du printemps (Marcos Morau)
Salt womb (Sharon Eyal)
Sanguinic: con brio (Demis Volpi)
Come In (Aszure Barton)
Polyphonia (Christopher Wheeldon)
One and others (Demis Volpi)
Eine kleine Frau (Neshama Nashman)
Artifact II (William Forsythe)
Dancing with Piano (Hans van Manen)
The Four Temperaments (George Balanchine)
Enemy in the Figure (William Forsythe)
Rubies (George Balanchine)
Solo (Hans van Manen)
REPERTORY IN HAMBURG
Mr. Brocklehurst in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solo in
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
Lennard Giesenberg
Corps de Ballet
BORN
20.5.2000 in Henstedt-Ulzburg, Germany. German
EDUCATION
School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Stacey Denham
ENGAGEMENTS
Hamburg Ballet (Apprentice) 2019-2020
National Youth Ballet 2020-2022
Hamburg Ballet since 2022
CREATIONS
The Photographer in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solo in
The Invisibles (with the National Youth Ballet)
REPERTORY
Brother Lorenzo in "Romeo and Juliet"
Allan's Friend in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
and solos in
Epilogue
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
Artem Prokopchuk
Corps de Ballet
BORN
1.1.98 in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Ukrainian
EDUCATION
Accademia Nazionale di Danza Roma
Ballet School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Irina Rosca, Brunella Vidau, Manuela Cerreto, Janusz Mazon, Kevin Haigen
ENGAGEMENTS
Le Vie del Teatro in Terra di Siena
National Youth Ballet 2017-2019
Hamburg Ballet since 2019
CREATION
Epilogue
REPERTORY
Flute/Thisbe in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Jaschu in "Death in Venice"
A Thorn Creature in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
The Speaker in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
The Unicorn in "The Glass Menagerie"
Tybalt in "Romeo and Juliet"
Stanley Kowalski and Keifaber in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Petrushka in ‘Petrushka’, The Golden Slave in ‘Sheherazade' and The Faun in 'L'Après-midi d'un faune' in "Nijinsky"
Gaston Rieux in "Lady of the Camellias"
Father Sheperd in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
and solos in
Beethoven Project II
Adagio (Pina Bausch)
Variations for Two Couples
Ida Praetorius
Principal
BORN
3.9.93 in Copenhagen. Danish
EDUCATION
The Royal Danish Ballet School
MAIN TEACHERS
Nikolaj Hübbe, Adam Lüders, Eva Draw, Anne Marie Vessel Schlüter, Sorella Englund
ENGAGEMENTS
Royal Danish Ballet since 2010, 2014 Soloist, 2016 Principal
Hamburg Ballet since December 2021, as Principal
CREATIONS
in Copenhagen
Liza in "Queen of Spades" (Liam Scarlett)
Cinderella in "Cinderella" (Gregoery Dean)
Carmen in "Carmen" (Marcos Morau)
Lolita in "Lolita" (Cathy Martson)
Cecilie de Volance in "Dangerous Liaisons" (Cathy Martson)
The Child in "The Death That Best Preserves" (Natalia Horecna)
and solos in
Persistent Persuasion
Krash (Alessandro Sousa Pereira)
Traditional (Alessandro Sousa Pereira)
For Malala (Anna Lærkesen)
Terra Incognita (Robert Binet)
CREATIONS
in Hamburg
Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
HER in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solo in
Epilogue
REPERTORY
in Copenhagen
Marguerite Gautier in "Lady of the Camellias"
Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet"
Chloe (Pas de deux) in "Daphnis and Chloe"
Eleonora in "The Kermesse in Bruges" (August Bournonville)
The Sylph in "La Sylphide" (Auguste Bournonville)
The Pupil in "The Lesson" (Flemming Flindt)
Sugar Plum Fairy and Dewdrop in "The Nutcracker" (George Balanchine)
Odette/Odile in "Swan Lake" (Nikolaj Hübbe and Silja Schandorff)
Gamzatti in "La Bayadère" (Marius Petipa and Nikolaj Hübbe)
Giselle in "Giselle" (Nikolaj Hübbe and Silja Schandorff)
Kitri in "Don Quixote" (Marius Petipa and Nikolaj Hübbe)
Henriette in "Raymonda" (Nikolaj Hübbe)
Alice in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Karen Blixen in "Blixen" (Gregory Dean)
Marianela in "Infra" (Wayne McGregor)
and solos in
Theme and Variations (George Balanchine)
Jewels – Rubies (George Balanchine)
Ballo Della Regina (George Balanchine)
Other Dances (Jerome Robbins)
