Conductor

“Don‘t you know the horrible dark place, don’t you know the evil one lives there?” Hastily, their parents set out for the woods to save Hansel and Gretel from the witch Rosina Leckermaul. As they feared, the children have got lost in the woods and found the gingerbread house. They cannot resist the sweet temptation – and fall straight into the trap of the witch, who likes children so much she could eat them up… literally.
As in most tales of the Brothers Grimm, in Engelbert Humperdinck’s setting of the fairytale all ends well: until that point, however, Humperdinck’s romantic music accompanies the children deep into the dark forest of legend. Here it invokes magical beings, calls on 14 angels to protect the siblings and allows the witch to ride her broomstick through the air.

Hansel and Gretel

Hamburg State Opera

Otello, black, a stranger and yet having risen to the top of Venetian society through military merit and eloquence, marries the beautiful Desdemona. Naturally, this disturbs those around him. His closest confidant, Iago, instigates a jealous intrigue that leads to Otello killing first his bride and then himself. Arrigo Boito, Verdi's congenial librettist, places Jago's commitment to evil at the center as an equal element to virtue. With recourse to Otello's socially agreed otherness, Iago succeeds in bending the circumstances back into a supposed order by relegating Otello to the bottom of the racialized hierarchy. In collaboration with the renowned British video artist John Akomfrah, Silvia Costa scrutinises the underlying social constructions: Who actually defines from where what is foreign and what is their own, who is worthy and who is discarded?

Otello

Stuttgart Opera

The programme opens with Schumann’s Overture, Scherzo, and Finale, written in 1841. Here the orchestra is used to portray Schumann’s joy at his recent marriage to Clara, and he referred to the piece in many ways – his second symphony, a suite and a sinfonietta. The Overture provides a delicate beginning, with string motifs that return as the movement gains pace. The lively Scherzo makes extensive use of dotted rhythms and a lyrical trio section, and the piece closes with a rousing Finale.

EPSG:4326

Majestic Evocation

Ulster Hall

The famous melodies have inspired thousands of young and old to enjoy classical music. A whole zoo of animals can be experienced in the 14 charming miniatures: the noble swan, the mighty lion, the twittering birds, the slow turtle. In them, the mischievous composer Camille Saint-Saëns also parodied some of his colleagues. And the whole thing wasn't actually intended for the public, but rather as a carnival joke that the Frenchman was later even ashamed of. Why? And which was the only melody that Saint-Saëns didn't find embarrassing? You can find out all this and more in this playful family concert by the hr Symphony Orchestra.

Carnival of Animals

Bertramstraße 8

Violetta, a high-spirited, popular courtesan. Alfredo, her devoted but naive lover. The rural bliss they choose is shattered by fear of scandal. When their love reasserts itself, she is already on her deathbed. Opera’s most moving reunion.

Conductor

Killian Farrell

Events

Upcoming events

Nov 30 - Dec 25, 2025

Hansel and Gretel · Staatsoper Hamburg

Past events

Nov 30 - Dec 25, 2025

Hansel and Gretel · Staatsoper Hamburg

Oct 11 - Nov 19, 2025

Otello · Staatsoper Stuttgart

Future and recently performed repertoire

Conductor in Otello by Verdi

Staatsoper Stuttgart

Conductor in Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck

Staatsoper Hamburg

About

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