Hamburg's Staatsoper is set to host a magnificent lineup of operatic performances, showcasing the brilliance of composers like Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner. From the intense drama of 'Tosca' to the whimsical world of 'Die Zauberflöte,' this season promises a rich tapestry of emotions, stories, and exceptional performances by renowned artists. As the curtain rises on masterpieces such as 'La Bohème' and 'Der fliegende Holländer,' audiences will be immersed in the magical realms of music and theater. Let us delve into the vibrant world of Hamburg's opera season.

A Cultural Extravaganza: Opera's Timeless Charm in Hamburg

The Staatsoper Hamburg has curated a remarkable line-up of operatic events, each promising an evocative journey through music and storytelling. From the heart-wrenching drama of 'Tosca' to the whimsical narratives of 'Die Zauberflöte,' the opera house offers a diverse array of performances. With renowned artists like Michael Fabiano and Lise Davidsen gracing the stage, these events aren't just operas—they're profound cultural experiences. As the audience settles into the Staatsoper's historic seats, they are guaranteed an intimate encounter with the timeless art of opera.

Exploring the Opulence of Opera: Highlights from Staatsoper Hamburg

Dive into an array of captivating performances at Staatsoper Hamburg, where dramatic operas and unique musical experiences unfold. From Puccini’s gripping 'Tosca' to the contemporary commentary of 'Die Kreide im Mund des Wolfs,' each event offers a distinct narrative and musical journey. Join us as we explore the artistry and themes behind these spectacular performances and the renowned artists who bring them to life.

A Spectacle of Sound and Storytelling: Opera Highlights at Staatsoper Hamburg

Staatsoper Hamburg offers an eclectic mix of opera performances, showcasing the works of renowned composers such as Puccini, Mozart, and Strauss. With events like 'Tosca', 'Ariadne auf Naxos', and 'Les Contes d'Hoffmann', each show brings a unique story and cast of talented artists to the stage. From classic tales of love and betrayal to innovative audience participation events like 'Tonangeber', the Staatsoper Hamburg is a hub of artistic expression and cultural immersion. Join us as we delve into the captivating details of these performances and the artists who bring them to life.

Exploring the Enriching World of Opera at Staatsoper Hamburg

The prestigious Staatsoper Hamburg is all set to host a captivating series of operatic performances that promise to enthrall audiences with timeless tales of love, betrayal, and redemption. From the intense drama of 'Tosca' and 'Ariadne auf Naxos' to the emotional intricacies of 'Eugene Onegin' and 'Rigoletto', each performance is a testament to the enduring power of opera. With world-class performers and visionary directors, the stage is set for an unforgettable opera season that celebrates the depth and diversity of human emotion.

Opera Extravaganza at Staatsoper Hamburg: A Journey through Passion and Drama

Staatsoper Hamburg is set to offer an enthralling season for opera aficionados from 2024 to 2025. With a rich lineup featuring classics like Puccini's 'Tosca', Wagner's 'Parsifal', and Mozart's 'Mitridate, re di Ponto', alongside innovative performances such as 'Die dunkle Seite des Mondes', this season promises to capture the essence of human emotions and artistic expression. From politically charged narratives to explorations of the human soul, these performances bring together renowned artists and conductors to create unforgettable experiences. Join us in exploring the diverse and compelling offerings at Staatsoper Hamburg.

A Journey Through Opera: The 2024-2025 Season at Staatsoper Hamburg

Staatsoper Hamburg presents a captivating lineup of performances, showcasing a blend of traditional operas and innovative productions over the coming months. Highlights include the dramatic 'Tosca,' the interactive 'Tonangeber,' and Mozart's youthful masterpiece 'Mitridate, re di Ponto.' Each event promises to offer unique experiences, from grand historical dramas to modern explorations of human psychology, all set to awe-inspiring music. Dive into the rich tapestry of art and emotion presented by world-renowned artists in one of Germany's most esteemed opera houses.

Exploring the Diverse World of Opera at Staatsoper Hamburg

This season, the Hamburg State Opera is set to captivate audiences with an extraordinary lineup of events that span the spectrum of musical and theatrical brilliance. From the interactive and educational 'Tonangeber' to the emotionally charged 'Mitridate, re di Ponto', each production offers a unique experience. The revival of Wagner's 'Tristan und Isolde' and Strauss's 'Salome' promise to delve into the depths of human emotion, while 'Die verlorene Melodie' and 'Frühlings Erwachen' bring fresh narratives to the stage. Witness the interplay of tradition and innovation in Mozart's timeless operas 'Così fan tutte' and 'Le Nozze di Figaro'.