Etudes (Harald Lander)
Napoli (Auguste Bournonville)
Flower Festival (Auguste Bournonville)
Symphony of Psalms (Jirí Kylián)
Short Time Together (Paul Lightfoot and Sol León)
REPERTORY
in Hamburg
Princess Aurora Princess Florine and Aurora, the dawn in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Julie in "Liliom"
Woman I in "Bernstein Dances"
Esmeralda and the Clowns in "The Nutcracker"
Marguerite Gautier in "Lady of the Camellias"
Princess Natalia in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Romola Nijinsky and The Ballerina, Tamara Karsavina in "Nijinsky"
Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Pallas Athene in "Odyssey"
Queen Hermione in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Jane Eyre in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Beethoven Project II
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
GUESTING
Hamburg (John Neumeier's 80th Birthday Gala 2019, Nijinsky Gala 2013 and 2021), New York (Bournonville Tour 2015 and 2019), Sun Valley, CA (Ballet Sun Valley Gala 2017 and 2018), Taichung (Gala 2017), Jakarta (Gala 2017), Moscow (Gala for Boris Akimov 2016), Montréal (Festival des arts des Saint-Sauveur 2013), Houston (Dance Salad Festival 2014 and 2019), Berlin (Taglioni European Ballet Award 2014), L'Aquila (728° Perdonanza Celestiniana, 2022)
AWARDS
The Erik Bruhn Price for Best Female Dancer 2012
The Reumert Talent Award 2012
The Queen Ingrid Honorary Grant 2013
The Reumert Prize, Dancer of the Year 2019
In December 2019, she was made by the Queen of Denmark a knight of the Order of the Dannebrog
Premio Positano Léonide Massine 2022
Photo © Natascha Thiara Rydvald
Madoka Sugai
Principal
BORN
12.7.94 in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Japanese
EDUCATION
Sasaki Mika Ballet Academy (Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture)
MAIN TEACHERS
Mika Sasaki, Mikio Ikehata
ENGAGEMENTS
National Youth Ballet in 2012
Hamburg Ballet since 2014. Soloist in 2017, Principal since 2019
CREATIONS
A Mystic and A young Woman in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Beethoven Project
Ghost Light
Beethoven Project II
Epilogue
Solo for Two (Konstantin Tselikov)
Little Requiem (Aleix Martínez)
Götterboten (Aljoscha Lenz)
REPERTORY
Peasant Pas de deux in "Giselle"
Cinderella in "A Cinderella Story"
Marguerite Gautier and Prudence Duvernoy in "Lady of the Camellias"
Princess Natalia in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Woman III in "Bernstein Dances"
Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Ophelia in "Hamlet 21"
Sylvia in "Sylvia"
Princess Aurora, Princess Florine, Mercury and Aurora, the Dawn in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Louise and The Beautiful Girl from Granada in "The Nutcracker"
Bronislava Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Circe in "Odyssey"
Dolly in "Anna Karenina"
Woman in Apricot in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
Kitri/Dulcinea in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
Princess Perdita in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Jane Eyre in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Vaslav
Broadway's Pavlova
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
AWARDS
Prix de Lausanne 2012
Dr.-Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Prize 2018
More about Madoka Sugai
Matias Oberlin
Principal
BORN
27.4.96 in Santa Fe, Argentina. Argentinian/German
EDUCATION
Seminario Provincial de Ballet – Santa Fe, Argentina
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Elizabeth Sture, Christian Schön, Janusz Mazon, Kevin Haigen, Gigi Hyatt
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2014, Soloist in 2018, Principal since 2023
CREATIONS
Beethoven Project
Ghost Light
Epilogue
Pain Pushed me Forward (Braulio Alvarez)
REPERTORY
Lord Capulet and Brother Lorenzo in "Romeo and Juliet"
Gaston Rieux in "Lady of the Camellias"
The King in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
Günther in "The Nutcracker"
Count Alexander in "Illusion: like Swan Lake"
Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Fenge in "Hamlet 21"
