Olga Neuwirth | Monster´s Paradise
Musikalische Leitung
Titus Engel
Conductor
Titus Engel’s debut at the Teatro Real Madrid with the premiere of Pilar Jurado’s La página en blanco in February 2011 was highly praised by the press. The Süddeutsche Zeitung proclaimed it “superb” and La Razón wrote: “The Swiss conductor Titus Engel led the orchestra amazingly. He knew the work inside out and achieved an excellent reaction from the orchestra.” In 2014 he then conducted the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s opera Brokeback Mountain in Madrid to great critical acclaim, and will give the world premiere of Elena Mendoza’s opera La ciudad de las mentiras in 2017.
Born in Zurich in 1975, Titus Engel currently resides in Berlin. After studying musicology and philosophy he began studies in conducting with Christian Kluttig at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden. Sponsorships from the Deutscher Musikrat’s Dirigentenforum (2002 to 2005) and a fellowship with David Zinman’s American Academy of Conducting at the Aspen Summer Music Festival in 2003 supported his musical career. As assistant to Sylvain Cambreling, Marc Albrecht and Peter Rundel, he acquired a broad orchestral repertoire.
Titus Engel has since conducted many renowned orchestras such as the Orchestre de l`Opéra de Paris, Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, SWR Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden/Freiburg, Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León, Bern Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Danish National Chamber Orchestra, as well as the Chamber Orchestras of Basel, Zurich, Stuttgart and Munich. As a guest conductor he regularly works with leading ensembles for contemporary music such as Ensemble Modern, Ensemble musikFabrik, Ensemble Recherche, the Collegium Novum Zürich, Remix Ensemble and the Klangforum Wien among others. He was musical director of courage – Dresdner Ensemble for Contemporary Music from 2000 to 2012.
photo: Detlef Baltrock
Chorleitung
Christian Günther
Associate Chorus Master
Birthplace:
Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Studies:
Conducting at University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, conducting lessons with Neeme Järvi, Jorma Panula and Gianluigi Gelmetti
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Assistant Chorus Master at Hamburg State Opera since the 2019/20 season
Career stages:
Assistant of the Chorus Master at Hamburg State Opera (2008-2019), regular guest appearances at NDR-Chorus (since 2018), Guest Chorus Master at Zürich Opera House (2018), Assistant of Eberhard Friedrich with the Chorus of the Bayreuth Festival (2017), Guest engagements at Music Festival Bremen, at Festival der Projektgruppe Neue Musik Bremen as well as at Oh Ton-Ensemble Oldenburg, Leader of the Ensemble “Atelier Neue Musik”, Lectureship at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen (since 2007), Associate Chorus Master and Leader of the children's chorus at Theater Bremen (2002-2007), 2nd Capellmeister at Theater Bremen (2005-2007), Conductor of the Ensemble “piano possible” Munich (1996-2007), Guest répétiteur at Stuttgart State Theater, Theater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich and at the Biennale in Munich
Cooperation with choruses:
Chorus of Hamburg State Opera, NDR Chorus, Children's chorus of Theater Bremen, et al.
Bampi
Kristina Stanek
Mezzo-soprano
Birthplace:
Krefeld, Germany
Studies:
Master studies with distinction at the Royal Academy of Music, London
Prizes:
Best young singer at the European Music Festival in Rome, Italy; 1st prize at the Mozart Competition in Prague, Czech Republic; 1st prize at the Rotary Music Competition, Germany
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since season 2020/21
Important parts:
Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), Prinzessin Eboli (Don Carlos), Azucena (Il trovatore), Carmen (Carmen), Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), 2. Norn (Götterdämmerung), Maddalena (Rigoletto), et al.
Stages:
Staatsoper Hamburg, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Theater Basel, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Hans Neuenfels, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Michael Thalheimer, Lydia Steier, Yuval Sharon, David Bösch, Sebastian Baumgarten, Barbara Frey, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Kent Nagano, Christian Thielemann, Marco Armiliato, Philipp Jordan, Antonello Manacorda, Marek Janowski, Ivor Bolton, Marc Albrecht, Giampaolo Bisanti, Axel Kober, Jonathan Darlington, Erik Nielsen, Kristiina Poska, Joana Mallwitz, Titus Engel, Christopher Moulds, Gianluca Capuano, Jonathan Stockhammer, David Parry, Christian Curnyn, Michele Spotti, Thomas Guggeis, et al.
More about Kristina Stanek
photo: Felix Grünschloß
König/Präsident
Georg Nigl
Baritone
Birthplace:
Vienna, Austria
Studies:
In Vienna with Kammersängerin Hilde Zadek
Prizes:
Singer of the Year (Opernwelt, 2015)
Important parts:
Wozzeck (Wozzeck), Lenz (Jakob Lenz), Orfeo (L’Orfeo), Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), et al.