A Symphony of Events: Hamburg State Opera's Unforgettable Season

In the vibrant city of Hamburg, a rich tapestry of performing arts events awaits enthusiasts and newcomers alike. From the haunting narrative of 'Pique Dame' to the playful allure of 'The Elixir of Love,' the Staatsoper Hamburg offers an eclectic mix of operas, ballets, and workshops. Each event presents a unique opportunity to delve into the world of music and dance, guided by the talents of exceptional performers and creative visionaries. Whether you're captivated by the drama of opera or the elegance of ballet, Hamburg promises an unforgettable journey through the arts.

An Artistic Odyssey: Hamburg's Diverse Performing Arts Scene

Dive into an enthralling program by Staatsoper Hamburg, showcasing a dynamic mix of opera, ballet, and masterclass events. With stunning operas like 'Pique Dame' and 'La Traviata,' and engaging dance workshops, each event captures the essence of artistry and dedication. Celebrated performers and insightful sessions promise a year of cultural enrichment and unforgettable experiences.

Staatsoper Hamburg's Vibrant Year of Opera, Ballet, and Artistic Exploration

Hamburg's vibrant cultural scene is set to dazzle audiences with a diverse lineup of performances and workshops featuring opera, ballet, and orchestral magic. From the gripping narrative of 'Pique Dame' to the immersive Ballet Workshops, this season's events offer something for every art enthusiast. Get ready to delve into the world of dance at 'Dance for Me' or explore operatic masterpieces in the Opera Workshop. With talented artists and captivating performances, the Staatsoper Hamburg promises an unforgettable cultural experience.

Unveiling Hamburg's Cultural Tapestry: Opera, Ballet, and Beyond

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Concert Alsterspatzen

Staatsoper Hamburg

Opern Studio

Opera Stabile Werk/Wirkbühne of the State Opera

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.

Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde)

Hamburg State Opera

"Luisa Miller" is Giuseppe Verdi’s third setting of a play by Friedrich Schiller. “It is a great drama, full of passion and very effective in theatrical terms,” the composer wrote to the librettist Salvadore Cammarano about “Kabale und Liebe”...

Luisa Miller

Meet the Artists: Eliza Boom

How do I become what I am not? Between appearance and reality, director Tatjana Gürbaca searches for the melancholic undertones in Gioachino Rossini's masterful comedy. Behind some comic masquerades lies the desire to escape one's role, behind some triumphant vocal acrobatics the fear of missing out on life. Can there ever be a winner in the pursuit of happiness? A masterpiece for all time.

The Barber of Seville

"The success was tremendous and unprecedented! Critics, artists, amateurs and music lovers were intoxicated ... The auditorium roared apart, loudly proclaiming the new miracle." Thus a report on the premiere in 1821 at the Berlin Schauspielhaus. Der Freischütz struck a chord with the times, every barrel organ played the "Jungfernkranz", every street singer performed it, as Heine reports.

The Marksman

The "Young Choreographers" of the Hamburg Ballet will return to the stage with their own creations.

Young Choreographers

Nagasaki, Japan, ca. 1900: Pinkerton, a lieutenant in the American navy, has fallen in love with Cio-Cio-San, also known as “Butterfly”. The Japanese ritual marriage ceremony is merely a farce to him – and shortly thereafter, Pinkerton’s “plaything” is alone again, with their child. Three years later, he returns to Japan, but not because of Butterfly...

Madama Butterfly

The war is over, and tragedy takes its course: the mother and her lover murder the father upon his return. The daughter hides her brother, keeping him safe. – Every day, Elektra thinks of her murdered father, plotting blood-stained celebrations of victory and waiting for the moment when her brother, reared as an avenger, returns...

Elektra

Three masterpieces – two centuries – one narrative. There is Schumann's song cycle "Frauenliebe und -leben ," in which the feelings of the nameless protagonist revolve around the needs of a man. There is Duke Bluebeard's Castle , in which two mysterious strangers are magically attracted to each other. And there is the bourgeois, liberal marriage construct of Oscar Wilde's Florentine Tragedy . These raise the question: Do people desire the same throughout all ages?

Women's Love and Death

Elisabeth Stöppler's production of "Stockhausen for Children: Michael's Journey" offers children ages 6 and up, as well as adults, a sensory experience of Karlheinz Stockhausen's cycle "Light," a monumental work of the younger musical avant-garde. Together with Michael, portrayed by a solo trumpet, the audience embarks on a fantastical journey around the world, immersed in the infinite expanses of the universe and rarely heard sounds.

