Visitors to Hamburg who are looking for high-class opera entertainment will be spoiled with grandiose performances in the time-honoured Hamburg State Opera.
The history of the State Opera dates back to the past and began in 1678, when the first public opera house in Germany was opened in Hamburg. Thanks to the Enlightenment, the art and culture of opera singing was to be made accessible to ordinary citizens from this time onwards.
From the end of the 17th to the middle of the 18th century, the Hanseatic city was known throughout Europe for its musical masterpieces. During the Second World War, the auditorium was completely destroyed in a bomb attack in 1943, but was renovated just a few years later. Even today, the main credo of the Staatsoper is to make the productions accessible to as wide an audience as possible. The repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary opera and ballet performances and the tickets are affordable for everyone with prices between 4.00 and 160.00 euros.
Culture and entertainment at the same time are offered at the State Opera in Hamburg. Classics such as Georg Friedrich Händel as violinist or Gotthold Ephraim Lessing as dramaturge were already active in the Staatsoper, but contemporary stars such as Plácido Domingo or Pavarotti also made a major appearance in the Hanseatic city. She has always presented operas, ballet performances and concerts by the Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to numerous pieces for adults such as Macbeth, King Lear, La Bohème and Goethe's Faust, children also get their money's worth in various children's operas. The children's operas include plays such as Hänsel and Gretel as well as the robber Hotzenplotz. The opera director and general music director of Hamburg presents great productions from the classical to the contemporary opera repertoire - gripping musical theatre. With the HAMBURG BALLETT, which emerged in 1973 from a first ballet workshop, the Hanseatic city is also home to a company of world renown. The heart of this opera is the Philharmonic State Orchestra Hamburg: it has been shaping the sound of the Hanseatic city for around 175 years and plays almost all opera and ballet evenings as well as the Philharmonic concerts in the Laeiszhalle.
Things to know about the Hamburg State Opera
Since 2005, the Hamburg State Opera has been under the artistic direction of Simone Young, an Australian conductor. Every year up to 380 performances are shown in the opera, which show historical as well as modern music theatre. The Opera piccola children's opera series has been created for the little guests, in which the children are not only the spectators, but also perform live on stage. The young singers of the Hamburg State Opera also put their own productions on their feet every season, which they then perform in front of an audience. The performances are rounded off by concerts of the Hanseatic Philharmonic Orchestra. These offer the audience various chamber concerts throughout the season, some special concerts as well as the annual New Year's Eve concert Salut. The State Opera's repertoire is published each spring for the following season. An opera season starts with a big opening ceremony in August and lasts one year.
