Richard Wagner | Lohengrin
Musikalische Leitung
Omer Meir Wellber
Musical Direction
Omer Meir Wellber has established himself as one of our generation’s leading conductors of operatic and orchestral repertoire alike. He is Music Director of the Teatro Massimo Palermo and from a long association, he is also Music Director of the Raanana Symphonette in Israel. He begins his tenure of General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera as well as Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg in the season 2025/2026. Omer Meir Wellber regularly conducts the Gewandhausorchester zu Leipzig, the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, among others.
For the Teatro Massimo’s new season in Palermo, Omer Meir Wellber presented Bellini’s opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi in a production by Idan Cohen and he conducted Wagner's opera Tristan und Isolde directed by Daniele Menghini. Highlights of recent seasons include new productions of Kaiserrequiem – his own creation with director Marco Gandini, which brings together Viktor Ullman's Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Mozart's Requiem –, Verdi's Les Vêpres siciliennes in a production by Emma Dante and Wagner's Parsifal in a production by Graham Vick. His innovative work at Teatro Massimo, including the January 2021 production Crepuscolo dei sogni, earned him the 2021 Special Award from Italy's Associazione Nazionale Critici Musicali (National Association of Music Critics).
During his time as Music Director of the Volksoper Vienna, which ended in December 2023 at his own request, Omer Meir Wellber conducted Tchaikovsky's Jolanthe and The Nutcracker, a new creation directed by Lotte de Beer and numerous revivals, such as La Traviata, Mozart's Zauberflöte and Richard Strauss' Salome (in a recreation of Luc Bondy's timeless 1992 production). Under the direction of Omer Meir Wellber, the Volksopernorchester has also made guest appearances at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Schloss Esterházy in Eisenstadt and increased its presence in Vienna at the Wiener Konzerthaus with a performance of Verdi's Messa da Requiem, among others. He will continue his relationship with the Volksoper Vienna in 2024/25 where he will conduct his two initially planned new productions: Ella Milch-Sheriff's commissioned composition, her new opera “Alma”, and his creation of the Kaiserrequiem with the Vienna State Ballet, directed and choreographed by Andreas Heise.
Guest performances in the 2023/24 season will see Omer Meir Wellber travel to Bremen with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, to Rome with the Rome Symphony Orchestra, to Leipzig with the Gewandhausorchester, to Prague with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, to Asia (Japan, Korea, Taiwan) with the Wiener Symphoniker, to Paris with the Orchestre National de France and to Hamburg with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra.
As Omer Meir Wellber was Music Director of the 2023 Toscanini Festival in Parma, Wellber presented a mixture of symphonic and chamber music concerts and took the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini to the Dresdner Musikfestspiele. During the first edition of the festival held in 2022, Wellber conducted a concert version of Puccini's rarely performed opera Les Willis.
Named portrait artist of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival in 2022, Omer Meir Wellber appeared on the conductor’s podium and also played accordion, harpsichord and grand piano. Wellber presented 14 varied and unique concerts under the motto “Friendship”. In addition to classical orchestral concerts with the Festival Orchestra of the SHMF and the BBC Philharmonic, the program included chamber music and chanson evenings as well as a four-hand piano recital. True to the theme of “Friendship”, Omer Meir Wellber performed together with mandolinist Jacob Reuven, pianists Fazil Say and Daniel Ciobanu, violinist Veronica Eberle and clarinettist Alessio Vicario, among others.
The most recent CD recordings with Omer Meir Wellber were released in May 2022: The Mandolin Seasons with Jacob Reuven and the Sinfonietta Leipzig (musicians of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra) on the Hyperion label and Pop Songs with cellist Jan Vogler and the BBC Philharmonic on the Sony label. Previous releases include the first joint recording by Wellber and the BBC Philharmonic of works by Ben-Haim (Chandos), Tavener's No longer mourn for me with Steven Isserlis and the Philarmonia Orchestra (Hyperion), and DVD releases of Wagner's Parsifal (Unitel/C Major), Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Naxos), Puccuni's Madama Butterfly (Opus Arte), Boito's Mefistofele (Unitel), Verdi's Aida (Bel Air Classique), and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (Unitel).
Omer Meir Wellber made his literary debut with his first novel "Die vier Ohnmachten des Chaim Birkner", published by Berlin Verlag in autumn 2019. Originally written in Hebrew, the novel was published in Wellber’s native tongue by Keren (“ארבע פעמים התעלף חיים בירקנר”) in July 2023. Its critical acclaim has also seen the book’s publication in Italian by Sellerio Editore (2021), and in French by Éditions du sous-sol (2022). The novel tells the story of Chaim Birkner, a tired and broken man who is forced by his daughter to face life one last time.