The Wanderer, the Gondolier, a Dance Couple, Dionysos, the Hairdresser, the Guitar Player in "Death in Venice"
The Thorn, Cupid's Blessing, a Spanish Prince and an Egyptian Prince in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
The Balloon Man in "Liliom"
Serge Diaghilev and Thomas Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Alexei Karenin and Levin in "Anna Karenina"
Mr. Brocklehurst in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Beethoven Project I
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Flash"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
AWARD
Scholarship from the "Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation" (2011-2013)
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2019
More about Matias Oberlin
Alexandr Trusch
Principal
BORN
26.6.89 in Dnipropetrovsk. Ukrainian
EDUCATION
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Kevin Haigen, Marianne Kruuse, Christian Schön, Irina Jacobson
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2007, Soloist in 2010, Principal since 2014
CREATIONS
Vaslav Nijinsky as a student in "Le Pavillon d'Armide"
Hermes' Attendant in "Orpheus"
A Shy Young Man in "Liliom"
Angel in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
Vladimir Lensky in "Tatiana"
The Soldier (Luciano Nicastro) in "Duse"
Prince Désiré in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
A Mystic in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Purgatorio
Beethoven Project II
Epilogue
The Rain (Miljana Vracaric)
Let's Keep it Black (Orkan Dann)
Zozula (Edvin Revazov)
Renku (Yuka Oishi/Orkan Dann)
Into this Wild Abyss (Braulio Alvarez)
Solo for Two (Konstantin Tselikov)
Vesna (Edvin Revazov)
REPERTORY
Joseph in "The Legend of Joseph"
A Young Man (Daphnis) in "Daphnis and Chloe"
Vaslav Nijinsky and Leonid Massine in "Nijinsky"
Günter and Fritz in "The Nutcracker"
The King, Count Alexander and Quadrille in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Vaslav Nijinsky in "Le Pavillon d'Armide"
Des Grieux and Count N. in "Lady of the Camellias"
Philostrat/Puck and Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Allan Gray in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Bohort in "Parzival – Episodes and Echo"
Louis in "Liliom"
Arlequin in "Carnaval" and The Spirit of the rose in "Le Spectre de la rose" in "Nijinsky"
Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet"
Ler Beau in "As You Like It"
Cassio in "Othello"
Albrecht in "Giselle"
The Prince in "A Cinderella Story"
Peer's Aspect – Vision in "Peer Gynt"
Man I and Love in "Bernstein Dances"
Hamlet in "Hamlet 21"
Aminta in "Sylvia"
Prince Désiré and Catalabutte in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Odysseus in *Odyssey"
Alexei Vronsky in "Anna Karenina"
Pas de deux of the Scotts in "La Sylphide" (Pierre Lacotte after Filippo Taglioni)
The Prodigal Son in "The Prodigal Son" (George Balanchine)
Man in Brick and Brown in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
The Shy Boy in "The Concert" (Jerome Robbins)
Gennaro in "Napoli" (August Bournonville / Lloyd Riggins)
Basil in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
Prince Florizel in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Edward Rochester in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Fourth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Seasons – The Colors of Time
Nocturnes from "Songs of the Night"
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Saint Matthew Passion
Vaslav
The Song of the Earth
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
La Vivandière (Pierre Lacotte after Arthur Saint-Léon)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The thing with feathers (Demis Volpi)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
AWARD
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2010
More about Alexandr Trusch
The thing with feathers
Silvia Azzoni
Character Dancer
BORN
3.11.73, Turin. Italian
EDUCATION
Baletna Skola in Torino
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Dragica Zach, Marianne Kruuse, Ilse Wiedmann, Kevin Haigen
ENGAGEMENT
The Hamburg Ballet since 1993, Soloist in 1996, Principal in 2001, Character Dancer in 2021
CREATIONS
Olga Preobrajenska in "Nijinsky"
