At 6:50 p.m., at the Hamburg State Opera:

TURANDOT, by G. Puccini

Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Evelino Pido: Conductor

Yona Kim: Director

Ewa Plonka: Turandot

Gregory Kunde: Calaf

Liang Li: Timur

Adriana Gonzalez: Liu

Frederic Mörth: Ping

Daniel Kluge: Pang

Florian Panzieri: Pong

Jürgen Sacher: Altoum

Chao Deng: A Mandarin

The Hamburg Opera House is one of the best opera houses in Europe. In its warm room, directors have the opportunity to offer profoundly original readings of works from the repertoire. This Turandot led by Korean director Yona Kim is no exception. Here, Puccini’s opera shuns any ill-advised Orientalism, while respecting the period of the work (the 1920s) in which it was written.  In a superb setting, the evening resurrects the magic of the cruel story of the Empress of China, who will bestow her love on the one who solves her three riddles. Under the musical direction of the legendary Italian conductor Evelino Pidò, the vocal cast features the impressive Polish mezzo Ewa Plonka, the beautiful Liu of the young and promising Franco-Guatemalan singer Adriana Gonzalez and the Calaf of the great American tenor Gregory Kunde, who never ceases to amaze the longevity of his career with the beauty of his voice.

At 8 p.m., at the Elbphilharmonie (Elbphilharmonie):

PINCHAS ZUKERMAN / ENGLISH CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

English Chamber Orchestra

Pinchas Zukerman: Conductor, violin, cello

– P. Hindemith, Funeral Music for Viola and String Orchestra

– W. A. Mozart, Rondo for violin and orchestra in C major KV 373

– G. P. Telemann, Concerto in G major TWV 51/G9 for viola, strings and basso continuo

– W. A. Mozart, Symphony in A major KV 201English Chamber Orchestra

– P. Hindemith, Funeral Music for Viola and String Orchestra

– W. A. Mozart, Rondo for violin and orchestra in C major KV 373

– G. P. Telemann, Concerto in G major TWV 51/G9 for viola, strings and basso continuo

– W. A. Mozart, Symphony in A major KV 201English Chamber Orchestra

An exceptional artist in an exceptional setting! For almost half a century, Pinchas Zukerman has enchanted music lovers around the world with his fiery sound and his art of instrumental singing. The Israeli musician has it all: he is, of course, the great violinist we know, but he is also a violist and conductor of countless leading ensembles.

In this concert in the sublime hall of the Elbphilharmonie (which alone would justify a trip to Hamburg!), Zukerman performs alongside the excellent English Chamber Orchestra as violin soloist (Mozart’s Rondo), violist soloist (two rare pieces by Hindemith and Telemann) and conductor (in the flamboyant Symphony No. 29, which marks a pre-Romantic turning point in Mozart’s work).

At 7:30 p.m., at the Hamburg State Opera:

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, by G. Donizetti

Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra

Evelino Pido: Conductor

Amélie Niermeyer: Director

Christoph Pohl: Lord Enrico Ashton

Tuuli Takala: Lucia

Ioan Hotea: Sir Edgardo di Ravenswood

Michael Colvin: Lord Arturo Bucklaw

Alexander Roslavets: Raimondo Bidebent

Ida Aldrian: Alisa

Daniel Kluge: Normanno

Be careful, shock in perspective! Attending a performance of Lucia di Lammermoor is always a pleasure, as Donizetti’s work serves as an ideal setting for its singers. At the Hamburg Opera, Germany’s Amélie Niermeyer offers a radically new and stimulating vision of the project. Here, Lucia appears as a feminist heroine, who fights against the power of men.  Dance, video and scenography participate here in a total show whose strength and relevance were praised by the international press during the first series of performances in 2021. To embrace the power of this vision, you need a first-rate musical team, as is the case for this revival, with the excellent Italian conductor Evelino Pido in the pit, and above all the formidable Finnish soprano Tuuli Takala, whose star has been rising irresistibly for some years. His scene of madness will count as one of the great lyrical moments of your operatic year.