Stockhausen for children: Michael's journey

Opera Stabile Werk/Wirkbühne der Staatsoper

Elsa of Brabant is suspected of having killed her younger brother Gottfried in the forest. When King Henry the Fowler asks Elsa to defend herself, she pleads for an imaginary knight to come to her aid. Suddenly, Lohengrin, the Knight of the Swan, appears. He promises to fight for Elsa, but makes her promise beforehand never to question him about his identity or provenance.

Lohengrin

For Leonora, the song of the troubadour Manrico holds the promise and glow of love; Manrico's rival Count Luna perceives in it threat and danger. Verdi's opera is a celebration of Italian opera singing at its best - so it is no coincidence that the title character is a singer himself.

The Troubadour

Culture creates meaning and structure. The music theater project by Christopher Rüping, Omer Meir Wellber, and Malte Ubenauf demonstrates that it can even provide existential support. Here, for an extraterrestrial group, Mozart's music becomes a daily reminder and admonition of what it means to be and remain human. And what happens when it all falls silent. Thus, we rediscover Mozart's music in distant worlds.

The Great Silence

Meet the Artists: Raffaella Lupinacci

Workshop of Creativity XVI

Ernst Deutsch Theater

The moment when there is no turning back, no “return to what was,” runs through this multi-part ballet evening. Xie Xin and Marcos Morau, two extraordinary and internationally acclaimed artists, are creating world premieres for Hamburg Ballet for the first time. The “point of no return” is explored by Angelin Preljocaj in *Annonciation*, at the moment of the biblical Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel.

Point Of No Return

Ballettzentrum Hamburg – John Neumeier

Even as a child, he felt a strong attraction to Bach's music, Giorgi Gigashvili explains. "What I intend to do with the third movement of the D minor harpsichord concerto comes from deep within me, from my heart." So, look forward to this 6th Philharmonic Concert, which questions our listening habits and brings our sympathies for Johann Sebastian Bach into the here and now through Gigashvili's interpretation of the jazzy Peterson Suite.

6th Philharmonic Concert

Elbphilharmonie

Kids only #2: Everywhere but nowhere at home

Maria and Elisabetta: two queens fight for power and love. Between them stands Count Leicester, Elisabetta's lover, who is attracted to Maria. The two women meet in the park of Fotheringhay Castle - a duel of emotions, fought with the weapons of bel canto, coloratura on a knife's edge. In the end, the Catholic Maria will ascend the scaffold with her head held high, while the Protestant Elisabetta will keep her throne but lose her love.

Mary Stuart

The Orchestra Academy of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra prepares highly talented young instrumentalists for a career as a professional musician in a large international orchestra. The 15 academy members are part of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra for two years. At their annual chamber concert, the stage belongs to them alone for one evening: Partly in classical, partly in unusual formations, they present their skills in the Small Hall of the Elbphilharmonie.

Chamber Concert of the Orchestra Academy

Elbphilharmonie Hamburg

The outsider Herman loves Liza, who is engaged to Prince Yeletsky. Herman is a passionate gambler: he is desperate to win a fortune and reputation in order to win Liza’s heart. When he learns that her grandmother knows the secret of the three winning cards, fate takes its course.

Pique Dame

Musical theater on the current state of affairs: As avatars of themselves, the exceptional artists Olga Neuwirth and Elfriede Jelinek send two "vampires" on a journey around the world and observe the decline of humanity. But what kind of world is this, one that can only be saved by a monster named Gorgonzilla? Tobias Kratzer stages this brand-new political grotesque as a contemporary Grand Guignol.

Monster’s Paradise

In our 5th Philharmonic Concert, Sergei Rachmaninoff's orchestral fantasy "The Rock" will be juxtaposed with a new composition by Mikhail Pletnev. The contemporary composer doesn't want to reveal his sources of inspiration, leaving it up to the listeners to discover for themselves "what the music most suggests to them." This opens up new perspectives on our musical culture and the way we perceive music.

5th Philharmonic Concert

The return of two grand masters: Gustav Mahler – star conductor, visionary composer, and the most famous General Music Director in the history of the State Opera. His music unfolds a panorama of human experience – constantly fluctuating between joie de vivre and the dance of death. Director Christoph Marthaler, known for his idiosyncratic and playful scenic collages, approaches Mahler's oeuvre with an intense chamber piece.

The Troublemakers

The city itself is mythical: Venice, with its undulating shores, where the aging writer Gustav von Aschenbach abandons his previous life’s concept. In John Neumeier’s adaptation of the famous Thomas Mann novella, Aschenbach becomes a master choreographer who finds himself in the midst of a deep creative crisis.

