Hamburgische Staatsoper
Hamburgische Staatsoper
4
Tours & experiences
Explore different ways to experience this place.
Full view
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Top ways to experience Hamburgische Staatsoper and nearby attractions
The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Neustadt
How to get there
- Gänsemarkt • 2 min walk
- Stephansplatz • 3 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
We rank these restaurants and attractions by balancing reviews from our members with how close they are to this location.
Restaurants
3,222 within 5 kms
Attractions
365 within 10 kms
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
4.0
114 reviews
Excellent
48
Very good
51
Average
6
Poor
2
Terrible
7
parissmiles
Irving, TX190 contributions
Apr 2024 • Solo
This was a good experience......good seats and acoustics. The artists were quite talented, and their voices filled the theatre. The "will call" is only open a short time before the performance, and going in advance will only cause annoyance. The employees were all courteous and attentive.
Written 5 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Alexinmelbourne
Melbourne, Australia316 contributions
June 2017 • Couples
I visited the Hamburg opera as a tourist and saw three performances over three nights (Madama Butterfly, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, A Midsummer Night’s Dream).
Performances: singing was generally excellent, the orchestra was a notch below what I was expecting, productions were quite good. Disappointingly, none of the performances contained English surtitles which did impact my overall enjoyment. It is quite common for opera houses in Europe to display surtitles in both the local language and English, however this varies from opera house to opera house. My understanding is that Hamburg Opera show surtitles for selected performances only (this is indicated on their website).
Seating and Venue: I sat in different seats for all three performances. The venue has an unusual seating plan. The first 10 rows of the stalls are flat and for one performance I sat in row 8 and the people sitting in front of me blocked my view of the stage. For the second performance I sat further back in a cheaper seat which was much better. For the third performance I sat in the top balcony and although I was far from the stage the seats were still quite good for the price. There were several bars where you could buy drinks and snacks although they only accept cash (which struck me as quite backwards and inefficient).
Dress code: there is no dress code. People tend to wear smart casual or semi-formal, however jeans, sneakers, and t-shirts are not out of place.
Engagement: On the one hand Hamburg opera has an easy to navigate website, good ticket availability, an option to print your own tickets, and prices are reasonable. However, the engagement with foreign tourists is absolutely shocking. When booking the tickets I could set the website to English however the e-tickets (which contain quite a bit of important info) were in German, there was no communication from the opera house about the upcoming performances (it is common to receive an email prior to the performance with essential information), a ticket entitles you to free public transport to and from the opera house (although I didn’t realise this until afterwards).
Performances: singing was generally excellent, the orchestra was a notch below what I was expecting, productions were quite good. Disappointingly, none of the performances contained English surtitles which did impact my overall enjoyment. It is quite common for opera houses in Europe to display surtitles in both the local language and English, however this varies from opera house to opera house. My understanding is that Hamburg Opera show surtitles for selected performances only (this is indicated on their website).
Seating and Venue: I sat in different seats for all three performances. The venue has an unusual seating plan. The first 10 rows of the stalls are flat and for one performance I sat in row 8 and the people sitting in front of me blocked my view of the stage. For the second performance I sat further back in a cheaper seat which was much better. For the third performance I sat in the top balcony and although I was far from the stage the seats were still quite good for the price. There were several bars where you could buy drinks and snacks although they only accept cash (which struck me as quite backwards and inefficient).
Dress code: there is no dress code. People tend to wear smart casual or semi-formal, however jeans, sneakers, and t-shirts are not out of place.
Engagement: On the one hand Hamburg opera has an easy to navigate website, good ticket availability, an option to print your own tickets, and prices are reasonable. However, the engagement with foreign tourists is absolutely shocking. When booking the tickets I could set the website to English however the e-tickets (which contain quite a bit of important info) were in German, there was no communication from the opera house about the upcoming performances (it is common to receive an email prior to the performance with essential information), a ticket entitles you to free public transport to and from the opera house (although I didn’t realise this until afterwards).
Written 11 July 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
DSC-NOVA
Fairfax, VA2,912 contributions
June 2016 • Friends
We spent a week in Hamburg in early June and managed to see several operas while there. The performances by the singers were first rate, the performance by the orchestra was (unfortunately) third rate and the opera house management did their best to ruin the good spirits by the action of staff members at the end of the evening.
The building itself is unremarkable—industrial and squat on the outside, plain and boring on the inside—although at night the interior lighting tends to soften the look. The lobby is shallow and open to the coat storage, the big picture windows allowing the full strength (and heat) of the sun to penetrate on the June evenings we were there. There is little attempt at grandeur normally associated with grand opera, nor is there any apparent effort to celebrate the art with wall hangings, etc.
