The city of Bayreuth and five German theaters will jointly launch “Silenced Voices,” a digital research and memorial platform commemorating persecuted opera ensemble members, on July 20, 2026. Per an official press release, the platform makes permanently accessible nearly 300 biographies of artists and stage professionals who were expelled from German opera houses, persecuted, and in many cases murdered by {…}
The Foundation for the Promotion of the Hamburg State Opera has announced the recipients of its annual prizes. The Dr. Wilhelm Oberdörffer Prize was awarded to the seven current scholarship holders of the International Opera Studio Hamburg — Colin Aikins, William Desbiens, Aebh Kelly, Keith Klein, Marie Maidowski, Mziwamadoda Sipho Nodlayiya, and Mariana Poltorak — as well as to Hamburg {…}
The Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has won an international competition to design the new Hamburg State Opera as part of its major cultural project planned for the Baakenhöft peninsula. The competition was made by the authorities and members of parliament in Hamburg, Germany and unanimously selected BIG’s proposal. This new building will replace the mid-20th-century opera house on Dammtorstraße, and {…}
Recently the city of Hamburg announced plans for a brand-new opera house—not on Dammtorstraße in the historic district of Gänsemarkt, where the historic Staatsoper stands, but in the upscale HafenCity district. Funded by billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne’s foundation, owned by the Hamburg-born billionaire in international cargo industry, the project promises a world-class cultural venue. Yet beyond the promise of artistic renewal, {…}
German Billionaire Klaus-Michael Kühne has pledged €300 million euros for the construction of a new opera house. According to reports, there is a plot of land on Baakenhöft in Hafencity that the city has made available for the construction of the new house and the project is already “well advanced” and only dependent on bureaucratic requirements. In a statement, Hamburg’s {…}
In Jan. 2025, baritone Benjamin Appl will begin his Artist in Residence position with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Appl’s residency kicks off with his conducting debut in a performance of Handel’s “Messiah.” Continuing on in the season, Appl will perform with Ensemble 10:10 and release his new album, “To Dieter: The Past and Future.” Closing out his residency in {…}
(Photo by: Lisa-Marie-Mazzucco) The Hamburg Staatsoper will present the world premiere of the new opera “Venere e Adone” by Italian composer Salvatore Sciarrino from May 28 to June 8, 2023. The opera will star countertenor Randall Scotting, Layla Claire, Cody Quattlebaum, Matthias Klink, Evan Hughes, Vera Talerko, Nicholas Mogg, and Kady Evanyshyn. Kent Nagano conducts the production directed by Georges {…}
The Hamburg State Opera has made a conductor change for its May 27 performance of “Carmen.” The production will now feature William Kelley in his company debut. He will lead a cast starring Maria Kataeva, Gaunqun Yu, Marcelo Puente, and Alexander Vinogradov. William Kelley, a conductor and pianist, currently serves as the Kapellmeister at Theater Bremen. During his tenure, he {…}
The Hamburg State Opera has postponed the Mar. 12, 2023, B premiere of Puccini’s “Il Trittico” because of a strike by the public service workers’ union ver.di. The strike means there may not be enough staff to clean up after the show. The strikes announced by ver.di have affected the premiere of “Il Trittico” on Sunday, March 12, 2023. After {…}
Omer Meir Wellber will become Hamburg Staatsoper‘s General Music Director and Chief Conductor of Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra, beginning with the 2025-26 season, and will succeed Kent Nagano. Dr. Carsten Brosda, Senator for Culture and Media while introducing Wellber at City Hall, said, “With Omer Meir Wellber, we have been able to win an outstanding artistic personality for the cultural city {…}
The Hamburg State Opera will reopen on May 28 with two productions. Georges Delnon and John Neumeier announced that the company will premiere a new production of Handel’s “Agrippina” staged by Barrie Kosky. Riccardo Minasi will conduct a cast that includes Anna Bonitatibus, Luca Tittoto, Julia Lezhneva, Christophe Dumaux, Franco Fagioli, Renato Dolcini, Vasily Khoroshev, and Chao Deng. The Ensemble {…}