John Neumeier will see out 50 years in Hamburg
mainThe American choreographer arrived in Hamburg in 1973, aged 24.
Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School. In 1996 he became ballet director of Hamburg State Opera. Today the city renewed his contract until 2023, which will bring up his half-century at the age of 84.
Actually, he was 34 when he arrived. Or maybe not, because he had changed his birth date from 1939 to 1942 until very recently, so he was “31” at that time.
He became Ballet Director at Hamburg already in 1973, in 1996 he became Ballett-Intendant, which means total independence from the opera director in terms of artistic decisions. So in 2023, he will truly have been director for 50 years.
Impressive stuff. He’s been a reference for as long as I can remember.