Singer

"It is a simple and tremendous problem of life: that of fidelity", is how Hugo von Hofmannsthal described the core of their third opera together, Ariadne auf Naxos, in a letter to Richard Strauss. To live does not mean to persevere and hold on to what has been lost. If you want to live, you have to let go, forget, get over yourself - constantly transform yourself. This is what a young opera composer experiences in this work when he is confronted with the stubborn wishes of his patron; just like the protagonist of his opera, Ariadne, who, abandoned by her lover, Theseus, expects only death.

Ariadne on Naxos

Hamburg State Opera

Under the face of the wandering moon, spirit and body quarrel in all their greatness and wretchedness until the blood of two bodies flows. Strauss remains close to Wilde's re-creation of the biblical material, which leads Salome from her mother's tool to autonomy. It is she who, in her unfulfilled desire for the liberatingly different, the body of the prophet Jochanaan, seeks revenge and demands his head - a price the male-dominated society around Herod is willing to pay for their dance. Now that Salome holds his severed head in her hands, she can kiss Jochanaan, possess him if not alive, then dead. As if under a burning glass, Strauss pours Oscar Wilde's demonic dramaturgy into sound like an eruption of the psyche, accompanying his protagonist from her failed escape from the decadence of her existence to her death.

EPSG:4326

Salome

Staatsoper Hamburg

Seeking to test their girlfriends’ fidelity, two men wager that they will remain steadfast. They subject the women to passionate onslaught, and in the end, the fortress of their faithfulness falls. The men, however, involved as they are in the experiment, failed to reckon that they too might betray their partners and feelings. All this cheating, confusing, lying – to others and oneself – is grotesquely comical and simultaneously cruel. One side is inclined not to think about the new situation (Guglielmo and Dorabella), while the others try to comprehend it to the point of exhaustion (Fiordiligi and Ferrando). The final ceremony seeks to cement the social status quo, bringing this new freedom to its knees. The marriage, however, is only for show, and beneath the surface of tradition, the first cracks appear.

Così fan tutte

California in 1850: hundreds of thousands have fallen for the gold rush – and some of them also for the barkeeper Minnie, at whose saloon various fortune seekers meet every evening. Among them is Sheriff Jack Rance. Minnie, however, falls in love with the stranger Dick Johnson. It soon turns out that Johnson is a wanted robber: the sheriff wants to see him hang and have Minnie to himself. A round of poker is to decide about Dick’s life: is there yet another trump up Minnie’s sleeve?

La Fanciulla del West (The Girl of the West)

Don Pasquale, an older, wealthy man with a desire for a young, modest wife, meets the young couple Ernesto and Norina in Donizetti's opera. The only thing missing for their great love happiness is the blessing of money. Malatesta, a doctor friend, develops a cunning plan so that in the end the perfect intrigue emerges and Don Pasquale becomes the plaything of the young people.

Don Pasquale

The poet E. T. A. Hoffmann as the protagonist of his own fantastic tales: In his encounter with three women - Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta - he searches in vain for love for love and for himself. Will he draw the strength for art from his failure in life? art from his failures in life? Or will he fail in himself, even in alcohol? Like in a kaleidoscope, ever new constellations and shimmering colors constellations and shimmering colors German romanticism and French esprit.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann

In a dialog with musicologist Holger Noltze and non-fiction author Inge Kloepfer, Kent Nagano looks back on his successful time as General Music Director of the Hamburg State Opera and the Philharmonic State Orchestra. What role does opera play today in a democratic urban society and how can it bring people together as an institution and through its art?

„Muss denn in diesem Land immer alles politisch sein?“

LichtwarkTheater

A coming-of-age story, recurring conflicts with parents, and first love, Manon is a young girl full of hopes, dreams, and an irrepressible desire for life. Manon is to enter a convent and sees her desire for a free, self-determined life fading. However, she falls head over heels in love and flees to Paris, the city of love and opportunity.

Manon

With a chamber concert with a very similar line-up, I was able to experience the first time we made music together after the lockdown: a moment of great gratitude and heartfelt joy.