Death in Venice 

Senta's dreams are directed towards the sea: will the man who will free her from her restricted life at home come from there? It begins stormily; Wagner's first fully valid opera presents a grandiose, overwhelming vision of the elements already in the overture. The fate of the Flying Dutchman and the woman who is to redeem him takes place in the roar of the waves and the ocean. This "romantic opera" aims to transcend boundaries.

The Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchma

The soundscapes of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra's chamber concerts are as diverse as the characters of the musicians who perform in them. The demands in the orchestra pit are often characterized by the size and diversity of the voices. Chamber music, on the other hand, reduces this dimension to smaller ensembles and allows for intimate musical interaction. As in a dialog, different opinions come together, new ideas emerge and develop during the performance, opening up a creative space for spontaneous development.

3rd Chamber Concert

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

At the New Year's Eve concert, the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra and its General Music Director Omer Meir Wellber will present a bizarre and dazzling mixture of virtuoso vocal artistry, imaginative tonal language and humorous expressiveness. More is not yet revealed, except: „Psst! Pspsst! Pspspsst! Schscht! Ko! Koko! Kokokoko! Kokoko! Kokode zero! Oh! Kococode Zero Zero: höchste Geheimnisstufe! Zero, Zero! Kommen Störche! Dabeljusi! Krokodil groß! Menge, Menge, Menge! [Kaiserschmarrn!] Vo-vo-vo-volksmenge!“

New Year's Eve concert

It has become a tradition for ballet companies all over the world to perform Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker" at Christmas time. John Neumeier's version of "The Nutcracker", however, avoids direct reference to Christmas. In his ballet, the central character Marie celebrates her twelfth birthday and is drawn by the mysterious ballet master Drosselmeier into the fascinating world of dance. It is, in fact, a ballet about ballet itself.

The Nutcracker

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

The programm for the first premiere of the season will be announced shortly.

N.N.

“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

Meet the Artists

In interactive workshops, families prepare for their visit to the opera in a playful way. Scenic and musical improvisations arouse curiosity about the opera evening and create an individual approach to characters, plot, composition and scenic realization. The workshops can only be booked in conjunction with a visit to the performance.

Katinka Deecke

I can do it on my own! Kindergarten children can already do quite a lot. But sometimes that can be scary. Sophiemarie Won, who will be the director of the Hamburg State Opera from the 2025/26 season, will be staging a new project for children from the age of three in the foyer of the Hamburg State Opera in November 2025. This continues the opera house's tradition of offering music theater for the youngest.

?Alleine!

"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

Paris in the 19th century: extravagant balls, visits to the theater, sparkling diamonds, and champagne. Here, Armand Duval, a young man from high society, falls head over heels in love with the courtesan Marguerite Gautier. Marguerite gives up her former life to be with Armand, but his father rejects their relationship as unsuitable and pressures her until sheagrees to give Armand up, which she does out of love for him. Soon after,, Marguerite dies, lonely and destitute. Only after her death does Armand learn the true reason behind their separation.

Lady of the Camellias

A REDISCOVERY - NATIONAL EPIC OR FAIRYTALE OPERA ABOUT THE FIGHT AGAINST EVIL?

Who is good and who is evil in this fairytale opera - and why? The nucleus of Pushkin's setting of Ruslan and Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka is the abduction of the princess's daughter Lyudmila from Kiev, the center of both the Russian and Ukrainian founding myths. For Ruslan, the warrior promised to her, this marks the beginning of an adventurous journey through the magical realm of a powerful dwarf. The rescue operation escalates into a showdown between the men fighting for Lyudmila. But she herself increasingly becomes a distant vision of love - the longed-for prize for heroism. In 1842, in the midst of the awakening Russian national sentiment, Glinka conceived the idea of a culturally united tsarist empire, in which he merged Slavic, Finnish and Arabic melos with the bel canto fashion of his time.

Ruslan und Ljudmila

"THE LITTLE MERMAID" REPLACES "SURROGATE CITIES"
John Neumeier's "The Little Mermaid" replaces the production "Surrogate Cities" in the current and upcoming seasons, thus also opening the 50th Hamburg Ballet Days.

The Little Mermaid

The Hamburg Ballet opens the doors of the Ballet Center Hamburg – John Neumeier, so you can take the leap into the world of dance. Experience simple warm-up exercises and enjoy the beauty of dancing. We look forward to seeing you in the ballet studio!

Dance for me

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.

