Start of the season – Acclaimed premiere of Carl Orff’s “Trionfi” at the State Opera – Culture

The “Carmina Burana” with its mighty Fortuna choir is one of the most famous musical works, but is rarely performed together with its two sister works – now at the Hamburg State Opera.

Hamburg (dpa) – The Hamburg State Opera started the new season with an acclaimed premiere of Carl Orff’s “Trionfi” trilogy. The premiere audience gave sustained applause for the production by Catalan director Calixto Bieito, who is known for his sexually charged imagery and once again drew on the full range of his talents – especially since “Trionfi” in Latin is primarily about love and other sensual pleasures. The singers and choir of the Hamburg State Opera, as well as the Liatoshynski Capella Kyiv choir, who had to put in a lot of acting, and the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra under the direction of General Music Director Kent Nagano were particularly celebrated.

The almost three-hour production began with the small cast “Catulli Carmina”, based on love poems by the Roman poet Catullus, which Carl Orff (1895-1982) composed a few years after the “Carmina Burana”. This was followed by “Trionfo di Afrodite” with a huge orchestra that was pushed onto the stage in front of the audience and depicted the wedding celebration of the Greek goddess of love. The visually powerful “Carmina Burana”, in which both choirs as well as the children’s and youth choir and the Hamburg boys’ choir celebrated a lavish party on stage with huge wine vats and lots of theater wine, was the crowning conclusion to the evening.

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