5 reasons to visit the Szeged Open-Air Festival

Have you ever been to an open-air festival? And an open-air theatre? No matter what your answer may be, we collected five reasons why you should definitely get tickets for the Szeged Open Air Festival (Szegedi Szabadtéri Játékok), Hungary’s biggest outdoor theatre event.

Following the traditions, the Szeged Open Air Festival will be kicked off with an opera on the 29^th of June. Due to the reconstruction of the Újszegedi Open Air Stage, the REÖK Studio Stage will welcome guests with another Moliére piece.

The stands are almost ready on the iconic Dóm Square and based on ticket sales, it seems like people’s interest in the festival is unbroken.

Photo: www.facebook.com/SzegediSzabadtéri

The city

The N°1 reason to visit the festival is Szeged, the city itself. You could easily combine the theatre experience with other activities in the city. As our guest author, Alexander Stemp described it, the “Sunshine City” of Szeged with its outstanding university, illustrious buildings, wide avenues and cool, shady parks sits south of the Puszta/Great Plain and shares a twin-town identity with the renowned Cambridge in England.

The name “Sunshine City” is not some clumsy tourist cliché: Szeged and its immediate area do have higher than average reported sunlight hours.

Photo: www.facebook.com/SzegediSzabadtéri

The programme

As mentioned above, the schedule starts with Verdi’s Rigoletto on the 29^th and 30^th of June – 30 years after it was first performed there. On the 6^th and 7^th of July, the beloved Fiddler on the Roof will unfold on stage with iconic songs such as If I Were a Rich Man.

Photo: www.facebook.com/SzegediSzabadtéri

The Hunchback of Notre Dame returns to the festival on the 13^th, 14^th and 15^th of July in the coproduction of the Budapest Operetta Theatre. The successful Shakespeare series continues with the master’s world-famous love story, Romeo and Juliet on the 27^th, 28^th and 29^th of July.

The Sister Act musical premieres at the Szeged Open Air Festival on the 10^th of August, followed by several other dates in August.

For more information, check out www.szegediszabadteri.hu.

The experience

If you have ever attended an open-air theatre, you know how special the experience is. Frankly, there is nothing like it. The way the sound reaches the audience, the way the stars illuminate the actors, the way the fresh air jazzes up the experience… is truly unique 🙂

The organisation

Despite the fact that the professional arrangement and execution of an open-air event is difficult, it is widely known that the organisers of the Szeged Open-Air Festival always do an outstanding job.

Photo: www.facebook.com/SzegediSzabadtéri

“This season is especially well-prepared because we started the organisation earlier than we usually do. We launched the first performances last August, which definitely had a good effect on ticket sales” said Tamás Herczeg, the managing director of the event to delmagyar.hu.

“Musicals have been the most popular shows in past years. Out of these, the Sister Act is the favourite, so we had to add two more dates to the schedule. However, there are only a few tickets left” he added.

The view

Besides the amazing scenes, decoration and costumes you see on stage, the surroundings of the festival are not negligible either. The stage is set up on the Dóm Square, right at the feet of the beautiful cathedral. From there, you can walk around the lovely streets of the city and visit other monuments, curiosities.

The venue is definitely enchanting and one of a kind.

For more information, check out www.szegediszabadteri.hu.

Featured image: www.facebook.com/SzegediSzabadtéri

Source: Daily News Hungary