"Die Angst, das Risiko und die Liebe - Momente mit Mozart" – the conductor’s first book – was published in spring 2017. Co-written with German author and journalist Inge Kloepfer, the book shares his personal understanding of the universal emotions addressed in the three Mozart/Da Ponte operas - Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro and Don Giovanni, establishing him as a great voice of classical music.
Omer Meir Wellber has made several debuts in recent years: In 2023 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others. In August 2021, Wellber made his debut at the Bregenz Festival with works by Ives and Bruckner and Strauss's Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra with Ramón Ortega Quero (oboe) and the Wiener Symphoniker. He made his debut with the Munich Philharmonic in November 2019 with the world premiere of Ayal Adler, with the BBC Philharmonic with works by Mozart, Haydn, and Ben-Haim at the BBC Proms in July 2019, and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York with performances of Bizet's Carmen in October 2018. In summer 2018, he conducted the festival premiere of Puccini's Madama Butterfly (BlueRay Opus Arte, 2019) at the Glyndebourne Festival, where he debuted in 2014 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra's production of Eugene Onegin. In March 2017, he conducted the premiere of Giordano's Andrea Chenier at the Bavarian State Opera, where he had already conducted the new production of Mefistofele in 2015 (DVD Unitel, 2016). In November 2016, he conducted the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden in the world premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina's oratorio On Love and Hate.
Omer Meir Wellber's longstanding collaboration with the Semperoper Dresden culminated in his position as Principal Guest Conductor from 2018 to 2022, alongside his receipt of the Rudi Häussler Priz for contributions to the development of the opera house. As early as 2010 he conducted new productions and revivals of Aida, Ariadne auf Naxos, Daphne, the Da Ponte Trilogy, The Magic Flute, Grand Macabre, Guntram, Madama Butterfly, Nabucco, Rosenkavalier, Salome, and Tannhäuser. Symphony concerts with the Sächsische Staatskapelle were also part of the program.
During his time as Chief Conductor of the BBC Philharmonic, Omer Meir Wellber achieved highlights such as concerts at the BBC Proms, Bridgewater Hall, and guest concerts at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. Wellber also hosted a conversation video series with the BBC named The Music Room: the first series focused on Beethoven’s 9 symphonies in 2020, before turning to Ben-Haim for a second installment (The Music Room: Discovering Ben-Haim).
Omer Meir Wellber served as the Music Director at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia from 2010 to 2014, leading both orchestral and operatic performances – one of the most remarkable, Eugene Onegin, was published on DVD by C Major. He conducted Verdi’s operatic masterpiece trifecta – Rigoletto (2011), La Traviata (2012) and Il Trovatore (2013) at the Vienna Festival.
From 2008 to 2010, Omer Meir Wellber assisted Daniel Barenboim at the Berliner Staatsoper Unter den Linden and at Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, directing the Scala in a critically hailed performance of Verdi’s Aida at the Israeli Opera. In 2010, he also stepped in for Seiji Ozawa, conducting Strauss’ Salome at the Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto.
Omer Meir Wellber’s close ties to his native Israel are evident in his collaboration with the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra, of which he has been Music Director since 2009. The orchestra dedicates itself to developing traditions of Jewish music, promoting contemporary Israeli music, and curating music education projects which reach more than 70,000 children each year. For over a decade he was regular guest conductor at the Israeli Opera where he conducted performances of Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, Puccini’s Turandot and Madama Butterfly, Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Gounod’s Faust and Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen, among others. In 2007 he debuted with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and in 2016 led the orchestra in its residency at the Dresden Music Festival.
The conductor is a Good Will Ambassador for Save a Child’s Heart, an Israeli-based non-profit organization that provides critical cardiac medical healthcare. In addition, Omer Meir Wellber collaborates with various institutions through outreach programs and fosters the next generation of conducting students through educational lectures.
Born in Be’er Sheva in 1981, Omer Meir Wellber began studying the accordion and piano when he was five years old. He took composition lessons with Tania Taler from the age of nine before continuing under Michael Wolpe until 2004. After graduating from the Be’er Sheva Conservatory in 1999, he received a music scholarship from the America-Israel Cultural Foundation which he used to study Conducting and Composition at the Jerusalem Music Academy from 2000-2008 with Eugene Zirlin and Mendi Rodan.
