The great Buddha

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Two poor best friends - Nabel and Pickle. Nobody knows their real names behind these absurd nicknames. And to be honest, nobody cares either. Day after day, they toil away in the Buddha factory of their boss Kevin, an artist with divine ambitions.
Everyone knows Kevin's name, everyone knows about his piety - but no one knows his extravagant private life, and even less about his two faces: humble upwards, condescending downwards.
What Kevin doesn't know is that his spicy dashcam videos are the highlight of every night shift in the boring porter's lodge for Nabel and Pickle. One click, one listen - and suddenly not only humans are listening, but also the gods.
Even the things that don't want to be heard.

"The Great Buddha" is a chamber opera by Yixuan Hu, created as a final project for the composition concert exam at the HfMT. The opera was adapted from the Taiwanese film The Great Buddha by Huang Hsin-Yao and combines black humor with an artistic reflection on classism, religious hypocrisy and violence against women.

Cast:
Nabel - Yutao Gu, tenor
Pickle - XXX, baritone
Kevin - Nick Hohlbach, speaking role

Contributors:
Composition: Yixuan Hu
Libretto: Rongji Liao & Yixuan Hu
Musical director: Sangjun Han
Director: Sang-jin Han
Stage & costume: Simone Ballüer
Dramaturgy: Rongji Liao
Vocal coach/repetiteur: Shihao Zhai

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Exclusive after-party experience at the Yu Garden Hamburg
For all those who would like to end the evening not only musically, but also festively, there is an after-party ticket.
After the performance, we invite you to the unique ambience of the Yu Garden Hamburg - a restaurant that combines traditional Chinese elegance with modern sophistication.
There you can expect:
A special performance by our creative team, exclusively for this occasion.
An atmospheric ambience that harmoniously combines tradition and modernity.
A welcome drink to round off the evening.
The afterparty offers the opportunity to talk to artists, friends and like-minded people in an extraordinary atmosphere and make the evening unforgettable.

Please note: There are two ticket categories - with and without afterparty. For an all-round special experience, we recommend the afterparty ticket.
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Normal price: 12 euros
reduced: 7 euros
HfMT students: Free admission

Performance + afterparty normal price: 18 Euro
Performance + afterparty reduced: 13 Euro
Performance + afterparty HfMT students: 6 Euro

Tickets are available at eventim.
Our box office opens one hour before the performance begins.

Overview of dates
15.11.2025 (Premiere)
16.11.2025