Silvia in "Préludes CV"
Aschenbach's Concepts in "Death in Venice"
The Angel in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
The Rival (Sarah Bernhardt) in "Duse"
Woman in "Rennen hinter dem was flieht" (Stephan Thoss)
Teresina in "Napoli" (August Bournonville / Lloyd Riggins)
and solos in
Time after Time from "Images from Bartók"
Messiah
Winterreise
Nocturnes from "Songs of the Night"
Verklungene Feste
Pizzicato Polka (New Year's Concert 2006, Vienna)
Um Mitternacht
Ghost Light
Epilogue
Unerreichbare Orte (Jirí Bubenícek)
VIII (Christhopher Wheeldon)
Equilibrio (Sasha Riva)
Renku (Yuka Oishi/Orkan Dann)
Ouroboros (Yuka Oishi)
The Episodes of Absence (Miljana Vracaric)
Beautiful Soul (Marcelino Libao)
REPERTORY
Pallas Athena und Nausikaa in "Odyssey"
Chloe in "Daphnis and Chloe"
Ballerina in "Petrushka"
Hippolyta/Titania and Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Marguerite Gautier, Manon Lescaut and Prudence in "Lady of the Camellias"
Juliet in "Romeo and Juliet"
Aurora, The Good Fairy and Princess Florine in "The Sleeping Beauty"
Marie, The Chinese Bird and Esmeralda and the Clowns in "The Nutcracker"
Cinderella, the Stepmother and a Stepsister in "A Cinderella Story"
Odette, Princess Claire and The Queen Mother in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Giselle, Peasant Pas de deux and Moyna in "Giselle"
Elaine in "The Saga of King Arthur"
Rosalind in "As You Like It"
The Other - Ingrid, The green One, Anitra in "Peer Gynt"
Tamara Karsavina and Romola Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Constanze Weber in "Windows on MOZART"
The Little Mermaid in "The Little Mermaid"
Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina, Primaballerina and Nina Michajlowna Saretschnaj in "The Seagull"
Sylvia in "Sylvia"
Tamara Karsavina in "Le Pavillon d'Armide"
Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desir"
Contemplator of the Moon in "Seven Haiku of the Moon"
Alma in "Purgatorio"
Ophelia (Pas de deux) in "Hamlet"
Eleonora Duse in "Duse"
Aurora in "The Sleeping Beauty" (Mats Ek)
Nikiya in "La Bayadère" (Natalia Makarova after Marius Petipa)
Lise in "La Fille mal gardée" (Frederick Ashton)
La Sylphide in "La Sylphide" (Pierre Lacotte after Filippo Taglioni)
An Old Woman, 300 years old and The Choosen one in "Le Sacre du Printemps" (Millicent Hodson, inspired by Vaslav Nijinsky)
Woman in Blue and in Pink in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
The Ballerina in "The Concert" (Jerome Robbins)
Tatiana in "Onegin" (John Cranko)
Paulina in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Mrs Fairfax in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Now and Then
Bernstein-Serenade
Saint Matthew Passion
Petrushka-Variations
Bernstein Dances
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Shall we dance?
Spring and Fall
Désir
Bach Suite 2
Sounds of Empty Pages
Rückert-Lieder
Winter Ways from "Images from Bartók"
Requiem
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
Fourth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Le Sacre
She was black (Mats Ek)
Light Beings (Mats Ek)
Mercurial Manoeuvres (Christopher Wheeldon)
Polyphonia (Christopher Wheeldon)
Thaïs Pas de deux (Frederic Ashton)
Jewels – Emeralds/Rubies (George Balanchine)
Reflet (Stefano Palmigiano)
Not without my Head (Natalia Horecna)
Bella Figura (Jirí Kylián)
Afternoon of a Faun (Jerome Robbins)
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
The thing with feathers (Demis Volpi)
GUESTING
Munich (Easter Concert 2000 and 2002), Moscow, Ludwigsburg, Warsaw, Milano, Tokyo (World Ballet Festival 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2010; Christmas Charity Gala 2008), Vienna (New Year's Concert 2006), Italy (Alessandra Ferri & Friends, Roberto Bolle & Friends Galas, Alessandra Ferri's Farewell Gala and Silvia Azzoni & Friends Gala), New York (Stars of the 21st Century Gala), St. Petersburg (Open Dance Festival), Taipei (International Ballet Gala 2010), Australia and Manuel Legris Galas in Vienna and Tokyo. She danced the role of Nikiya in "La Bayadère" with the Royal Ballet in London.
She worked on Donya Feuer's documentary: "The Work of Utopia".