Omer Meir Wellber plays a custom-built accordion, model POLARIS, from the renowned Italian accordion manufacturer PIGINI.
Omer Meir Wellber is dressed by Giorgio Armani and Bulgari.
More about Omer Meir Wellber
photo: (c) Hilde van Mas
Chor
Alice Meregaglia
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König Heinrich
Gábor Bretz
Bass
Geburtsort:
Budapest, Ungarn
Studium:
Gesangsunterricht bei Stephan Czovek in Los Angeles und Prof. Albert Antalffy in Budapest, Gesang am Béla Bartók Konservatorium für Musik bei Maria Fekete und an der Franz Liszt Musikakademie bei Sandor Solyom-Nagy
Auszeichnungen:
Gewinner des „Maria Callas Grand Prix“-Wettbewerbs in Athen (2005)
Wichtige Partien:
Mefistofele (Mefistofele), Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Banquo (Macbeth), Colline (La Bohème), Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Escamillo (Carmen), Gurnemantz (Parsifal), Zaccaria (Nabucco), Orest (Elektra), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Landgraf (Tannhäuser), Shaklovity (Khovanshchina), Phillipe II (Don Carlos), Ferrando (Il Trovatore), Daland (Der fliegende Holländer), Brander (La Damnation de Faust), Fiesco (Simon Boccanegra), u. a.
Bühnen:
Ungarische Staatsoper, Wagner Festival Budapest, Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, De Nationale Opera, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Neues Nationaltheater Tokio, Teatro di San Carlo di Napoli, Teatro Comunale, La Monnaie, Salzburger Festspiele, Müpa Budapest, Teatro Massimo, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, u. a.
Zusammenarbeit mit Regisseuren:
Peter Konwitschny, Christof Loy, Eva-Maria Melbye, János Szikora, Calixto Bieito, Olivier Py, Romeo Castellucci, Stefano Ricci, Gianni Forte, Ricci Forte, u. a.
Zusammenarbeit mit Dirigenten:
Daniel Barenboim, Gustavo Dudamel, Ádám Fischer, Ed Gardner, Daniele Gatti, Valery Gergiev, Daniel Harding, Michele Mariotti, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Renato Palumbo, Sylvain Cambreling, Carlo Montanaro, Helmuth Rilling, Ingo Metzmacher, Peter Eötvös, Oliver von Dohnányi, Kevin John Edusei, Alain Altinoglu, Franz Welser-Möst, Gregory Vajda, u. a.
photo: László Emmer
Lohengrin
Klaus Florian Vogt
Tenor
Birthplace:
Heide, Germany
Studies:
Singing at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Lübeck
Prizes:
Christel Goltz Preis of the Semperoper, ECHO-Klassik as Artist of the Year (2012), Europäischer Kulturpreis für Musik (2013), Hamburg Chamber Singer (2019)
Important parts:
Lohengrin (Lohengrin), Tannhäuser (Tannhäuser), Parsifal (Parsifal), Walter von Stolzing (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Siegmund (Die Walküre), Siegfried (Siegfried, Götterdämmerung), Tristan (Tristan und Isolde), Florestan (Fidelio), Paul (Die tote Stadt) et al.
Stages:
Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Vienna State Opera, Zurich Opera House, New National Theatre Tokyo, Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Opéra national de Paris, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Concertgebouw, Teatro Real Madrid, Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Finnish National Opera, Osterfestspiele Baden-Baden, Tanglewood Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Salzburger Festspiele, Bayreuther Festspiele, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Katharina Wagner, Hans Neuenfels, Barrie Kosky, Andrea Moses, Uwe Eric Laufenberg, Andreas Kriegenburg, Andreas Homoki, Jossi Wieler, Valentin Schwarz, Tobias Kratzer, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Daniel Barenboim, Christian Thielemann, Kirill Petrenko, Andris Nelsons, Simone Young, Mariss Jansons, Sir Antonio Pappano, Philippe Jordan, Hartmut Haenchen, Alan Gilbert, Kent Nagano, Sebastian Weigle, Thomas Guggeis, Gianandrea Noseda, et al.
