Opening Concert

The opening evening of the Liedfestival 2026 will be a celebration of origin and return. Gustav Mahler's "Wunderhorn" songs with Thomas Hampson and Wolfram Rieger will kick things off - the collection in which folk music and human experience become a world of sound and with which Thomas Hampson began his teaching career in Heidelberg in 2006. It is no coincidence that such a close connection between him and the Lied developed here - Heidelberg is a place where the roots of the Lied run deep and continue to grow. Thomas Hampson's passionate commitment to song has shaped generations of artists in the song city of Heidelberg over the last 20 years. And so, in the second part of this evening, the stage belongs to the alumni of the Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie, whose artistic paths received decisive impulses here. They return with songs that have taken them from their time in Heidelberg to this evening - full of new experiences and sound perspectives. A living commitment to song!
Gustav Mahler
Songs and chants from his youth (excerpts)
Des Knaben Wunderhorn (excerpts)
Aaron Copland
Old American Songs Vol. 1 (Auszüge)
Franz Schubert
Am See D 746
Auf der Donau D 553
Gustav Mahler
Rheinlegendchen
Hanns Eisler
An eine Stadt (Heidelberg)
Georg Kreisler
Frühlingslied (Tauben vergiften)
Kurt Weill
"Surabaya Johnny" from "Happy End"
Isang Yun
Swing
Ralph Vaughan Williams
Let Beauty Awake
Jean Berger
Lonely People
Samuel Barber
Four Songs op. 13 (excerpts)
Leonard Bernstein
To What You Said
William Bolcom
Cabaret Songs, Vol. 1 (1996) (excerpts)
Werner Richard Heymann
Irgendwo auf der Welt (aus dem Film: „Ein blonder Traum“, 1932)
Thomas Hampson
Baritone
Wolfram Rieger
Piano
Elitsa Desseva
Piano and Liedakademie Director of Studies
Alumni of the Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie
Katrīna Paula Felsberga
Soprano
Roza Herwig
Mezzo-Soprano
Clemens Seewald
Baritone
Jeeyoung Lim
Bass-Bariton
Daniel Arkadij Gerzenberg
Piano
All events with Thomas Hampson
Ballsaal
Wolfgang-Marguerre-Saal