Stages:
Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Wiener Staatsoper, La Monnaie, De Nederlandse Opera, Bolschoi Theater, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Salzburger Festspiele, Festival d’Aix en Provence, Wiener Festwochen, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Andrea Breth, Dmitri Tcherniakov, Hans Neuenfels, Frank Castorf, Claus Guth, Sascha Waltz, Romeo Castellucci, Calixto Bieito, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Daniel Barenboim, Kirill Petrenko, Valery Gergiev, Teodor Currentzis, Kent Nagano, René Jacobs, Antonello Manacorda, et al.
photo: Anita Schmid
Mickey
Andrew Watts
Countertenor
Birthplace:
Middlesex, UK
Studies:
Royal Academy of Music, London
Important productions:
Titleroles (Orlando, Artaserse and Orfeo ed Eurydice), Arsamenes (Xerxes), Athamas (Semele), Andronico (Tamerlano), Zauberin and Zweite Hexe (Dido und Aeneas), Grace (Venus und Adonis), Ottone (Agrippina), Nero and Nutrice (L’Incoronazione di Poppea), Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Adschib (L'Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe), Omar (The Death of Klinghofer), Prinz Go-Go (Le grand Macabre), Jeremy (Bählamms Fest), Mystery Man (Lost Highway), James (The last Supper), Snake Priestess (The Minotaur), White Rabbit and March Hare (Alice in Wonderland), Camille (Thérèse Raquin), Ferdinand Raschs (The Duchess of Malfi), Acmior (Line of Terror), Die Wolke (The Lamentations of Thel), Newspaperboy / Chai Ping (The Original Chinese Conjuror), Edgar (Lear), Behemoth der Kater (Der Meister und Margarita), Omar (Death of Klinghoffer), Oberon (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Orestes (La belle Hélène), Bishop Baldwin (Gawain), Pleasure (Triumph of Beauty), Vyasemskaya, Pleasant Voice and Proletarian (A Dog's Heart), Cherub (Figaro gets a Divorce), Baba the Turk (The Rake’s Progress), et al.
Stages:
Royal Opera House Covent Garden, English National Opera, Gyndebourne Festival, Welsh National Opera, the Aldeburgh and Almeida Festivals, BBC Proms, Bayerische Staatsoper, Nationaltheater Mannheim, RIAS Kammerchor Berlin, Theater an der Wien, Teatro alla Scala, Teatro la Fenice, Opéra national de Paris, Opéra National du Rhin, Opéra de Lyon, Teatro Real Madrid, Teatro Sao Carlos Lisbon, Grand Théâtre de Geneve, De Vlaamse Opera, Graz Opera, Stadttheater Klagenfurt, Badisches Staatstheater, et al.
Andrew Watts has also performed at renowned festivals, including Salzburg, Vienna, Bregenz, Dresden, Lucerne, Batignano, Montepuciano, Aix-en-Provence, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Calixto Bieito, Andreas Kriegenburg, John Fulljames, David Pountney, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Fabio Luisi, Justin Brown, Aleja Pérez, et al.
Tuckey
Eric Jurenas
Countertenor
Birthplace:
Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Studies:
Singing, Bachelor's degree at the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM) and Master's degree at the Juilliard School New York
Prizes:
1st prize at the Concorso Internazionale Renata Tebaldi - Sezione Antico e Barocco (2017), 2nd prize at Le Concours Corneille "La Poeme Harmonique" (2017), 3rd prize at the International Antonio Cesti Competition Innsbruck (2016), 1st prize at the Händel Aria Competition (2016), Dioraphte Prize for the best interpretation of a composition by Willem Jeths in the IVC song's Hertogenbosch, winner of the Jeffrey Thomas Award
Important parts:
Rinaldo (Rinaldo), Serse (Serse), Radamisto (Radamisto), Oreste (Oreste), Peter Pan (Peter Pan), Natasha (Tri Sestri), Guardian Angel (Orlando), Herold (Medea), Refugee (Flight), Fidi (Wahnfried), Michelangelo (La Dolce Morte), Sesto (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), Polinesso (Ariodante), David (Saul), Alexander the Great (Poros Re d'India), Athamas (Semele), Hamor (Jephta), Farnace (Mitridate, Re di Ponto), Arbace und Fulvio (Catone in Utica), Tolomeo (Giulio Cesare), König Tiridates (Octavia), Voice of Farinelli (Farinelli and the King), et al.
Stages:
Wiener Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opernfestspiele München, Château de Versailles Spectacles, Händel-Festspiele Göttingen, Theater an der Wien, Komische Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, Innsbrucker Festwochen der Alten Musik, Cajkovsky Hall Moscow, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, METLife Arts, Glimmerglas Festival, Opera Lafayette, Philadelphia Opera, Wolf Trapp Opera, Michigan Opera, et al.
Cooperations with directors:
Benedict Andrews, François de Carpentries, Barrie Kosky, Harry Kupfer, Yuval Sharon, Tazewell Thompson, Keith Warner, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Ivor Bolton, Anthony Bramall, Justin Brown, Rubén Dubrovsky, Maxim Emelyanychev, Peter Eötvös, Konrad Junghänel, Nicholas Kraemer, Martin Pearlman, Matthias Pintscher, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Steven Sloane, et al.
photo: Emma Frances Logan
Orchester
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