AWARDS
Dr.-Wilhhelm-Oberdörffer-Prize 1996
Danza & Danza Prize 2004 - Best Italian Dancer Abroad
Rolf Mares Prize for the Hamburg Theaters 2006/2007 in the category "Outstandig Performance" for "The Little Mermaid"
"Benois de la Danse 2008" for her performance of the main role in "The Little Mermaid"
Les Étoiles de Ballet2000 Dance Award
Premio Positano Léonide Massine 2013
Premio Roma 2014
More about Silvia Azzoni
Jack Bruce
Corps de Ballet
BORN
18.4.2003 in London. British
EDUCATION
Royal Ballet School 2014-2022
MAIN TEACHERS
Zhan Atymtayev, Ricardo Cervera, Olivier Coëffard, Paul Lewis, Christopher Powney, Angela Towler
ENGAGEMENTS
Ballett am Rhein 2022-2024
Hamburg Ballet in 2024
CREATION
Three Billy Goats Gruff (Short film / Mark Bruce)
in Dusseldorf
Fight Duet in "Chalk" (Andrey Kaydanovskiy)
and solos in
The thing with feathers (Demis Volpi)
Imagination of Objects (Daniela Georgieva)
A Kiss to the World (Dominique Dumais)
REPERTORY
in Dusseldorf
Witko in "Krabat" (Demis Volpi)
Thomas in "Enemy in the Figure" (William Forsythe)
Johannes in "BAAL" (Aszure Barton)
in Hamburg
The thing with feathers (Demis Volpi)
Photo @ Sigrid Reinichs
photo: Sigrid Reinichs
Alessandro Frola
Principal
BORN
3.9.2000 in Parma, Italy. Italian
EDUCATION
Profession Dance Parma
Fomento Artístico Cordobés, Córdoba, Veracruz/Mexico
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Lucia Giuffrida, Francesco Frola, Adria Velásquez, Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Gigi Hyatt
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2019, Soloist in 2022, Principal since 2023
CREATIONS
The Shadow in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Peter and Igor
Epilogue
REPERTORY
Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Endymion in "Sylvia"
Prince Désiré, Catalabutte and Cupid's Blessing in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Wolf Beifeld in "Liliom"
Frederick the Great in "Death in Venice"
Pas de deux in "A Cinderella Story"
The Man in the Shadow, Prince Siegfried and Prince Alexander in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Love in "Bernstein Dances"
Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet"
Allan Gray in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Arlequin in ‘Carnaval' and The Spirit of the rose in 'Le Spectre de la rose' in "Nijinsky"
Drosselmeier in "The Nutcracker"
Armand in "Lady of the Camellias"
A Suitor / The War in "Odyssey"
Mr Brocklehurst in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
The thing with feathers (Demis Volpi)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
AWARD
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2023
More about Alessandro Frola
The Times Are Racing
Paula Iniesta
Corps de Ballet
BORN
12.5.2001 in Zaragoza. Spanish
EDUCATION
Estudio de Danza María de Ávila
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Lola de Ávila, Gigi Hyatt, Janusz Mazon, Leslie Hughes, Anna Urban
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2021
REPERTORY
The Chinese Bird in "The Nutcracker"
Solos in
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Futaba Ishizaki
Soloist
BORN
28.9.1993 in Tokyo. Japanese
EDUCATION
Yamaji Rumiko Ballet School (Tokio)
Ballettschule des Hamburg Ballett
MAIN TEACHERS
Rumiko Yamaji, Akiko Sano, Carolina Borrajo, Marianne Kruuse, Kevin Haigen
ENGAGEMENTS
Hamburg Ballet 2011-2017
Houston Ballet 2016/2017
Hungarian National Ballet 2017-2020
Ballett am Rhein 2020-2024
Hamburg Ballet since 2024
CREATIONS IN HAMBURG
A figure from the romantic novels Tatiana loves to read in "Tatiana" (John Neumeier)
IN DUSSELDORF
Giselle in "Giselle" (Demis Volpi)
A women in "From time to time" (John Neumeier)
Emilie in "Baal" (Aszure Barton)
Coppélia in "CoppéliaX Machina" (Hélène Blackburn)
and solos in
Herzog Blaubarts Burg (Demis Volpi)
The thing with feathers (Demis Volpi)
A kiss to the world (Dominique Dumias)
REPERTORY IN BUDAPEST
Tamara in "Chroma" (Wayne McGregor)
Magda in "Merry Widow" (Ronald Hynd)
and solos in
Falling Angels (Jiří Kylián)
Bedroom Folk(Sharon Eyal)
Theme and Variations (George Balanchine)
Etudes (Harald Lander)
5 Tangos (Hans Van Mannen)
Episode 31 (Alexander Ekman)
Troy Game (Robert North)
The Nutcracker (Wayne Eagling)
REPERTORY IN DUSSELDORF
Carmen in "Carmen" (Roland Petit)
The Novice in "The Cage" (Jerome Robbins)
The Pupil in "The Lesson" (Flemming Flindt)
The Kantorka in "Krabat" (Demis Volpi)
Gina in "Geschlossene Spiele" (Demis Volpi)
The Maid in "The Nutcracker" (Demis Volpi)
and solos in
Allure (Demis Volpi)
Winter (Demis Volpi)
Aus ihrer Zeit (Demis Volpi)
Little Monsters (Demis Volpi)
Elegie (Demis Volpi)
Ebony Concerto (Demis Volpi)
A simple piece (Demis Volpi)
One and others (Demis Volpi)
Polyphonia (Christopher Wheeldon)
The Four Temperaments (George Balanchine)
Rubies (George Balanchine)
Artifact II (William Forsythe)
Enemy in the Figure (William Forsythe)
REPERTORY IN HAMBURG
Quadrille in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Helena in "Romeo and Juliet"
Zulma in "Giselle"
The foreign Princess in "A Cinderella Story"
Pas de huit and The Beautiful Girl from Granada in "The Nutcracker"
Pas de six in "Napoli" (Auguste Bournonville / Lloyd Riggins)
Blanche Ingram in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Préludes CV
Petruschka Variations
La Vivandière (Pierre Lacotte after Arthur Saint-Léon)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
GUESTING
Nijinsky Gala XLVII (Hamburg 2022)
Internationale Ballett-TanzGala (Augusburg 2024)
AWARDS
Prix de Lausanne 2009
The International Competition for the Erik Bruhn Prize 2015
Anna Laudere
Principal
BORN
19.2.83 in Sigulda. Latvian
EDUCATION
Riga Ballet School
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Valentins Blinovs, Marianne Kruuse, Kevin Haigen, Irina Jacobson, Radik Zaripov
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2001, promoted Soloist in 2008 and Principal in 2011
CREATIONS
The Maiden-who-never-laughs in "Parzival – Episodes and Echo"
Calliope in "Orpheus"
The Friend (Isadora Duncan) in "Duse"
Anna Arkadyevna Karenina in "Anna Karenina"
A Widow in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Nachtwanderung from "Songs of the Night"
Purgatorio
Um Mitternacht
Beethoven Project I
Ghost Light
Beethoven Project II
Epilogue
A Foreign Sound (Thiago Bordin)
At Asyl-Um (Luva-Andrea Tessarini)
Anima (Edvin Revazov)
REPERTORY
Lady Capulet and Rosalind in "Romeo and Juliet"
Cinderella, Cinderella's Mother, A Stepsister and Princess from Another Country in "A Cinderella Story"
Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina, Primaballerina and Nina Mikhailovna Zarechnaya in "The Seagull"
Desdemona in "Othello"
Eleonora Bereda in "Nijinsky"
Odette and Princess Claire in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Marguerite Gautier and Manon Lescaut in "Lady of the Camellias"
Louise and La Fille du Pharaon in "The Nutcracker"
Ophelia in "Hamlet"
Mrs. Muskat in "Liliom"
Giselle and Myrtha in "Giselle"
Tatiana Larina in "Tatiana"
Solveig and Aase in "Peer Gynt"
Eurydice in "Orphée et Eurydice"
La Barbarina and Aschenbach's assistant, his mother and Tadzio's mother in "Death in Venice"
Aminta in "Sylvia"
The Queen and The Rose in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Blanche DuBois in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Penelope in *Odyssey"
The Siren in "The Prodigal Son" (George Balanchine)
Woman in Mauve and in Green in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
The Wife and the Ballerina in "The Concert" (Jerome Robbins)
Tatiana in "Onegin" (John Cranko)
The Queen of the Dryads in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
Queen Hermione in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Blanche Ingram in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Christmas Oratorio I-VI (she danced this role for the premiere)
Verklungene Feste
Saint Matthew Passion
Requiem
Vaslav
Seasons – The Colors of Time
Adagietto
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Le Sacre
Préludes CV
Winterreise
Messias
Turangalîla
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Nocturnes
Les Sylphides (Michail Fokine)
Jewels – Emeralds/Rubies (George Balanchine)
Reflet (Stefano Palmigiano)
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
GUESTING
Munich (Marguerite Gautier in "Lady of the Camellias", Bavarian State Opera), Stuttgart, Lausanne, London, Milan (Marguerite Gautier in "Lady of the Camellias", Teatro alla Scala), Tallinn, Riga, Moscow, Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Tokyo (World Ballet Festival 2015 and 2018), Beijing
AWARDS
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2008
Premio Positano Léonide Massine 2018
Latvian Excellence Award in Culture 2019
The Russian-Italian Prize Benois-Massine 2019
Order of the Three Stars – Highest civilian order awarded for meritorious service to Latvia
More about Anna Laudere
Madoka Sugai
Principal
BORN
12.7.94 in Atsugi City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Japanese
EDUCATION
Sasaki Mika Ballet Academy (Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture)
MAIN TEACHERS
Mika Sasaki, Mikio Ikehata
ENGAGEMENTS
National Youth Ballet in 2012
Hamburg Ballet since 2014. Soloist in 2017, Principal since 2019
CREATIONS
A Mystic and A young Woman in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Beethoven Project
Ghost Light
Beethoven Project II
Epilogue
Solo for Two (Konstantin Tselikov)
Little Requiem (Aleix Martínez)
Götterboten (Aljoscha Lenz)
REPERTORY
Peasant Pas de deux in "Giselle"
Cinderella in "A Cinderella Story"
