Article in collaboration with Dejan Vukosavljevic

The Hamburg State Opera has announced its 2020-21 season featuring six new productions and a number of revivals. Here is a look at the season.

Oper Stabile 

Penderbayne’s “Unser kleines Scheißkaff” will be performed by Larissa Wäspy, Kady Evanyshyn, Ida Aldrian, Nicholas Mogg, Hubert Kowalczyk, Peter Galliard, and Katja Pieweck. Ingmar Beck conducts the production by Alexander Riemenschneider.

Performance Dates: Nov. 20-Dec. 11, 2020

Johannes Harneit conducts Harneit and Berckel’s “Die Wahrheit einer Silvesternacht oder: oud en nieuw” in a production by Mart van Berckel. Ida Aldrian, Peter Galliard, Daniel Kluge, and Hubert Kowalczyk star.

Performance Dates: April 9-22, 2021

Ron Zimmering directs a new production of Romano’s “La Luna” starring Kady Evanyshyn, Nicholas Mogg, Hubert Kowalczyk, and David
Minseok Kang. Gabrielle Gaudreault conducts.

Performance Dates: June 19-26, 2021

Premieres

Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov” opens the season with Alexander Tsymbalyuk, Ida Aldrian, Narea Son, Renate Spingler, Matthias Klink, Kartal Karagedik, Vitalij Kowaljow, Sergey Polyakov, Alexander Roslavets, Alexander Roslavets, Jürgen Sacher, Jürgen Sacher , Marta Świderska,
Daniel Kluge, Martin Summer, and Julian Arsenault. Kent Nagano conducts the new production by Frank Castorf.

Performance Dates: Sept. 5-26, 2020

J. Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” will get a new production by Renaud Doucet. Bo Skovhus leads a cast that includes Jürgen Sacher, Hulkar Sabirova, Thorsten Grümbel, Nadezhda Karyazina, Kristina Stanek, Dovlet Nurgeldiyev, Oleksiy Palchykov, Bernhard Hansky, Peter Galliard, Narea Son, Katharina Konradi, Gabriele Rossmanith, and Udo Wachtveitl. Jonathan Darlington conducts

Performance Dates: Oct. 18, 2020-Jan. 8, 2021

Elsa Dreisig and Ioan Hotea star in a new production of Massenet’s “Manon.” Björn Bürger and Daniel Kluge roudn out the cast with
Sébastien Rouland conducting. David Bösch directs the new production.

Performance Dates: Jan. 24-Feb. 13, 2021

Venera Gimadieva stars in the title role of a new production of Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor.” Amélie Niermeyer will direct the production with Christoph Pohl, Francesco Demuro, Beomjin Kim, Alexander Roslavets, Katja Pieweck, and Daniel Kluge. Giampaolo Bisanti conducts.

Performance Dates: March 7-April 3, 2021

Andreas Kriegenburg directs a new production Weber’s “Der Freischütz.” Kent Nagano conducts a cast that includes Bernhard Hansky, Jacquelyn Wagner, Narea Son, Andreas Bauer Kanabas, Eric Cutler, Martin Summer, and Nicholas Mogg.

Performance Dates: April 18-May 15, 2021

Barrie Kosky directs a new production of Handel’s “Agrippina” which will star Alice Coote, Luca Tittoto, Julia Lezhneva, Christophe Dumaux, Franco Fagioli, Renato Dolcini, Eric Jurenas, and Chao Deng. Riccardo Minasi is set to conduct.

Performance Dates: May 23-June 10, 2021

Revival 

Kent Nagano conducts Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” starring Vincent Wolfsteiner and Catherine Naglestad in the title roles. The opera will also star Liang Li, Evgeny Nikitin, Gideon Poppe, and Katja Pieweck.

Performance Dates: Sept. 17-Oct. 11, 2020

Andrzej Dobber sings the title role of “Rigoletto” with Enea Scala, Nadezhda Pavlova, Liang Li, and Jana Kurucová. Paolo Arrivabeni conducts

Performance Dates: Sept. 22-Oct. 9, 2020

“Così fan tutte” is revived with Sébastien Rouland conducting a cast that includes Ruzan Mantashyan, Ida Aldrian, Alexey Bogdanchikov, Oleksiy Palchykov, Katharina Konradi, and Pietro Spagnoli.

Performance Dates: Sept. 24-Oct. 1, 2020

“Don Giovanni” gets a revival with two casts and conductors Péter Halász and Ariane Matiakh alternating at the podium. Björn Bürger and Christoph Pohl share the role of Don Giovanni with Julia Kleiter and Mojca Bitenc as Donna Anna, Dovlet Nurgeldiyev and Oleksiy Palchykov as Don Ottavio, Tigran Martirossian and Gianluca Buratto as Il Commendatore, Federica Lombardi and Jana Kurucová as Donna Elvira, Alexander Roslavets and Seth Carico as Leporello, Chao Deng and Alexander Roslavets as Masetto, and Athanasia Zöhrer and Katharina Konradi as Zerlina.

Performance Dates: Oct. 2-10, 2020 & May 24-June 8, 2021

Strauss’ “Ariadne auf Naxos” returns to the stage with Axel Kober conducting. The cast includes Jana Kurucová, Burkhard Fritz, Daniela Fally, Dorothea Röschmann, and Alexey Bogdanchikov.

