Discord

On 18 March 2024, Demis Volpi stood in the Stifter Lounge of the Hamburger Staatsoper, wiping the sweat from his face. "Phew," he smiled insecurely into the microphone. "Excited!" At the end of October 2022, it was announced that the then director of the Ballett am Rhein in Düsseldorf and Duisburg would succeed John Neumeier at the Hamburg Ballett, which the latter had led for 51 years at the time of the handover. Volpi was to create his own pieces, attract guest choreographers to Hamburg, and maintain the Neumeier legacy. For the latter task, Lloyd Riggins, the preferred successor to the previous artistic director, was appointed, although the exact division of responsibilities between him and Volpi was apparently not finalized down to the last detail — a predetermined breaking point in ...