More about Klaus Florian Vogt
photo: Harald Hoffmann
Elsa
Sara Jakubiak
Soprano
American soprano Sara Jakubiak has been praised by the New York Times for her "plush-voiced, impressive soprano" and by Opera News as a “talented, highly musical singer.” She continues as a member of the ensemble at Oper Frankfurt for the 2016 – 2017 season where she will be seen in two new productions: Tatyana in of “Eugene Onegin” conducted by Sebastian Weigle and as Marie in Krenek’s “Der Diktator”. She will also be seen in Harry Kupfer’s production of “The Gambler” conducted by Weigle. Ms. Jakubiak returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper to reprise performances as Eva in “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” under music director Kirill Petrenko and the Hamburg Opera for her role debut in Christoph Loy’s new production of Strauss’s “Daphne”.
In recent seasons Ms. Jakubiak made many significant debuts: Bayersiche Staatsoper as Eva in a new production of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” with Kirill Petrenko, Semperoper Dresden as Rosalinde in “Die Fledermanus“ and Agathe in a new production of “Der Freischütz” conducted by music director Christian Thielemann which was released commercially on DVD by Unitel, the Hamburg Opera as Marie in “Die tote Stadt”, the Dutch National Opera in Andrea Breth’s new production of Prokofiev’s The Gambler as Polina under Marc Albrecht, Oper Graz as Elsa von Brabant in “Lohengrin” in a new production by Johannes Erath and costumes by Christian Lacroix, and at the English National Opera to great critical acclaim as Marie in “Wozzeck” conducted by Edward Gardner. In Frankfurt, she has been seen as Lina in a new production of “Stiffelio”, Marie/Marietta in “Die tote Stadt”, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Prima Donna/Ariadne in “Ariadne auf Naxos”, The Goose Girl in Humperdinck’s “Königskinder”, and created a sensation as Marta in a new production of Weinberg’s “Die Passagierin”, both in Frankfurt and in Vienna at the Wiener Festwochen.
Sara Jakubiak's concert performances include her Israel Philharmonic debut with Zubin Mehta as Rosalinde in “Die Fledermaus”, as Emma in Schubert’s “Fierrabras” and Schumann's "Scenes from Goethe's Faust" with the American Symphony Orchestra, the Governess in Britten’s “The Turn of the Screw” with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, with the Colorado Symphony in Mozart concert arias, and in concert performances of Howard Hanson’s lyrical opera “Merry Mount” with the Rochester Philharmonic under Michael Christie at Carnegie Hall, originally commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. She has also performed Penderecki’s “Polish Requiem” conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki with Orquesta Sinfónica de la Juventud Venezolana Simón Bolívar in Caracas, and Fiora in a concert version of Montemezzi's “L'amore dei tre re” with Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw under the baton of Lucasz Borowitcz, which was recently released on CD. Ms. Jakubiak is featured on the Naxos label's eight-volume collection of Charles Ives songs in the series "American Classics".
Other recent engagements have seen her debut at New York City Opera as Dede in a new, ground-breaking production of Bernstein's “A Quiet Place” by Christopher Alden, her debut with Minnesota Opera as Catherine Earnshaw in Herrmann's “Wuthering Heights”, Beatrice in Jake Heggie's “Three Decembers” alongside celebrated mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade at Chicago Opera Theater, and Countess Almaviva in “Le nozze di Figaro” at the Seoul Arts Center in Korea.
Ms. Jakubiak holds master's degrees from both Yale University and the Cleveland Institute of Music. She was a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was also the recipient of the Judith Raskin Memorial Award from Santa Fe Opera.
photo: Ashley Plante
Friedrich von Telramund
Martin Gantner
Bariton
Birthplace:
Freiburg, Germany
Studies:
Singing at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe
Prizes:
Appointment as Kammersänger (Bayerische Staatsoper München, 2005)
Important parts:
Telramund (Lohengrin), Beckmesser (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Amfortas (Parsifal), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Wolfram (Tannhäuser), Kaiser Overall (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), Diktator (Der Diktator), Cardillac (Cardillac), Jochanaan (Salome), Pizarro (Fidelio), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Posa (Don Carlo), Il Conte d‘Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Barak (Die Frau ohne Schatten), et al.
