Born in
Heidelberg on 3 June 1935, After graduation, he trained as an actor at the
Otto-Falckenberg-Schule in Munich. He also studied dramatics and musicology at the
Heidelberg University and in Munich. He studied further in Vienna with
Heinz Kindermann, and submitted his doctoral dissertation on the development of stage technology. and
Heinrich Sutermeister's
Der rote Stiefel. In 1975, Hampe was named general manager and artistic director of the
Cologne Opera, a position he held for 20 years. His 1979 production of Cimarosa's
Il matrimonio segreto became a worldwide success with performances in London, Paris, Edinburgh, Venice, Stockholm, Washington, Tokyo and Dresden, and was awarded international prizes including the
Olivier Award. Hampe was on the board of directors of the
Salzburg Festival from 1983 until 1990, where he was the stage director for productions, often in collaboration with the scenic designer Mauro Pagano. His productions included the world premiere of Henze's adaptation of Monteverdi's ''
Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria in 1985, Don Giovanni'' conducted by
Herbert von Karajan in 1987, Rossini's
La Cenerentola conducted by
Riccardo Chailly in 1988, and
Le nozze di Figaro conducted by
Bernard Haitink in 1991. Hampe served as a guest director at major opera houses and festivals. For
The Royal Opera, London, he directed
Andrea Chénier (1984), and Rossini's
The Barber of Seville (1985) and
La Cenerentola (1990). Los Angeles, Washington, Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile, Sydney and Tokyo, and at festivals in Florence, Pesaro, Ravenna, Drottningholm, Edinburgh and
Lucerne Festival. Many of his productions were recorded for television broadcast or made into films. The total number of his productions is more than 260 as of 2020. After the Reunification of Germany, Hampe assumed the artistic direction of the
Dresden Music Festival, which he led to new international recognition, together with as managing and deputy director. During his tenure from 1993 to 2000, he commissioned works from composers such as
Siegfried Matthus (
Farinelli, 1998) and (
Die Sündflut, 2002), directing their world premieres. His 2000 production of Handel's
Serse at the
Semperoper was recorded for the internet.
Teaching Hampe was professor at the
Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln since 1977. He also taught at numerous universities and academies in Germany and abroad, including
Yale University and the
University of Southern California (USC), Hampe was honorary board member of the European Music Theater Academy (EMA) in Vienna.
Theatre construction consultant Hampe was in demand as a theatre construction expert and was vice president of the German Theatre Technology Society. He consulted for the buildings of the
Opéra Bastille in Paris and the
New National Theatre Tokyo, as well as renovation and modernisation of older theatres.
Death Hampe died in Zürich on 18 November 2022, at the age of 87. == Awards and distinctions ==