Salome

Iris ter Schiphorst's opera for children was premiered in Vienna in 2010. Together with her librettist Helga Utz, the Hamburg-born composer created a touching and captivatingly imaginative work of music theater from the Grimm fairy tale. A princess, accompanied by her maid, sets off from the protection of her parental home to meet her bridegroom. Despite a difficult journey and numerous obstacles, everything turns out well in the end and she is able to marry her prince. Tobias Kratzer is staging Die Gänsemagd as part of the opening of the opera stabile's artistic direction and season one day after Das Paradies und die Peri, the opening production on the main stage. Musical theater for the youngest generations is not a niche product for him, but a top priority. Here, young audiences experience it at close quarters: As a flock of geese, the children become part of the action, immersing themselves in the story together with the musicians and ensemble singers - opera as a lively, accessible art form full of enchanting melodies that shows how valuable resilience, self-confidence and trust in others are on the journey through life.

The Goose Girl

The Peri - an angelic mythical creature. Fallen from paradise and thrown into the world, she is denied a return to heaven. It takes three attempts before the gates open for her again: It takes more than the drop of blood of a young man, martyred in war, and the last sigh of a girl who died because she did not want to leave her lover, who was sick with the plague, alone. Only the last gift, the tear of an old man who bitterly regrets his own life's sins at the sight of a child, will enable Peri to enter the kingdom of heaven. Robert Schumann's secular oratorio Paradise and the Peri is based on the oriental epic poem by the Irish poet Thomas Moore. In Hamburg, the Persian myth narrative becomes a panopticon of the very recent past.

Paradise and the Peri

The Opera Workshop is a compact seminar in which participants learn all the key aspects of an opera production. It typically takes place on Friday evenings (usually from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) and the following Saturday in a six-hour block with appropriate breaks. Conception and implementation by Volker Wacker.

Opera Workshop

Ballet by John Neumeier based on Anton Chekhov | Introduction at 5.15 pm

On a secluded country estate, people from multiple generations come together, each bringing different views on life and art. Many of them are artists or aspire to be artists, yet none of them are happy. The free-spirited life, detached from conventions, exists only as a symbol, embodied by a seagull that is shot without reason by one of the main characters. In his adaptation of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull", John Neumeier shifts the action from the world of literature to the world of dance. Instead of literary discussions, the characters express themselves through various dance styles. 

The Seagull

Ballet sponsorship classes

Since 1973, the "Ballet Workshops" have been a regular part of Hamburg Ballet's program. The event was initiated by John Neumeier, who also personally hosted each session.

Following a public stage rehearsal, choreographers, ballet masters, or other members of the production team offer valuable insights into the creative and rehearsal process. They share how a particular work comes to life and highlight what audiences should pay special attention to. Often, viewers get a first glimpse of a new production even before its official premiere.

Ballet Workshop

Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

The Hamburg Ballet opens the doors of the Ballettzentrum and cordially invites you to take an exclusive look behind the scenes: Experience the Hamburg Ballet at rehearsals and watch the training of all classes of the ballet school.

Hamburg Theatre Night

In the morning hours, the Elbphilharmonie is bustling with one thing above all: rehearsals. But before the Philharmonic State Orchestra prepares for the upcoming concert in the Great Hall, its new chief conductor, Omer Meir Wellber, invites students from grade 9 and up backstage for a special get-together: With a freshly baked croissant in hand, they will receive an exclusive introduction to the music and previously unpublished #insights about the orchestra.

Croissant with Omer

During times of historical upheaval, the victors are filled with euphoric jubilation while fear spreads on the side of the losers. When cheerfulness grips the figures in Mozart’s piece, it is the swan song, full of schadenfreude, of dying structures, ancient privileges and traditional manners – including those between man and woman. Mozart (and Beaumarchais) hold the balance on the threshold between eras – as artists en route to self-marketing, as portraitists of their times, by precisely rendering a society whose balance is shifting, making Almaviva a ridiculous figure. His class is losing political power, and he compensates for this loss by becoming a slave to his sexual desire. The wind is blowing from the past, giving wing to Walter Benjamin’s angel of history. It is a storm for the winners, and for the losers a mere melancholy breeze. The angel sees nothing but ruins.

Le Nozze di Figaro

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

Why are we here? Are we loved? Have children someday? Graduate from school? And will there still be someone to remember us in 100 years' time? A group of young people looking for their way through perhaps the hardest time of their lives. Driven by the feeling of loneliness and the longing for closeness, by ignorance and boundless curiosity, by pressure to perform and sheer despair, they struggle through the school year: Moritz, Melchior, Wendla and their classmates. They experience violence, abuse, death and a small spark of hope for all the survivors (perhaps also the dead). Wedekind's drama is more than a coming-of-age drama, it is a reckoning with the society of its time, an unsparing story that has lost none of its revolutionary power to this day and will be unleashed in a new and contemporary way through music in this world premiere.

Frühlings Erwachen

Kampnagel

Hop! A little melody finds its way into a very eager orchestra. And of course everyone wants to play the melody! A terrible argument breaks out about this, until finally a little violin with the melody takes off. Luckily, the big, old bass violin immediately sets off to find the violin and its melody...

Die verlorene Melodie

Miralles Saal

LichtwarkTheater

Inspired by his romantic love for Mathilde Wesendonck, Richard Wagner created one of the most beautiful operas in music history. This season, the Hamburg State Opera revives its legendary production by Ruth Berghaus of 1988.

At the zenith of his career as a board member of a major corporation, disaster suddenly befalls the former working-class son William Mallory. He crashes over a scandal and no longer understands the world. With suicidal thoughts, he fables on the couch with his psychiatrist about the stages of his rise. An opera as a chamber play that begins quietly, only to soon unroll the great themes of life - a parable about rise and fall, identity and betrayal, appearance and fate. In the end, Mallory realizes that his own illusions have brought him down. In the end, he no longer even knows whether it was an illusion that he once began his rise as a good man.

Die Illusionen des William Mallory

University of Hamburg

Dr. Kieron is a brilliant scientist, respected and feared by his colleagues. But what nobody suspects is that every night he is haunted in his dreams by three recurring beings, enigmatic numbers and mysterious symbols, which he experiences with unbearably intense feelings. It is from these apparitions that he receives his scientific visions - the fundamental basis of his success. He also leads a double life. A highly respected scientist by day, he dives into the shady underworld at night in a restless search for human happiness. But his control over himself is slipping away. In order to satisfy his irrepressible urge for scientific knowledge and an emotionally fulfilling life, Kieron wants to have his dreams analyzed and enters into an alliance with the diabolical master Astaroth, with fatal consequences. Unsuk Chin drew inspiration for her second opera from the life and work of the legendary physicist Wolfgang Pauli and his relationship with the psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung. Faustian material for the 21st century.

Die dunkle Seite des Mondes

Everything seems to have been said about them, books have been written, films made, podcasts produced, facts collected upon facts. And yet there remains a void into which all the facts and words cannot penetrate - but the music can. In his composition, Grigori Frid approaches the inner states of Anne Frank, traces her longings and fears, and thus echoes the great literary power of Anne Frank's words. He creates a sensualization of the situation and thus a strong possibility of identification for young people today. After the White Rose, this graphic opera is dedicated to another iconic figure and victim of the Nazi dictatorship: Anne Frank. Digital and handmade, with comic, film, gore and poetry, documentary and fantastic, telling history and stories differently. For the truth behind reality!

Das Tagebuch der Anne Frank

In his “Parsifal”, Wagner created a complex world of its own. It is complex because it consists of so many heterogeneous elements whose meaning is hard to comprehend, frequently drawing us onto paths leading nowhere. Thus, the many religious signs, symbols and rituals can only be understood as partial elements pointing to a world which must be interpreted as a whole. Elements of Christianity, such as the last supper, the goblet, blood, the spear and dove, or Schopenhauer’s idea that compassion might release man from his egocentricity, as well as Gnostic and Manichean motifs lead to partial interpretative approaches which are unsuitable for “Parsifal” as a whole. A theatrical world, however, can design a fictional cosmos in which all these elements can effectively participate, leaving the audience to interpret its own experiences as it sees fit.

Parsifal

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. Her past, however, catches up with Violetta. Alfredo’s father persuades her that a separation is the only way to restore his family honour. Alfredo, unaware of the true reasons for her decision, insults Violetta in public. When they are finally reunited, Violetta has run out of time.

Sir John Falstaff is an anarchist who obeys only the reign of his own enjoyment, an egoist who feeds only his power-hunger and his own flesh, and who would prefer to raze the small-minded morals of his contemporaries like the walls of a fortress – by seducing two women at the same time. Needless to say, his plan is thwarted, but those trying to expose him also fail to emerge unruffled from the confusion they unleash around him – which only the audience can keep track of, barely. “Tutto nel mondo è burla,” but these jokes are only funny because falling into the abyss actually does pose quite a serious risk. Arrigo Boito, the librettist of “Otello”, distilled a sophisticated, ingenious libretto from Shakespeare’s original, driving Verdi to highly complex compositional heights.