Stages:
Bayerische Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Teatro alla Scala Mailand, Opéra Bastille, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera Company, Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, New National Theatre Tokyo, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayreuth Festival, Salzburg Festival, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
David Alden, Andreas Homoki, Arpad Schilling, Herbert Wernicke, Maximilian Schell, Martin Kusej, David Pountney, Tim Albery, Jossi Wieler, David Herrmann, Claus Guth, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Zubin Mehta, Christian Thielemann, Kent Nagano, Semyon Bychkov, James Conlon, Peter Schneider, Fabio Luisi, Gianandrea Noseda, Bertrand de Billy, Philippe Jordan, Bernard Haitink, Kirill Petrenko, Simone Young, Daniel Barenboim, et al.
photo: Tom Jasny
Ortrud
Yulia Matochkina
Mezzosoprano
Birthplace:
Mirny, Russia
Prizes:
First prize winner and recipient of the Golden Medal of the XV International Tchaikovsky competition (2015)
Important parts:
Amneris (Aida), Ascanio (Benvenuto Cellini), Eboli (Don Carlo), Dulcinee (Don Quichotte), die Fürstin von Bouillon (Adriana Lecouvreur), Marguerite (La Damnation de Faust), Didon (Les Troyens), Dalila (Samson et Dalila), Venus (Tannhäuser), Brangäne (Tristan und Isolde), Kundry (Parsifal), Polina (Pique Dame), Federica (Luisa Miller), Joanna (The Maid of Orleans), Marfa (Khovanshchina), et al.
Stages:
Metropolitan Opera New York, Los Angeles Opera, Arena di Verona, Staatsoper Hamburg, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Mariinsky Theatre, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Dutch National Opera, Zurich Opera, Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, New National Theatre Tokyo, Philharmonie im Gasteig Munich, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Festival Hall Baden-Baden, Philharmonie de Paris, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, et al.
Cooperations with conductors:
Valery Gergiev, James Conlon, Vassily Sinaisky, Tugan Sokhiev, Mikhail Tatarnikov,
Michael Guettler, Karina Canellakis, Plácido Domingo, Pablo Heras-Casado, et al.
1. Brabantischer Edler
Peter Galliard
Tenor
Birthplace:
Chur, Switzerland
Studies:
With Rico Peterelli, Conservatory in Feldkirch with Maria Eibenschütz, at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Rudolf Knoll
Prizes:
First Prize at the International Mozart Competition (1985), Förderpreis of the Kanton Graubünden (1987), Dr. Wilhelm-Oberdörffer-Preis of the Stiftung zur Förderung der Hamburgischen Staatsoper (1989), honored by the Hamburg Senate with the title of “Kammersänger” (2017)
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since 1986/87
Important parts:
Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Jaquino (Fidelio), Cassio (Otello), Froh and Loge (Das Rheingold), Alfred and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Peter Iwanow (Zar und Zimmermann), Bardolfo (Falstaff), Hauptmann (Wozzeck), Knusperhexe (Hänsel und Gretel), Lenski (Eugen Onegin), Narraboth (Salome), Don Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro), Prinz and Hauptmann (Lulu), L’Aumonier (Dialogues des Carmélites), Melot (Tristan und Isolde), Walther von der Vogelweide (Tannhäuser), Wolfgang Capito (Mathis der Maler), Goro (Madama Butterfly), Red Whiskers (Billy Budd), Dämon (L’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe), Bischof von Budoja (Palestrina), Mime (Siegfried), et al.
Stages:
Hamburgische Staatsoper, Lucerne Festival, Salzburger Osterfestspiele, Opéra National de Paris, Enescu Festival in Bukarest, Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Oper Frankfurt, Semperoper Dresden, Oper Leipzig, Staatstheater Nürnberg, et al.
Cooperation with directors:
Claus Guth, August Everding, Johannes Schaaf, Harry Kupfer, Peter Konwitschny, Johannes Erath, Renaud Doucet, Georg Schmiedleitner, Stefan Herheim, Herbert Wernicke, Calixto Bieito, Willy Decker, Paul-Georg Dittrich, et al.
Cooperation with conductors:
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christian Thielemann, Ingo Metzmacher, Simone Young, Kirill Petrenko, Kent Nagano, Lawrence Foster, Gerrit Prießnitz, Marcus Bosch, Philippe Jordan, Paolo Carignani, Vaclav Luks, et al.
photo: Martina Cyman
2. Brabantischer Edler
Colin Aikins
3. Brabantischer Edler
Chao Deng
Bass-baritone
Birthplace:
Tianjin, China
Studies:
Vocal studies in Tianjin, China; diploma in voice at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg with Cheryl Studer; master studies with Christian Elsner and in the Lied class of Gerold Huber and opera studio at the Hochschule für Musik Weimar with Prof. Dr. Michail Lanskoi; master class exam at the Hochschule für Musik Dresden with KS Prof. Matthias Henneberg.