The theater proper seats a little under 1700 people, with somewhat shallow balconies rising vertically in the square space.
The opera we saw (twice) was Puccini’s Fanciulla del west, a charming ‘little’ work about miners during the gold rush, the single woman who mothers them, and the man who steals her. The primary singers were internationally known and performed admirably, with the highest caliber singing and more than adequate acting. The excellent effort from the stage, however, was consistently undermined by the noise coming from the orchestra pit—sour notes, bad rhythmic unity, loud, louder, loudest overplaying that frequently drowned out the singers. We asked a local if this was just an off performance but was told that the orchestra is now much improved over what it was just a few years ago. We asked one of the stage performers and was told the orchestra is something of a revolving band of musician, never having the same members on any given night and as likely as not to be reading through the music for the first time during the live performance. This problematic music making happened at all the performances we attended and with all due deference to the local, this haphazard attempt at music-making needs to be urgently addressed by management.
We visit many opera houses during our travels and one of our favorite things is to take a photo or two during the curtain call as a visual memory. We have snapped away at La Scala, the Met, Vienna, Royal Opera, Zurich…most opera houses realize that social media, where many of these photos end up, is an excellent source of free publicity. Imagine our surprise, then, when we were assaulted by an usher when we pulled out our camera. In spite of the security force, many fan sites are full of curtain call photos because, of course, there is really no way of keeping photos from being taken with all the various ways to snap away now. It seems ludicrous to be so restrictive about photos (and not be able to enforce the ban, of course) while the orchestra is in such sad shape.
Obviously, since management cannot keep curtain call photos from happening their strong-arm, militaristic, haphazard enforcement created more negative discussion about the evening than positive discussion about the performance.
The house was close to capacity on our first night but the second night—during a championship EU soccer game—was much less so. This may have been a normal pattern during soccer but somehow I have to believe that if the music from the pit was better, the ambience enhanced and management more supportive of audience interaction that attendance would have been much higher.
With a new performing arts venue about to open on the other side of the harbor, it would seem management needs to refocus its attention to something that really matters, like musical integrity.
The building itself is unremarkable—industrial and squat on the outside, plain and boring on the inside—although at night the interior lighting tends to soften the look. The lobby is shallow and open to the coat storage, the big picture windows allowing the full strength (and heat) of the sun to penetrate on the June evenings we were there. There is little attempt at grandeur normally associated with grand opera, nor is there any apparent effort to celebrate the art with wall hangings, etc.
The theater proper seats a little under 1700 people, with somewhat shallow balconies rising vertically in the square space.
The opera we saw (twice) was Puccini’s Fanciulla del west, a charming ‘little’ work about miners during the gold rush, the single woman who mothers them, and the man who steals her. The primary singers were internationally known and performed admirably, with the highest caliber singing and more than adequate acting. The excellent effort from the stage, however, was consistently undermined by the noise coming from the orchestra pit—sour notes, bad rhythmic unity, loud, louder, loudest overplaying that frequently drowned out the singers. We asked a local if this was just an off performance but was told that the orchestra is now much improved over what it was just a few years ago. We asked one of the stage performers and was told the orchestra is something of a revolving band of musician, never having the same members on any given night and as likely as not to be reading through the music for the first time during the live performance. This problematic music making happened at all the performances we attended and with all due deference to the local, this haphazard attempt at music-making needs to be urgently addressed by management.
We visit many opera houses during our travels and one of our favorite things is to take a photo or two during the curtain call as a visual memory. We have snapped away at La Scala, the Met, Vienna, Royal Opera, Zurich…most opera houses realize that social media, where many of these photos end up, is an excellent source of free publicity. Imagine our surprise, then, when we were assaulted by an usher when we pulled out our camera. In spite of the security force, many fan sites are full of curtain call photos because, of course, there is really no way of keeping photos from being taken with all the various ways to snap away now. It seems ludicrous to be so restrictive about photos (and not be able to enforce the ban, of course) while the orchestra is in such sad shape.
Obviously, since management cannot keep curtain call photos from happening their strong-arm, militaristic, haphazard enforcement created more negative discussion about the evening than positive discussion about the performance.
The house was close to capacity on our first night but the second night—during a championship EU soccer game—was much less so. This may have been a normal pattern during soccer but somehow I have to believe that if the music from the pit was better, the ambience enhanced and management more supportive of audience interaction that attendance would have been much higher.
With a new performing arts venue about to open on the other side of the harbor, it would seem management needs to refocus its attention to something that really matters, like musical integrity.