Performance Dates: Oct. 24-Nov. 8, 2020

Wookyung Kim, Kartal Karagedik, Hui He, Ronnita Miller, and Heidi Stober star in “Un Ballo in Maschera” with Gábor Káli conducting.

Performance Dates: Oct. 29-Nov. 7,2020

“Orphée et Eurydice” is set to star Alessandro De Marchi conducting Marie-Sophie Pollak, Andriana Chuchman, and Maxim Mironov in the leading roles.

Performance Dates: Nov. 12-25, 2020

Carmen Giannattasio sings the title role in “Norma” with Paolo Carignani conducting the revival of Yona Kim’s production. Jean-François Borras, Tigran Martirossian, and Diana Haller round out the cast.

Performance Dates: Nov. 15-Dec. 4, 2020

Puccini, Giacosa, and Illica’s “La Bohème” gets revived with two casts. Stefano Ranzani conducts the first cast led by Giorgio Berrugi, Maria Teresa Leva, and Alexey Bogdanchikov. Meanwhile, the second will be headlined by Atalla Ayan, Carmen Giannattasio, and Kartal Karagedik with Daniele Callegari conducting. Chao Deng and Elbenita Kajtazi star in every performance.

Performance Dates: Nov. 26-Dec. 12, 2020 & March 30-April 11, 2021

“Die Zauberflöte” is set to be conducted by Volker Krafft with Alexander Roslavets, Martin Summer, Dovlet Nurgeldiyev, Oleksiy Palchykov, Ilse Eerens, Katharina Konradi, Rocío Pérez, Antonina Vesenina, Bernhard Hansky, and Gyula Orendt.

Performance Dates: Dec. 2-9, 2020

In time for the holiday season, Humperdinck’s “Hänsel und Gretel” returns with Christof Prick conducting. The opera is set to star Jana Kurucová, Ida Aldrian, Elbenita Kajtazi, Katerina Tretyakova, Oliver Zwarg, Katja Pieweck, Renate Spingler, and Peter Galliard.

Performance Dates: Dec. 23-27, 2020

Anna Smirnova, Adina Aaron, and Gregory Kunde star in “Aida” with Kazushi Ono conducting Guy Joosten’s production. Donald Thomson Il, Tigran Martirossian, and Andrzej Dobber round out the cast.

Performance Dates: Jan. 9-23, 2021

The rarely performed “Il Turco in Italia” returns with Roberto Rizzi Brignoli conducting a cast that includes Tigran Martirossian, Hasmik Torosyan, Renato Girolami, Levy Sekgapane, and Kartal Karagedik.

Performance Dates: Jan. 26-Feb. 7 2021

Elena Guseva takes on the title role of “Madama Butterfly” with Stefan Pop, Jana Kurucová, and Andrzej Dobber. Christoph Gedschold conducts.

Performance Dates: Feb. 5-17, 2021

Oleksiy Palchykov, Peter Galliard, Kate Aldrich, Bernhard Hansky, and Ida Aldrian star in Offenbach’s “La Belle Hélène” with Nicolas André conducting.

Performance Dates: Feb. 20-March 6, 2021

Roberto Alagna and Ambrogio Maestri sing the double bill of Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” and Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana.” They will be joined by Violeta Urmana in Mascagni’s work and Aleksandra Kurzak, and Alexey Bogdanchikov in Leoncavallo’s famed masterpiece.

Performance Dates: March 9-18, 2021

Albina Shagimuratova and Venera Gimadieva share the title role in “La Traviata” with Atalla Ayan and Marco Ciaponi alternating as Alfredo. Andrzej Dobber sings all performances as Giorgio Germont. Christoph Gedschold and Long Yu alternate at the podium.

Performance Dates: March 11-21, 2021 & June 2-9, 2021

Verdi and Piave’s “Macbeth” is set to be conducted by Paolo Carignani starring Markus Brück, Liang Li, Liudmyla Monastyrska, and Dovlet Nurgeldiyev Macduff.

Performance Dates: March 17-26, 2021

Danielle de Niese, Xabier Anduaga, Bernhard Hansky, and Tigran Martirossian star in “L’Elisir d’Amore.” Matteo Beltrami conducts the comic gem.

Performance Dates: March 25-April 4, 2021

Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s “Elektra” is set to be conducted by Kent Nagano with a cast that includes Elena Pankratova in the title role, Violeta Urmana as Klytämnestra, Jennifer Holloway as Chrysothemis, and Lauri Vasar as Orest.

Performance Dates: April 5-16, 2021

Shostakovitch’s “The Nose” stars Bo Skovhus, Levente Páll, Andreas Conrad, Gideon Poppe, Bernhard Berchtold, Katja Pieweck, Athanasia Zöhrer, Renate Spingler, Hellen Kwon, and Michael Heim. Kent Nagano conducts.

Performance Dates: April 20-28, 2021

Kristina Stanek sings the title role in “Carmen” with Dmytro Popov as Don José, Lukasz Golinski as Escamillo, and Mojca Bitenc as Micaëla.

Performance Dates: May 2-14, 2021

The season closes with Verdi and Boito’s “Falstaff.” Kent Nagano conducts an all-star cast that includes Pietro Spagnoli, Markus Brück, Dovlet Nurgeldiyev, Elena Guseva, Narea Son, Nadezhda Karyazina, and Ida Aldrian.

Performance Dates: May 6-16, 2021