Master classes:
With Liang Li, Michaelis Doukakis, John Norris, KS Camilla Nylund, KS Helen Donath, KS Brigitte Fassbaender, Sonja Prina, Alberto Triola, Catherine Foster, Georg Zeppenfeld, Juliane Banse, Roberto Scandiuzzi, KS Deborah Polaski.
Awards:
Prize for Opera Singing of the Concerto Foundation Würzburg (2015), Prize Winner of the International Singing Competition of the Chamber Opera Schloss Rheinsberg (2014), Scholarship Holder of the Richard Wagner Association Bayreuth Festival (2014), et al.
Relation to the State Opera:
Ensemble member of the Hamburg State Opera since the 2020/21 season.
Important roles:
Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Escamillo (Carmen), Alidoro (La Cenerentola), Peter (Hänsel und Gretel), Fasolt (Das Rheingold), Comte Capulet (Roméo et Juliette), Häuptling Abendwind (Häuptling Abendwind), Ramfis (Aida), Gianni Schicchi/Betto di Signa (Gianni Schicchi), Papageno/Sprecher /2. Geharnischte (Die Zauberflöte), Frank (Die Fledermaus), Don Fernando (Fidelio), Schaunard (La Bohème), Herr Fluth (Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor), Kilian/Ottokar (Der Freischütz), Buonafede (Il mondo della luna), Förster (Das schlaue Füchslein), Le Duc (Romeo et Juliette), Angelotti (Tosca), Colas (Bastien et Bastienne), Priamus (Les Troyens), Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro), Marullo/Ceprano (Rigoletto), Zuniga (Carmen), De Retz (Les Huguenots), Lord Syndham (Zar und Zimmermann), Spielmann (Königskinder), Journalist (Lulu), Osias, Oberpriester (Judith), et al.
Stages:
Hamburg State Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Bavarian State Opera, Dresden Semper Opera, German Opera on the Rhine, Dresden Philharmonic, Braunschweig State Theater, German National Theater Weimar, Dresden State Operetta, Erfurt Theater, Weimarhalle, Saar Music Festival, Shanghai Opera House, et al.
Collaboration with directors:
Peter Konwitschny, Lydia Steier, Barrie Kosky, Mariame Clément,Yona Kim, Manfred Weiß, Sabine Hartmannshenn, Hasko Weber, Anette Leistenschneider, Guy Montavon, Andrea Moses, et al.
Collaboration with conductors:
Kent Nagano, Sebastian Weigle, Stefano Ranzani, John Fiore, Stefan Soltész, Xu Zhong, Daniele Callegari, Speranza Scappucci, Giampaolo Bisanti, Ivan Repušić, Riccardo Minasi, Giacomo Sagripanti, Roberto Rizzi Brignoli, Thomas Leo Cadenbach, Moritz Gnann, Felix Krieger, Christoph Gedschold, Kristiina Poska, Tomáš Netopil, Antonino Fogliani, Omer Meir Wellber, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Stefan Lano, Martin Hoff, Georg Fritzsch, et al.
More about Chao Deng
photo: Jie Chen
4. Brabantischer Edler
Keith Klein
Bass-Baritone
Birthplace:
Overland Park, Kansas, United States of America
Studies:
Bachelors Degree in Vocal Performance, Eastman School of Music
Masters Degree in Vocal Performance, Florida State University
Prizes:
Laffont Competition Regional 3rd Place Winner, Metropolitan Opera, 2024
Laffont Competition District Winner, Metropolitan Opera, 2024
Barbara and Stanley Richman Memorial Award, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, 2022
NATS SouthEast Conference- Best College Male Florida State University, 2019
Relation to the Hamburg State Opera:
Member of the International Opera Studio of the Hamburg State Opera since the season 2024/25
Important parts:
Dr. Grenville (La Traviata), Colline (La boheme), Sparafucille (Rigoletto), Angelotti (Tosca), Notary (Der Rosenkavalier) Dr. Podsnap (Awakenings)
Stages:
Santa Fe/Crosby Theatre, Opera Colorado/Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Florida Grand Opera/ Adrienne Arscht Theatre, Lyric Opera of Kansas City/Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, Opera Theatre of St. Louis/ Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts
Cooperation with directors:
James Robinson, Patricia Racette, Chia Patiño, Matthew Lata
Cooperation with conductors:
Patrick Summers, Roberto Kalb, Daniella Candillari, Benton Hess
More about Keith Klein
photo: Jörn Kipping
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
Chor
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.
photo: Niklas Marc Heinecke