Falstaff

For Leonora, the troubadour Manrico's song holds the promise and the fervor of love, while Manrico's rival Count Luna perceives threat and danger in it. Verdi's opera is a celebration of Italian opera singing at its finest - it is no coincidence that the title character is himself a singer. And yet, for the composer, Azucena, Manrico's mother, was the real main character. Il trovatore is rich in dramatic complications and intense emotions, which Verdi juxtaposes harshly in images and scenes. The tragedy unfolds relentlessly before our eyes and ears until the truth is revealed in the last seconds of the opera.

Il trovatore

The legendary Welsh bass-baritone presents songs by Schubert, Schumann, Debussy and music from his homeland, accompanied by harp and piano.

THE ART OF Sir Bryn Terfel

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)

Maria Stuarda

Never one to miss an opportunity to make fun of others, the hunchback jester Rigoletto is employed by the Duke of Mantua. His only joy in life is his daughter Gilda. When Rigoletto must witness how she falls for the calculated vows of love of the unscrupulous Duke, he is out for revenge: he hires the contract killer Sparafucile to murder the seducer. Gilda, however, sacrifices herself for her lover. Rigoletto realises that he has driven his daughter to death and destroyed his own life.

Rigoletto

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

Young Tatyana falls in love with Eugene Onegin, and confesses her love for him, against all convention. When he pretends that marriage is not for him, she weds Prince Gremin in haste. After many years, Tatyana and Onegin meet again, but their belated confession of mutual love cannot bring them back together.

Eugene Onegin

What happens when, in times of war and destruction, even your own family becomes a battlefield and mistrust, desire and betrayal break out? The cruel, ingenious and at the same time megalomaniac King of Pontus, Mitridate, fights a hopeless war against the Romans, while his two sons are under pressure from their father and his fiancée Aspasia decides against her duty and in favor of her feelings and turns away from him. With Mitridate, the 14-year-old Mozart composed his first full-length opera seria according to all the rules of the time and at the same time a work in which his humanistic flair already shines through. In the arias, he gives the ensemble of singers ample opportunity to explore the depths of the human soul and display their vocal virtuosity. Preserving the essence of this historical operatic genre, but at the same time reinterpreting its form, the aim is to create something in which the orchestra is integrated both visually and in terms of content. In this way, the fate of the characters can be experienced directly through visible music-making.

Mitridate, re di Ponto

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?“

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

"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. But things turn out differently... Strauss and Hofmannsthal let the opposites collide: Tragedy and comedy, light music and grand opera, playfulness and seriousness. Thus, in the mirroring of art and life, between gaze and gaze, the unfathomable mystery of transformation takes place.

Ariadne auf Naxos

Im Anfang war das Wort? Wie schnell beweisen blutige Taten das Gegenteil des Gesagten. Nach Bernhard Langs Playing Trump 2021 begibt sich erneut ein zeitgenössischer Komponist auf die Spur der Worte eines Despoten. Gesammelt in Zeiten des Friedens, vertont in Zeiten des Krieges. Schamlos verkehrt die Rhetorik der Macht mörderische Pläne in ihr Gegenteil. Heuchelei und dreiste Lüge werden zum Prinzip erhoben.

Die Kreide im Mund des Wolfs

Under the title THE ART OF, the solo evenings focus on experiencing the singing art of international exceptional figures in the opera world in its purest form and across the entire breadth of their repertoire. With THE ART OF, the Hamburg State Opera is continuing a long tradition: Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, Grace Bumbry, Montserrat Caballé and many others have already conquered the Hanseatic audience "single-handedly".

THE ART OF Lise Davidsen

Senta's dreams are directed towards the sea: will the man who will free her from her restricted life at home come from there? It begins stormily; Wagner's first fully valid opera presents a grandiose, overwhelming vision of the elements already in the overture. The fate of the Flying Dutchman and the woman who is to redeem him takes place in the roar of the waves and the ocean. This "romantic opera" aims to transcend boundaries - between tradition and future music, between land and sea, between convention and revolution. The result is a thrilling drama telling the story of a young woman who refuses to submit, who puts all her stakes on one card in order to transcend her boundaries, even if it costs her her life.

Der fliegende Holländer

This opera is the world in a theatrical nutshell: it deals with growing older, with trials and tribulations, with intransparent decisions. One person searches for individuality, another is too lazy to do so. Others postulate that the community is the only adequate place for the individual. Power has either been legitimised by long tradition or usurped by new regimes. Values such as assimilation and loyalty are set against self-assertiveness and independence. There is loving and dreaming, cheating and trusting. Suicides are prevented, tests passed, adventures survived. Who is right? Who has been wronged? The world of the magic flute is opaque, and everyone is looking for a pathway: within it, into it or out of it. Who holds the reigns? Who can be trusted? Could it be music?

Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)

“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.

Hänsel und Gretel (Hansel and Gretel)

On the steps of the entrance foyer of the Hamburg State Opera, school classes can watch the musicians closely and intervene directly in the musical action with the help of emojis. The focus is on works from the chamber music repertoire.

Tonangeber

“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

A voice, a room, a girl shortly before her 16th birthday. A pile of discarded dolls. Then voice messages from outside, the shrill laughs of a sitcom, the vacation posts of an avatar and the girl's attempt to be her, to become someone else, to disguise herself, to change. We enter a fluffy world where anything is possible. In which dolls come to life and the neighbor becomes a doll. In which flesh wants to become plastic and objects begin to speak. Dollhouse tells of the empowering power of cuteness and play. We become part of a search for belonging and identity, beyond normative (family) structures. "The light alarm clock simulates the first sunrise, flight mode off, first messages arrive" - the story begins.

Dollhouse

"Luisa Miller" is Giuseppe Verdi’s third setting of a play by Friedrich Schiller. “It is a great drama, full of passion and very effective in theatrical terms,” the composer wrote to the librettist Salvadore Cammarano about Kabale und Liebe. In order to conform to the expectations of the censors and audience, Verdi first had to reduce the play to a libretto suitable for opera, moving the focus from Schiller’s political tale to the family drama. In his opera, first performed in Naples in 1849, Verdi produced outstanding character studies of all his protagonists. In this work he laid the foundation for many “Verdi types” of later years, e.g. Iago, Giorgio Germont, Aida or Desdemona. Luisa Miller was first performed in Hamburg at the Hamburg State Opera in 1981 in a new production conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli and directed by Luciano Damiani, who also designed the sets and costumes at the time.

"The success was tremendous and unprecedented! Critics, artists, amateurs and music lovers were intoxicated ... The auditorium roared apart, loudly proclaiming the new miracle." Thus a report on the premiere in 1821 at the Berlin Schauspielhaus. Der Freischütz struck a chord with the times, every barrel organ played the "Jungfernkranz", every street singer performed it, as Heine reports. Weber had discovered the material in an old ghost book. The story of the hunter Max, who devotes himself to the devil in order to win his bride, touches on people's primal fears. The forest, the epitome of the "German soul", becomes a battleground between good and evil. Weber's music depicts the plight and despair of the people with gripping emotionality; the hope of a happy ending is evoked with fervor. Romantic drama and folk play in one, Der Freischütz is set somewhere between dream and nightmare, fascinating to this day.

Der Freischütz

The war is over, and tragedy takes its course: the mother and her lover murder the father upon his return. The daughter hides her brother, keeping him safe. – Every day, Elektra thinks of her murdered father, plotting blood-stained celebrations of victory and waiting for the moment when her brother, reared as an avenger, returns. Under one roof with her father’s murderers, thirst for blood and revenge collide with the future plans of her younger sister, who longs for marriage and children, a life in harmony and bliss. The mother is governed by another delusion: “It is not a word, it is not pain, it does not pinch me or strangle me, … and yet it is so terrible that my soul wishes it had been hanged, and every part of my body cries out for death.” Sacrifice is meant to bring relief.

In the beginning was a murder. Before, after, and in between: women — Italian, German, French, Spanish women, chambermaids, countesses, peasants, princesses, blonde, brunette, pale, fat, thin, old, rich, ugly, beautiful women — no matter, as long as they are female. Special preferences: young and inexperienced. So much tolerance! Thank you, noble Don, hero of equality. How would you like a women’s movement? Or we could simply wait until the ground opens up to swallow the murderer … It is the last moment; an unavoidable downfall. Don Giovanni, libertinage incarnate, has no place in the realm of reason. It is social progress which throws moral permissiveness into the jaws of hell.

Don Giovanni

Power and domination, love, betrayal - and forgiveness? The themes of this opera are universal and more topical than ever, even if the work is set in ancient Rome and was written in 1791, at the end of the absolutist era. Will Emperor Tito, betrayed by his nearest and dearest, nevertheless show clemency? And if so, what does that mean for him? Director Jetske Mijnssen takes a psychological look at the characters and explores this question from today's perspective. Carried by Mozart's music, who once again demonstrates his complete mastery in this, his last opera.

La clemenza di Tito

Scarpia, Rome’s chief of police, desires Tosca. Since her lover, the painter Cavaradossi, is among the government’s political enemies, Scarpia has him imprisoned. He orders Cavaradossi’s execution and hopes to force Tosca into granting him one night with her, in exchange for Cavaradossi’s release. She, however, thwarts his plans…

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