Marguerite Gautier and Prudence Duvernoy in "Lady of the Camellias"
Princess Natalia in "Illusions – like Swan Lake"
Woman III in "Bernstein Dances"
Hermia in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Ophelia in "Hamlet 21"
Sylvia in "Sylvia"
Princess Aurora, Princess Florine, Mercury and Aurora, the Dawn in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Louise and The Beautiful Girl from Granada in "The Nutcracker"
Bronislava Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Circe in "Odyssey"
Dolly in "Anna Karenina"
Woman in Apricot in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
Kitri/Dulcinea in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
Princess Perdita in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
Jane Eyre in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Vaslav
Broadway's Pavlova
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
AWARDS
Prix de Lausanne 2012
Dr.-Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Prize 2018
More about Madoka Sugai
Christopher Evans
Principal
BORN
2.11.94 in Loveland, CO. American
EDUCATION
BalletMet Dance Academy
Canada's National Ballet School
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Susan Dromisky, Alexander Gorbatsevich, Kevin Haigen
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2012, Soloist 2015, Principal since 2018
CREATIONS
Jim O'Connor in "The Glass Menagerie"
A Mystic in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solos in
Turangalîla
Beethoven Project I
Ghost Light
Beethoven Project II
Epilogue
Aether (Luca Andrea Tessarini)
Metamorphosis (Marc Jubete)
Beautiful Soul (Marcelino Libao)
REPERTORY
The King, Count Alexander and Quadrille in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Benvolio and Antonio in "Romeo and Juliet"
Fabian in "VIVALDI or What you will"
Albrecht in "Giselle"
Günther in "The Nutcracker"
Vladimir Lensky in "Tatjana"
The Prince and A Bird in "A Cinderella Story"
Theseus/Oberon and Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Arlequin in ‘Carnaval' and The Spirit of the rose in 'Le Spectre de la rose' in "Nijinsky"
Konstantin (Kostya) Gavrilovich Triplev in "The Seagull"
Armand Duval and Des Grieux in "Lady of the Camellias"
Man I in "Bernstein Dances"
Gustav von Aeschenbach in "Death in Venice"
Koll/Fortinbras in "Hamlet 21"
Love/Thyrsis/Orion in "Sylvia"
Catalabutte in "The Sleeping Beauty" (Neufassung 2021)
Harold Mitchell (Mitch) in "Endstation Sehnsucht"
Odysseus in *Odyssey"
Alexei Karenin and Levin in "Anna Karenina"
Mann in Green in "Dances at a Gathering" (Jerome Robbins)
Basil in "Don Quixote" (Rudolf Nurejev after Marius Petipa)
Prince Florizel in "The Winter's Tale" (Christopher Wheeldon)
St John Rivers in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
Préludes CV
Petrushka-Variations
Christmas Oratorio I-VI
The Song of the Earth
Soldier Songs (Des Knaben Wunderhorn)
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Nocturnes
At Midnight
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Soul Sketch"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2016
"A Cosmic Second"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
AWARDS
Prix de Lausanne 2010
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2015
More about Christopher Evans
Matias Oberlin
Principal
BORN
27.4.96 in Santa Fe, Argentina. Argentinian/German
EDUCATION
Seminario Provincial de Ballet – Santa Fe, Argentina
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Elizabeth Sture, Christian Schön, Janusz Mazon, Kevin Haigen, Gigi Hyatt
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2014, Soloist in 2018, Principal since 2023
CREATIONS
Beethoven Project
Ghost Light
Epilogue
Pain Pushed me Forward (Braulio Alvarez)
REPERTORY
Lord Capulet and Brother Lorenzo in "Romeo and Juliet"
Gaston Rieux in "Lady of the Camellias"
The King in "Christmas Oratorio I-VI"
Günther in "The Nutcracker"
Count Alexander in "Illusion: like Swan Lake"
Lysander in "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
Fenge in "Hamlet 21"
The Wanderer, the Gondolier, a Dance Couple, Dionysos, the Hairdresser, the Guitar Player in "Death in Venice"
The Thorn, Cupid's Blessing, a Spanish Prince and an Egyptian Prince in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
The Balloon Man in "Liliom"
Serge Diaghilev and Thomas Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar Named Desire"
Alexei Karenin and Levin in "Anna Karenina"
Mr. Brocklehurst in "Jane Eyre" (Cathy Marston)
and solos in
The Fifth Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Beethoven Project I
Saint Matthew Passion
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
Préludes CV
Liebeslieder Walzer (George Balanchine)
Brahms-Schoenberg Quartet (George Balanchine)
