Kent Nagano (May 2025)

On 18 May, the opera Die dunkle Seite des Mondes by Unsuk Chin celebrates its world premiere in Hamburg, staged by the theatre company Dead Centre and under the musical direction of Kent Nagano. The word is comissioned by the State Opera Hamburg with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation. The recording of the premiere will be broadcast on 24 May at 20:03 on the respective cultural channels of the public broadcasters (NDR Kultur, rbb Kultur, hr2, SWR Kultur, WDR 3). More information here.

Synopsis: Dr. Kieron, a brilliant physicist, revered and feared by his colleagues, dives into the shady demimonde at night, in a restless search for human happiness. In his sleep, he is haunted by dreams in which he encounters mysterious recurring beings, mysterious numbers and symbols. With the soul healer Master Astaroth, he hopes to find solutions to the mysteries of his life, with fatal consequences …

On 24 May, the opera Die Illusionen des William Mallory by Rodolphe Bruneau-Boulmier will celebrate its world premiere at Curio Haus Hamburg, staged by Georges Delnon and conducted by Kent Nagano. The libretto was written by Inge Klopefer. More information here.

Synopsis: At the zenith of his career as a board member of a major corporation, disaster suddenly befalls the former working-class son William Mallory. He crashes over a scandal and no longer understands the world. With suicidal thoughts, he fables on the couch with his psychiatrist about the stages of his rise. An opera as a chamber play that begins quietly, only to soon unroll the great themes of life – a parable about rise and fall, identity and betrayal, appearance and fate. In the end, Mallory realizes that his own illusions have brought him down. In the end, he no longer even knows whether it was an illusion that he once began his rise as a good man.