Frauenliebe und -sterben: Kratzer’s triple bill at Staatsoper Hamburg

Annika Schlicht (Judith), Johan Reuter (Bluebeard) and Bluebeard's wives (including Kate Lindsey)

Kate Lindsey in Freuenliebe und -leben

Thomas Blondelle (Guido), Johan Reuter (Simone) and Ambur Braid (Bianca)

Johan Reuter (Bluebeard) and Annika Schlicht (Judith)

By Mengguang Huang, 16 April 2026

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“poured out the score’s latent violence and dark, cinematic imagery”

Reviewed at Hamburgische Staatsoper: Main Hall, Hamburg on 15 April 2026

Schumann, Frauenliebe und -leben, Op.42

Bartók, Duke Bluebeard's Castle

Zemlinsky, Eine florentinische Tragödie (A Florentine Tragedy) Op.16

Staatsoper Hamburg

Karina Canellakis, Conductor

Tobias Kratzer, Director

Rainer Sellmaier, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Michael Bauer, Lighting Designer

Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg

Manuel Braun, Video

Johan Reuter, Bluebeard, Simone

Annika Schlicht, Judith

Ambur Braid, Bianca

Thomas Blondelle, Guido Bardi, Prince of Forence

Kate Lindsey, Mezzo-soprano

Éric Le Sage, Piano

Annette Dasch, Soprano

Wolfram Rieger, Piano

Marlis Petersen, Soprano

Stephan Matthias Lademann, Piano

Vera-Lotte Boecker, Soprano

Joseph Middleton, Piano

Vampires, Disney and Donald Trump: Monster’s Paradise in Hamburg

Kevin W Ng, 1st February

Olga Neuwirth and Elfriede Jelinek take on Donald Trump in their latest operatic collaboration.

****1

Unsuk Chin's opera Die dunkle Seite des Mondes premieres in Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 31st May

At Staatsoper Hamburg, Unsuk Chin’s new opera The Dark Side of the Moon immerses audiences in an hypnotic, introspective journey, where dreams, science and psyche collide in a rigorously crafted, thought-provoking spectacle.

****1

Franciscan virtues for a modern age: a multimedia Messiaen remix

Peter Quantrill, 2nd June

No half measures in a triple-decker Hamburg staging of Saint François d'Assise at the Elbphilharmonie.

***11

Staatsoper Hamburg's new Boris Godunov traverses Russian history

Alexander Hall, 16th September

Opening the new opera season, Kent Nagano powerfully directs Mussorgsky's great psychodrama about a famous tsar, marred only by Frank Castorf's visually confusing and symbolically overweighted production.

****1

Beauty and the beast: Sciarrino's Venere e Adone premieres in Hamburg

Alexander Hall, 28th May

What does opera in the 21st century look and sound like? Streets removed from anything Mozart, Verdi or Wagner would have recognised. But Salvatore Sciarrino is his own man.

***11

Staatsoper Hamburg's new Carmen: a sumptuous theatrical experience

Alexander Hall, 17th September

“Jealous lover kills local slut” might be the tabloid headline, but Bizet's Carmen is much more than that, especially in this visually stunning new production in Hamburg, directed by Herbert Fritsch.

****1

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Mengguang Huang

Mengguang Huang is a Hamburg-based project manager in the construction industry. With a strong passion for classical music, he was introduced to the world of early music during his time in the UK, where he developed a particular fondness for renaissance and Baroque vocal music. Driven by his love for this genre, he now makes it a priority to attend major Baroque opera productions and concerts across Western Europe whenever possible, continuing to deepen his appreciation for this rich musical tradition.

Frauenliebe und -sterben: Tobias Kratzer creates a pasticcio of domestic shadows in Hamburg