Variations for Two Couples (Hans van Manen)
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
HE CHOREOGRAPHED
"Flash"
Premiere: Young Choreographers, Hamburg, 2017
AWARD
Scholarship from the "Pierino Ambrosoli Foundation" (2011-2013)
Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer-Prize 2019
More about Matias Oberlin
Louis Musin
Soloist
BORN
20.4.2002 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Belgian/Brazilian
EDUCATION
Dance Area (Geneva)
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
MAIN TEACHERS
Fernanda Diniz, Nicolas Musin, Gigi Hyatt, Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Christian Schön, Konstantin Tselikov
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2021, Soloist since 2023
CREATIONS
A young Soldier in "Dona Nobis Pacem"
and solo in
Epilogue
REPERTORY
A young Aschenbach in "Death in Venice"
Louis in "Liliom"
Fritz in "The Nutcracker"
A Manon Lescaut's Admirer in "Lady of the Camellias"
Count Alexander and The Speaker in "Illusions - like Swan Lake"
Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet"
A Thorn Creature in "The Sleeping Beauty" (new version 2021)
Stanislav Nijinsky in "Nijinsky"
Telemachos in "Odyssey"
and solos in
Saint Matthew Passion
Ghost Light
Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Caspar Sasse
Corps de Ballet
BORN
2.10.2003 in Hamburg. German
EDUCATION
The School of the Hamburg Ballet
TEACHERS
Ann Drower, Anna Urban, Kevin Haigen, Janusz Mazon, Christian Schön, Konstantin Tselikov
ENGAGEMENT
Hamburg Ballet since 2023
CREATION
Epilogue
REPERTORY
The Times Are Racing (Justin Peck)
Conductor
Vitali Alekseenok
Conductor
Vitali Alekseenok fascinates with his pervading musicality and well-rounded interpretations, as well as his open and at the same time profound personality as one of the most exciting talents of the young generation of conductors.
He entered the spotlight of international attention in 2021 with first place at the Arturo Toscanini Conducting Competition in Parma, where he also received the Audience Award and the prize for the best performance of a Verdi opera, among other prizes.
After having been Kapellmeister since November 2022, Alekseenok became Chief Conductor at the beginning of the 2024/25 season.
He also gave his debut at the Teatro alla Scala with the world premiere of the opera "Il Piccolo Principe" in 2022/23, along with having concerts at the Beethoven Festival in Bonn, Rossini Festival in Pesaro, Ludwigsburg Festival, and with Klangforum Wien. In December 2022 Alekseenok was named the Principal Guest Conductor at Teatro Massimo Bellini.
In previous seasons he has conducted orchestras such as the MDR Radio Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Staatskapelle Weimar, Lucerne Festival Strings, Toscanini Orchestra in Parma, Kyiv Symphony Orchestra, among others.
As an opera conductor, Vitali Alekseenok conducted the first Ukrainian performance of Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" at the National Opera of Ukraine in the Autumn of 2021. As an assistant and conductor, has also worked at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Graz Opera, Odessa National Opera House, Deutsches National Theater Weimar, and Opera Varna. In 2018 he conducted a new production of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni" in the Ukrainian military region Severodonetsk as a part of the Music and Dialogue project.
Alekseenok is the founder and artistic director of the ensemble paradigme, which performs 20th and 21st-century works, as well as world premieres by currently active composers.
After his studies in St Petersburg (Prof. Alexander Alekseev) and Weimar (Prof. Nicolas Pasquet, Ekhart Wycik, Gunter Kahlert), Alekseenok took part in masterclasses with Bernard Haitink, Fabio Luisi, Jorma Panula, Ricardo Muti, among others. He has also worked with Vladimir Jurowski, Oksana Lyniv, Lothar Zagrosek, and Maurizio Barbaccini.
Vitali Alekseenok is active in various pedagogical fields, including conducting numerous youth orchestras in Germany, Italy, Poland and Ukraine and lecturing at the universities of Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt am Main.
He is the author of the book "The White Days of Minsk" (S. Fischer Frankfurt, 2021) and has written articles and essays for Tagesspiegel, Neue Rundschau Frankfurt, Religion & Gesellschaft Zürich, among others.
In June 2021 Alekseenok was appointed as the new Artistic Director of the Kharkiv Music Festival in Ukraine which has held numerous concerts in bomb shelters, subways, and hospitals in Kharkiv during the war.
More about Vitali Alekseenok
photo: Elza Zhrerebchuk
Orchestra
Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg
Orchestra
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
photo: Foto: Felix Broede