2nd Chamber Concert

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

“How ice-cold is this little hand” – a hand held by the poet Rodolfo in the darkness of his artists’ commune! The ice-cold hand belongs to the seamstress Mimì – with whom he proceeds to throw himself into the Christmas season in Paris. Only a few months later, though, she finds living with Rodolfo torturous. It is not jealousy, however, which explains Rodolfo’s behaviour: he knows that Mimì will not last the year. "La Bohème" was based on Henri Murger’s extremely successful novel "Les scènes de la vie de bohème", which had entranced Puccini when he first read it. His wish to set the tale to music was so strong that he even risked ruining his friendship with Ruggero Leoncavallo, who was also working on a opera version of it. Today, the opera premiered in 1896 is considered one of the most popular stage works of all times – thanks to an overabundance of melodies and Puccini’s genius for character portraits.

La Bohème

Opera in two acts by Jonathan Dove (*1959) for children from age 7 and up and the eternally young
based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne, Libretto by Peter Lund
Commission of the Opernhaus Zürich

In 80 Tagen um die Welt

Opernhaus Zürich

The years between the death of Ivan the Terrible and the ascension of the Romanov family to the throne are known in Russia as the “Time of Troubles”. During this time, Boris Godunov strives to gain power with an iron determination. However, the ghosts of the past catch up with him and he dies a madman, abandoned and betrayed by everyone. In the meantime, the country sinks ever deeper into corruption, putsches and intrigue. A new “Time of Troubles” dawned during Modest Mussorgsky’s lifetime: the old order faltered and could not survive, everyone felt it. During a period of political upheaval and shaken by dramatic developments in his private life, Mussorgsky created a work about the arrogance of power and the eroticism of betrayal – as contradictory and fascinating as his personality itself.

Boris Godunov

Carmen charms everyone with her dancing and singing - only one of them turns her down: Don José. He, of all people, is supposed to arrest her after an argument in the factory. But José is also caught - he can't help it, lets her flee and is demoted and dismissed for it. Finally, the much-awaited appearance of the Toréador: he sings his furious march-like melody and flirts with Carmen. But she rejects him - she is waiting for Don José ... An opera full of musical highlights and dramatic love stories.

Carmen

Tristano e Isotta – Tristan and Isolde set an example: Nemorino has the evident idea to boost the feelings of his beloved Adina with a love potion. The charlatan Dulcamara sees his chance for a good deal and sells a bottle of the pretended potion to the unhappy lover...

The Elixir of Love

Violetta is the most sought-after courtesan of the Parisian demimonde. However, her encounter with Alfredo makes her pleasure-seeking life seem questionable: they fall in love and try to build a life for themselves, far from the fast pleasures of the city...

La Traviata

In Wagner's interpretation, the medieval myth about the tragic love between the Irish king's daughter Isolde and Tristan, King Mark's henchman, to whom Isolde was married against her will, becomes a key work of musical theater at the beginning of a new era. This season, the Hamburg State Opera is bringing Ruth Berghaus' legendary production from 1988 back into the repertoire.

Baritone

Nicholas Mogg

Events

Upcoming events

Dec 20, 2025 - Jan 25, 2026

The Elixir of Love · Staatsoper Hamburg

Jan 7 - Feb 21, 2026

La Traviata · Staatsoper Hamburg

7 - 21 Jun, 2026

Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde) · Staatsoper Hamburg

Past events

Nov 16 - Dec 4, 2025

Ariadne on Naxos · Staatsoper Hamburg

5 - 12 Oct, 2025

Salome · Staatsoper Hamburg

Future and recently performed repertoire

William in Così fan tutte by Mozart

Staatsoper Hamburg

Schlémil / Hermann in The Tales of Hoffmann by Offenbach

Staatsoper Hamburg

Sid in La Fanciulla del West by Puccini

Staatsoper Hamburg

Singer in Piano Quartet No. 3 by Brahms

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

1. Nazarener in Salome by Strauss

Staatsoper Hamburg

Nazarener in Salome by Strauss

Staatsoper Hamburg

Schaunard in La bohème by Puccini

Staatsoper Hamburg

von Brétigny in Manon by Massenet

Staatsoper Hamburg

To lie in Tristan und Isolde by Wagner

Staatsoper Hamburg

Dancairo in Carmen by Bizet

Staatsoper Hamburg

Moralès in Carmen by Bizet

Staatsoper Hamburg

Baron Douphol in La traviata by Verdi

Staatsoper Hamburg

A Notary in Don Pasquale by Donizetti

Staatsoper Hamburg

Mitjucha in Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky

Staatsoper Hamburg

Belcore in The Elixir of Love by Donizetti

Staatsoper Hamburg

Singer in Piano Quartet by Mahler

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Harlequin in Ariadne on Naxos by Strauss

Staatsoper Hamburg

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