Written 28 June 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
G K
Mannheim, Germany1 contribution
May 2024 • Solo
Interesting to see an institution that receives public funding to overtly discriminate a specific group of people: as a single person it is impossible to book the seat of your choice. Apparently, if you don't come in pairs, you're worth less and a second class citizen.
June 2024 refers to the date when I unsuccessfully (because I'm a less valued customer) tried to book a ticket.
June 2024 refers to the date when I unsuccessfully (because I'm a less valued customer) tried to book a ticket.
Written 17 June 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ylein
Bern, Switzerland21 contributions
Sept 2015 • Solo
I had a great (even though with almost 4 hours rather long) evening at the Staatsoper. "Les Troyens" was well done and most of the singers brilliant. The house itself is not very attractive, nothing like other opera houses in Europe.
Really nice: they give the pretzels they couldn't sell in the break away for free at the end of the performance. If you're fast enough...
Really nice: they give the pretzels they couldn't sell in the break away for free at the end of the performance. If you're fast enough...
Written 28 September 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kari S
Turku, Finland400 contributions
Mar 2023
Good opera and nice shows, everything works fine from start to end, nice seats and service was also excellent
Written 1 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kári J
21 contributions
Nov 2018
We were in the Operahouse on November 20 and saw and heard Jorge de Lenon tenor in Manon Lescaut opera by Puccini. We liked the singing very much but some of the scenes not, as when some of the of the choir members had artificial penis dangeling toward us. Also the final was much better in the Vienna Opera by the icelandic tenor Krisján Jóhannsson some years ago
Written 1 December 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Greg M
Millersville, PA261 contributions
Feb 2018 • Couples
My wife and I were visiting Hamburg again after living there 34 years ago. We used to enjoy going to the Staats Oper when we lived there. We purchased tickets for the Barber of Seville by Rossini. When we arrived we found the entire place had been renovated. There were no signs to help us especially in English. We had no idea where the coat room was because of the lack of signs. Then the usherette told us to sit in the wrong section and did not usher us to our seats. Then a Germam Frau got bent out of shape because we were in one of her seats. We believe the usherette intentionally told us the wrong seats because we were Americans. We were highly embarrassed.
This whole situation along with the two usherettes laughing at us made us so angry that we demanded our money back which they would not do. We got robbed out of many Euros. We finally found the coat room to retrieve our coats. When we left the head usher laughed at us and asked "Haven't you found your seats yet, Ha Ha Ha !!!"
If you are Americans do not go here, they truly hate us and they make it very plain that this is the case. We really wanted to see the Barber of Seville but those hateful Germans made sure we didn't. They accomplished their goal.
M. Greg Miller
Ennis, County Clare, Ireland
Millersville, PA, USA
This whole situation along with the two usherettes laughing at us made us so angry that we demanded our money back which they would not do. We got robbed out of many Euros. We finally found the coat room to retrieve our coats. When we left the head usher laughed at us and asked "Haven't you found your seats yet, Ha Ha Ha !!!"
If you are Americans do not go here, they truly hate us and they make it very plain that this is the case. We really wanted to see the Barber of Seville but those hateful Germans made sure we didn't. They accomplished their goal.
M. Greg Miller
Ennis, County Clare, Ireland
Millersville, PA, USA
Written 11 February 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Loic P
25 contributions
Nov 2017 • Couples
well... if you think an opera is boring then you should try this one: the modern acting and stage featuring 3D LED images and motion pictures were amazing and the orchestra was just perfect: great music (mozart!), humor and comedy, very innovative and a very provocative start ! can‘t tell you more .... go!
Written 25 November 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dinarodrigues65
Porto, Portugal225 contributions
Feb 2017 • Family
Congratulations. Was my First ballet in Hamburg. The Opera House, is modern, nice, confortable, and the staff good.
The dance company Ballet, amazing. Tatiana is a beautiful Story them I didnt know before, and i undestand the story.
I Love the scenery they mixe tradicional and modern.
Was for sure the top tem of my experience in Hamburg, and I'm looking forward to repeat the visit to This Opera to see another ballet.
My seat was Very confortable and I have a good View of the Stage.
The dance company Ballet, amazing. Tatiana is a beautiful Story them I didnt know before, and i undestand the story.
I Love the scenery they mixe tradicional and modern.
Was for sure the top tem of my experience in Hamburg, and I'm looking forward to repeat the visit to This Opera to see another ballet.
My seat was Very confortable and I have a good View of the Stage.
Written 6 February 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Will full costumed operas (not concert versions or 1/2 staged opera versions) be performed in the Elbphiharmonie?
Written 15 February 2019
Hej, jeg kunne tænke mig at få anbefalet gode spisesteder og barer i nærheden af Staatsoper?
Written 3 October 2017
Showing results 1-2 of 2
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing