opera

Le Monde: Hungarian composer’s opera performed in Paris was a masterpiece!

Fin de la partie_opera_paris

World-renowned Hungarian composer György Kurtág’s first opera, Fin de la partie, is being performed at the Opera Garnier in Paris from April 30 to May 19.

The performance is a reprise of the work’s 2018 premiere in La Scala Milan. Directed by Pierre Audi, the singers are Frode Olsen (Hamm), Leigh Melrose (Clov), Hilary Summers (Nell) and Leonardo Cortellazzi (Nagg).

Fin de la partie, 96-year-old Kurtág’s longest piece, is based on Samuel Beckett’s eponymous play, written in French and premiered in Paris in 1957.

Kurtág said in an interview earlier that the play had had a “lifelong effect” on him when he saw it the same year.

French daily Le Monde praised the opera as a “masterpiece”

that “infuses with humanity the nihilism of the Irish author, examining the end of humanity, the death of language and the abolition of all property.”

valley of arts
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The Hungarian State Opera announces 2022/23 season at the refurbished Opera House

Opera_House_photo_Attila_Nagy másolata

The Hungarian State Opera has announced its 2022/2023 thematic season titled Myth & History. The OPERA awaits the public in the renovated Ybl Palace on Andrássy Avenue with numerous new functions and services.

The programme of the OPERA’s 139th season features over 500 theatrical shows played in two locations, including 53 repertoire pieces and 16 new productions with 10 feature shows among them. The 2022/2023 season of the OPERA was inspired by the interconnected layers of myths and history, with several of its premiering productions being based on dramatic historical events. Iván Madarász was commissioned by the OPERA to turn Zoltán Fábri’s screenplay into an opera titled The Fifth Seal, set at the time of the Arrow Cross Party’s terror and the Siege of Budapest, the premier of which is directed by János Szikora. The Hungarian premier of Prokofiev’s War & Peace is brought to the stage by Calixto Bieito in co-production with the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and the Opera House is also preparing a new premier of Tosca. There are two Mozart operas to return to the theatre’s repertoire after a long hiatus: the audience had to wait over 40 years to see Idomeneo, King of Crete and over 30 years to see The Pretend Garden-Girl at the OPERA again. Both of them are directed by artistic director András Almási-Tóth, the latter for the stage of the Eiffel Art Studios, in co-production with Opera Neo in San Diego. The theme of the season naturally suggested several Baroque works rooted in Antique culture or set in the era of the Crusades to be premiered at the OPERA, and so Szenteczki Zita will adapt the 2016 direction of Gluck’s opera Orfeo & Euridice she did during her studies at the Liszt Academy for the stage of the Eiffel Art Studios, where Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas will also be played under the direction of Dóra Barta, as well as a production of Monteverdi madrigals by Tulassay Ádám titled Tancredi & Clorinda. For a special séance of Advent, pianist Tamás Érdi brings a story relevant to the Three Wise Men, György Selmeczi’s Artaban to the stage based on the concept of general director Szilveszter Ókovács, and after several seasons’ delay, Mária Harangi directs two one-act pieces of similar subjects by contemporary Italian composer Giampaolo Testoni, Fantasio & Fortunio, the original 2018 premier of which were performed by the OPERA in Teatro Coccia in Novara.

The Hungarian National Ballet is preparing the Hungarian premier of Boris Eifman’s feature ballet The Pygmalion Effect, as well as new interpretations of two Bartók ballets: ballet master László Velekei’s choreography of The Wooden Prince and principal ballet master Marianna Venekei’s choreography of The Miraculous Mandarin. In addition, such monumental classical ballets will be included in the ensemble’s repertoire again as The Taming of the Shrew, Don Quixote, and Swan Lake, which could not be performed during the renovations of the Opera House. The Nutcracker will move back to the Ybl Palace with 28 shows, and Mayerling, to be premiered this year, will also be included in next year’s programme.

The essence of the season will be the thematic festival held in May again, which will be titled Festival of Myths this year. It will mainly feature ten shows mostly inspired by Antiquity, including repertoire pieces such as Elektra, Iphigenia auf Tauris, Ariadne auf Naxos, and of the ballet productions, Troy Game & Troy Game – with Amazons. It also fits in well with the theme of the season that the OPERA will add the entire Ring Tetralogy by Wagner to its programme in November 2022. Directed by Géza M. Tóth, the work will be interpreted by Hungarian artists, with the only exception of the role of Loge, which will be sung by guest artist Adrián Eröd, also of Hungarian descent.

As a prelude to the Myth & History season, Italian tenor Fabio Sartori is invited to star in the park concert of Eiffel Art Studios in August. In War & Peace Anna Shapovalova (Natasha)will be the guest star, while in Die Entführung aus dem Serail Eva Bodorová (Konstanze) will join the production, who also has Hungarian roots. Following her great success this year, Angela Nisi (Mimì) returns to La Bohème, while the title role of Otello will be played by Walter Fraccaro and Carlo Ventre. As a real curiosity, countertenor Rodrigo Sosa Dal Pozzo will appear in the shows of Orfeo & Euridice singing the title role and conducting the production as well. In addition to the most excellent Hungarian conductors, the OPERA orchestra will be directed by Antonello Allemandi (Lucia di Lammermoor, Requiem), Diego Ceretta (Fantasio & Fortunio), David Coleman (Swan Lake, The Pygmalion Effect), Paul Connelly (Mayerling, Iván Nagy Ballet Gala), Frédéric Chaslin (Dialogues des Carmélites, Petőfi Symphony), Thomas Herzog (The Nutcracker, Don Quixote), Marc Piollet (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Leonardo Sini (Un ballo in maschera), and Stefan Soltész (Die Frau ohne Schatten). The OPERA also launches a new series titled Stars with a Piano, in which aria and song recitals are given by internationally recognized artists such as Ildar Abdrazakov, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Simon Keenlyside, Julia Lezhneva, Waltraud Meier, Olga Peretyatko and Ramón Vargas.

The OPERA does not forget about its own stars either. It is going to celebrate Éva Marton’s 80th birthday with a gala concert, while Gyöngyi Lukács and Ildikó Komlósi will have 3 solo recitals each at the Eiffel Art Studios as a continuation of the series started this year. The OPERA will also hold a gala to wish happy birthday to eight of its artists celebrating their jubilees this year. At the recital, Gábor Bretz, Attila Fekete, Péter Kálmán, Ildikó Komlósi, István Kovács, Andrea Rost, Bernadett Wiedemann will appear on the stage, as well as Eszter Sümegi, the organizer of the evening.

Subscription sales for 2022/23 will start between 21 and 23 March 2022 in the Opera House Foyer and online, first exclusively for subscription holders. New subscriptions can be purchased online from 24 March and in the Opera House until 25 March, then at the Opera Sales Centre in Hajós Street and at the Eiffel Art Studios from 28 March until 30 June. Single tickets for the performances of the Myth & History thematic season will be sold from 1 July 2022.

Read more information HERE.

Pelléas_2021_rehearsal_photo_Attila_Nagy
Read alsoDebussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande returns to the Hungarian State Opera repertoire

State Opera House reopens after revamp – PHOTO GALLERY

Revamped Hungarian State Opera Panorama Resize

The Hungarian State Opera House, which has undergone a major renovation, was reopened with a festive gala on Saturday.

The opening ceremony was attended by incumbent President János Áder, President-elect Katalin Novák and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Addressing the event, President Áder spoke about the 138-year history of the Opera House, one of the masterpieces of eminent 19th-century architect Miklós Ybl.

Revamped Hungarian State Opera Facade
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Revamped Hungarian State Opera
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Revamped Hungarian State Opera
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Revamped Hungarian State Opera
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Revamped Hungarian State Opera
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt

“What a variety of events this building has witnessed and survived: wars and revolutions, conquerors and various forms of government, occupation and regained freedoms.

Several directors who brought about a golden age of opera and some who were certainly unworthy of their post. Old and new, conservative and progressive styles,” the president said.

Revamped Hungarian State Opera
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Painting
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt
Revamped Hungarian State Opera
Revamped Hungarian State Opera Photo: MTI/Szigetváry Zsolt

“But eventually, it was the valuable that prevailed. And those who wanted to work on the highest possible standard and knew that the performance of the Budapest opera should be a match for the best in Europe,” he added.

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Budapest’s astonishing Opera House to reopen on March 12!

Opera-House-Budapest classical culture

The Hungarian State Opera House designed by Miklós Ybl will reopen to the public on March 12 following a renovation that has restored the building in Budapest to its original glory, the Opera said on Thursday.

At the opening gala event with President Janos Ader in attendance, Erno Dohnanyi’s rarely heard Festival Overture, parts from Zoltan Kodaly’s folk opera Hary Janos and Laszlo Seregi’s Taming of the Shrew ballet will be performed.

The programme also includes recitals of Hungarian-themed titles such as Berlioz’s Rakoczy March, Brahms’s Hungarian Dance No.5 and Strauss Jr’s Viva Hungary polka under the baton of Placido Domingo. The event will be broadcast live by public TV channel M5.

On March 13, the Opera House will present the original version of Ferenc Erkel’s historic opera Hunyadi Laszlo, with artists and students of the Hungarian National Ballet, the Opera Orchestra and its Choir and Children’s Choir.

On March 14, the Hungarian National Ballet will perform Sir Kenneth MacMillan’s Mayerling.

The regular guided Opera tours in Hungarian and English will be relaunched on March 15 with the first tour beginning at 10.30am.

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Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande returns to the Hungarian State Opera repertoire

Pelléas_2021_rehearsal_photo_Attila_Nagy

A new production of Pelléas and Mélisande by Kirsten Dehlholm and Hotel Pro Forma is presented at the Eiffel Art Studios featuring Zsolt Haja / Máté Fülep, Polina Pasztircsák and István Kovács from 25 February 2022. The Hungarian State Opera is conducted by internationally renowned Frédéric Chaslin.

The plot might remind some viewers of Tristan und Isolde, as it also involves an older man standing in the way of two young lovers whose passion for each other costs them their lives. This piece nearly devoid of actual stage action unfolds in the borderlands between dreams and reality, which is exactly what piqued Debussy’s interest, who spent an entire decade composing his masterpiece which contravened French operatic traditions and the popular Wagnerian trends of the age.

Although the Paris premiere of this masterpiece in Opéra Comique in 1902 turned into scandal due mostly to a feud between the composer and librettist Maeterlinck, later it became a success with audiences and was staged in several countries in Europe as well as in the USA, bringing international fame to Debussy.

His work went on to inspire such great personalities as Oliver Messiaen, Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, or the jazz composer Bill Evans. The Hungarian Royal Opera first presented Pelléas et Mélisande in 1925 staged by László Márkus, where it ran for five performances only. The 1963 revival by director András Mikó was a greater success, it was performed forty times by 1970.

An exciting pairing with the remarkable and somewhat surreal world of the opera is the Danish ensemble Hotel Pro Forma founded by Kirsten Dehlholm (b. 1945), and their unique stylistic language.

Their works are not unknown to the Hungarian public: in the mid-1980s, they presented the production Terra Australis Incognita in Budapest, and they returned with Operation: Orfeo in 2010. The new Hungarian State Opera production of Pelléas et Mélisande is co-directed by Marie Dahl, the visuals were designed by Maja Ziska (sets), Marta Twarowska (costumes), Jesper Kongshaug (lighting), and Adam Ryde Ankarfeldt (projection). Cast includes Zsolt Haja / Máté Fülep as Pelléas, Polina Pasztircsák as Mélisande and István Kovács as Golaud as well as Andrea Meláth, András Kiss, Anna Karácsonyi / Veronika Szabó and Tamás Pekárdy. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra is conducted by the renowned French conductor, composer and pianist Frédéric Chaslin, with the Opera Chorus featuring on recording.

Placido Domingo
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After a hiatus of 110 years, La fille du régiment returns to the OPERA – PHOTOS

opera

In a production staged by Csaba Polgár incorporating spoken dialogues by András Péter Kovács, La fille du régiment returns to the repertoire of the Hungarian State Opera on 14 January 2022. The cast at the Erkel Theatre features outstanding Hungarian soloists Zita Szemere, Gergely Boncsér, Mária Farkasréti / Atala Schöck, and András Palerdi under the baton of Fabrizio Maria Carminati.

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, La fille du régiment was one of Gaetano Donizetti’s most successful operas during its own era, and singing the title role was the dream of every coloratura soprano throughout the entire 19th century. In 1838, tired of his constant struggles with the Italian censors, Donizetti moved to Paris. There, the great Italian bel canto composer wrote his first French-language comic opera, modelling it much more on the unique features of the French opéra comique style and its composers.

In this opera, the core is Marie and the story of her upbringing. Today, Donizetti’s portrayal of the “carefree” life of the soldier no longer has meaning.

However, it is still interesting how a girl raised by soldiers lives in a different world, an aristocratic civilian milieu and a budding romantic relationship.

opera
Photo: Press release

Donizetti’s masterpiece was first shown in Hungary at the National Theatre of Pest in 1844, where it ran for 33 performances. The Hungarian Royal Opera (today’s Hungarian State Opera) also staged it later, where, after 54 performances it said farewell for 114 years in 1908.

According to director Csaba Polgár, “looking at the piece today, this situation resembles that of a child of divorced parents, where both the mother and the father try to assert their validity, losing the child’s will in the process. For me, that is what raises the most important issues regarding the piece for which I am looking for the answer: What is the level of care or concern that is stifling and detrimental? Is the boy who signs up for the army and then returns the same man who the girl fell in love with? Is he truly her way out?”

opera
Photo: Press release

The revival production features sets and costumes by Lili Izsák, lights by Tamás Bányai, and choreography by Adrienn Vetési. The sung parts performed in Hungarian are connected by spoken dialogues in Hungarian, adapted by renowned comedian András Péter Kovács.

The title role is performed by Zita Szemere, her partners on stage are Gergely Boncsér (Tonio), András Palerdi (Sulpice), Mária Farkasréti / Atala Schöck (Marquise Berkenfield) along with Bence Pataki / Attila Dobák, Gergely Irlanda, Gergely Biri, Tünde Szalontay and Zsófia Alberti. Returning to the OPERA to conduct the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus (chorus director: Gábor Csiki) is internationally renowned Fabrizio Maria Carminati, an expert in Donizetti’s works.

Budapest OPera
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Klára Kolonits in bravura roles in the new Hungarian State Opera production of Les Contes d’Hoffmann

Hungarian State Opera Les Contes d'Hoffmann

After a hiatus of 25 years, Offenbach’s magnum opus returns to the Hungarian State Opera repertoire in a much-anticipated staging by Kriszta Székely. The production of Les Contes Hoffmann is presented in a double cast at the Erkel Theatre, the 4 December 2021 premiere features Klára Kolonits, Boldizsár László and Péter Kálmán under the baton of Gergely Kesselyák.

Based on novellas by German author E. T. A. Hoffmann, in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, his unfinished final work, Jacques Offenbach departs from the style of his hilariously satirical operettas, which are full of the witty and mocking social criticism of his era. Naturally, this work is not devoid of humour either, but the poet’s romantic adventures are dominated by dark, sometimes fateful, chromatic nuances.

The manuscript left by Offenbach led to the creation of a number of versions over the years, of which the Opera now presents the most popular version from 1907.

HSO_Hoffmann_rehearsal_1_photo_Valter_Berecz
Photo: Valter Berecz

Hungarian State Opera reopens with Placido Domingo!

Accompanying Hoffmann throughout his search for the absolute ideal of femininity and bringing him misery are four wicked characters, forcing him to constantly confront death even in his state of amorous intoxication.

The Opera prepares two kinds of interpretations for its new production. In the first one, Klára Kolonits performs all four female roles as intended by Offenbach himself. The other one features four different singers, young Hungarian talents – Réka Piroska Jónás as Olympia, Lilla Horti as Antonia, Zsuzsanna Ádám as Giulietta, and Éva Bernáth as Stella – in these roles. They are partnered with outstanding soloists such as Boldizsár László / Zoltán Nyári in the title role, Péter Kálmán (Lindorf / Coppélius / Miracle / Dapertutto), Viktória Mester (Muse / Nicklausse) as well as Tibor Szappanos, Géza Gábor, Bence Pataki and András Kőrösi.

HSO_Hoffmann_rehearsal_2_photo_Valter_Berecz
Photo: Valter Berecz

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Although her background is primarily in spoken theatre, Kriszta Székely has several successful opera commissions under her belt, including La putain respectueuse and La princesse jaune. However, Offenbach’s masterpiece is her first full-length opera to stage, originally planned for the previous season. Her production interprets Hoffmann’s stories as a certain spiritual journey that take place in the waiting lounge of a railway station featuring spectacular sets by Nelli Pallós, costumes by Dóra Pattantyus, and choreography by Krisztián Gergye. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus (chorus director: Gábor Csiki) are conducted by Gergely Kesselyák.

Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
Read alsoAmazing! State Opera House’s Eiffel Workshop opens – PHOTOS

Hungarian State Opera reopens with Placido Domingo!

Placido Domingo

After approximately 4 years of restoration work, the Hungarian State Opera is finally ready to host the new season at their original location. The long break did not mean that the opera performances were entirely suspended; however, they were moved to the Erkel Theater in XIII. district. Only the opera building was closed for visitors during the renovation process.

The Opening Weekend begins on 12 March and runs until 14 March 2022 offering one performance each night. The opening night will present the international opera star Placido Domingo. – writes Hello Magyar.

On the following evening, music lovers can enjoy one of the most significant Hungarian musical compositons ‘Hunyadi László’ which is based on the events that took place during the time of the Ottoman wars. The good news is that the opera performance will be subtitled in English; therefore, non-Hungarian speakers can also fully immerse themselves in the marvellous show. On the third night, visitors can relish a Hungarian National Ballet performance presenting Mayerling which was choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan and written by the famous Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. 

Between 16 November and 31 December 2021, the Hungarian State Opera offers discounted tickets and passes for the next spring season, all of which can be booked online. 

Read also: State Opera House’s Eiffel Workshop opens – PHOTOS

The Hungarian State opera was built in a Neo-Renaissance style at the end of the 19th century based on the design work of well-known Hungarian architect Miklós Ybl.

The entire project was ordered by the municipality of Budapest and the Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph. It is a great symbol of the Austro-Hungarian times and architecture just like the surroundig buildings on the Andrássy Avenue. The total capacity of the Hungarian State Opera House is 1300 seats. The House was first opened 27 September, 1884, with the presence of Emperor Franz Joseph. The night almost ended in a scandalous fiasco as several people from the crowd gathering in front of the Opera House tried to break in to see the performance. Police intervention was necessary to maintain order and remove those who actually managed to crash the gates. 

Ever since the building was completed in 1884, it has been the second time that the Hungarian State Opera shuts its doors for such a long period.

The first time took place beetween 1980 and 1984 when the buiding went through an entire external and internal renovation. Following the restoration work, a sumptuos reopening ceremony was held to celebrate the opera’s 100th aniversary in 1984. This time, the renovation expenses reached almost 30 billion forints, said Szilveszter Ókovács the director of the Hungarian State Opera, who also added that it was necessary to do a 21st century make over on the classic building.

Click here to see the entire program of the 2021/2022 season!

Author: Balázs Németh

Museum-of-Fine-Arts-Budapest
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Amazing! State Opera House’s Eiffel Workshop opens – PHOTOS

Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House

The Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House was opened in Budapest on Monday evening.

Eiffel Art Studios – the Opera’s new art complex

According to the official site, the largest indoor complex in Hungarian railway history, a system of vast covered spaces unique in Europe, the Northern Railway Maintenance and Engineering Works was built between 1884 and 1886. After years of alterations and renovations, starting it is now home to the Hungarian State Opera’s new logistics and art centre.

Since activities on the 22 hectare site ceased in 2009, in the summer of 2015 the government offered the middle 6.7 hectare part of the area to the Opera together with the five-nave core repair complex of 22,000 square metres, which has become known as the Eiffel, together with two auxiliary buildings and a medium-sized, standard train station.

The rehearsal, production and storage centre for the Opera is being built here where the Bánffy Stage, with a 500-seat auditorium, will be constructed to include the Sándor Hevesi Rehearsal Stage of the same size as the stage of the Opera House and the Ferenc Fricsay Studio suitable for recordings. In all of its nine production workshops, all of its sets, costumes and props here, the institution also create a memorial hall for János Feketeházy, the designer of both this building and the Opera House’s iron skeleton.

The Eiffel Hall, which was large enough to repair up to 96 huge steam locomotives at a time, will house a restaurant (in a vintage railway car made of teak), where guests can marvel at the legendary No. 327.141 Hungarian steam locomotive in the atrium and the No. 006 “Biatorbágy” steam locomotive of the 301 series in the park.

There will also be a costume rental shop and a visitor centre. The training centre for the Opera will be established here too, comprising the Opera Studio, the Opera Music School and the Opera Education Centre. The production studios will also function as a practical training centre, as we would like to train future generations of professionals in the ways of theatre production ourselves. We also plan to use the increased capacity in scene and costume preparations to take on orders.

A car park with a capacity for 200 vehicles was built next to a three-hectare park named after Zoltán Kodály and inaugurated during a spectacular open-air gala on 19 August 2020, where the famous viticulturist Károly Bakonyi’s grapes will grow together with Gergely Márk’s roses.

A playground was also constructed surrounded by the halls, which will operate in a spirit of environmental awareness.

Although the completion of the entire project was planned for the end of 2020, a brief test run was held in April 2019, when the areas open to the audience were opened. The Bánffy Stage also presented its first opera and ballet performances. The official inauguration of the complex was planned for October 2020, which was hindered by the pandemic. Despite the difficulties caused by the virus, the space was used intensively during the lockdown as well: since September of 2020, the Opera provided more than one hundred free live-streamed performances, chamber concerts, and opera crossovers from the Eiffel Art Studios’ Sándor Hevesi Stage. Not to mention the rehearsals that never stop: by the time the institution could be reopened, audiences were welcomed by new productions, including performances of Le Bourgeois gentilhomme and Figaro3.

The Hungarian State Opera and the Erkel Theatre are to gain a new art studios and rehearsal centre. Establishing and equipping the new centre as well as preparing the refurbishment of the Opera House in Andrássy Avenue is to be financed by the government.

  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Eiffel Art Studios
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Eiffel Art Studios
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Eiffel Art Studios
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Eiffel Art Studios
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Eiffel Art Studios
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Eiffel Art Studios
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: Eiffel Art Studios
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI

Opening ceremony

Addressing the opening, Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, called

the Eiffel Workshop “one of the biggest cultural developments in the capital and the country this decade”.

Gulyás said the more than 33 billion forints (EUR 90.4m) investment to refurbish the 33,000sqm cultural centre and its 3-hectare park was “the first important step” in Hungary’s cultural developments that would be followed by the completion of the new Transport Museum and a music education centre.

The Eiffel Workshop can help lift Hungarian opera on the international scene, Gulyás said.

“This is also an important moment in strengthening our cultural identity,” he said.

  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
  • Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House
    Eiffel Workshop of the Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary. Photo: MTI
Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary
Read alsoHungarian State Opera House to reopen for season 2021/2022

World-known opera singers to perform in Budapest in August!

Hungary singer opera

Following Jonas Kaufmann’s concert to inaugurate park of the Eiffel Art Studios in 2020, the Zoltán Kodály Park is once again the venue to bring together the audience and international guest stars. The French coloratura soprano Patrica Petibon and the American bel canto tenor Lawrence Brownlee make their appearance at 7 p.m. on 21 August 2021 at an open-air concert at Eiffel Art Studios, the Hungarian State Opera’s new artistic complex.

The programme also features Hungarian soloists accompanied by the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus. The gala is organised as part of a charity day to support the István Regőczi Foundation for Coronavirus Orphans.

Addressing the audience will be Anita Herczegh, wife of the President of Hungary, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation.

During her career of a quarter century, Patricia Petibon has become renowned as a most versatile soprano whose wide repertoire ranges from Baroque music to contemporary compositions. Apart from French operas, she frequently performs works by Mozart and Verdi as well as rarities. The voice of the ever-youthful diva known for its flexibility and technique has been enchanting audiences at the greatest opera houses all over Europe from Barcelona to Vienna, from Paris to Milan.

With his velvety voice and good looks,

Lawrence Brownlee has achieved fame of both sides of the Atlantic since his 2002 debut at the Virginia Opera. The role of Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia soon became his iconic role that he has also performed in renowned opera houses from the New York Metropolitan to the Wiener Staatsoper in a career of two decades. The repertoire of the lyric tenor is mostly focused on bel canto roles, operas by Rossini and Donizetti especially, which he frequently appears in all over the US and Western Europe.

In their joint gala concert at the Eiffel Art Studios, Petibon and Brownlee are to perform a selection of their opera favourites including Faust, La fille du régiment, Rigoletto, Traviata and Manon as well as pieces by European and American songwriters.

To follow the practice introduced at Jonas Kaufmann’s concert in 2020,

the programme of the international guest stars is preceded by the appearance of excellent Hungarian soloists

– Zsuzsanna Ádám, Marcell Bakonyi, Anatoly Fokanov, Anna Csenge Fürjes, Lilla Horti, Zoltán Kelemen, Kinga Kriszta, Viktória Mester, Dániel Pataky, Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser, Orsolya Sáfár and Károly Szemerédy – performing popular excerpts by Bizet, Erkel, Gershwin, Mozart, Puccini, Strauss II and Verdi. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus (chorus director: Gábor Csiki) are conducted by general music director Balázs Kocsár, the renowned Ádám Medveczky, who has recently turned 80, and Sámuel Csaba Tóth.

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The new Hungarian State Opera production of Andrea Chénier on OperaVision

The new Hungarian State Opera production of Andrea Chénier, the masterpiece by Umberto Giordano is available to view on OperaVision between 2 July 2021 (from 7:00 p.m. CET) and 2 January 2022. The recording of the 29 May premiere staged by Fabio Ceresa stars outstanding Hungarian soloists Boldizsár László, Eszter Sümegi and Michele Kalmandy under the baton of Balázs Kocsár.

“The revolution has no need for poets!” Supposedly these were the public prosecutor’s closing words when the Revolutionary Tribunal condemned Andrea Chénier to death during the bloodiest period of the French Revolution. In Giordano’s work, Chénier’s fate transcends actual events and becomes the story of a tragic love triangle in which the lives of the protagonists are subjected to the forces of history, betrayal, and amorous passion. The music by Giordano captures the atmosphere of Paris perfectly both before and during the French Revolution. Along with presenting elegant aristocratic dances and popular revolutionary songs, such as La Marseillaise, he also endows the main characters with melodies of irresistible beauty.

The production by director Fabio Ceresa evokes the hardship experienced by the protagonists during the French Revolution and attempts to establish a universal cycle of historical transitions: monarchy, tyranny, revolution, terror, and chaos leads once more to the resurrection of a monarchy. The spectacular sets and costumes reminiscent of the age were designed by Ceresa’s regular team including Tiziano Santi and Giuseppe Palella as well as choreographer Mattia Agatiello. The title role of the premiere recording is sung by Boldizsár László, Maddalena de Coigny is performed by Eszter Sümegi, the scheming servant Carlo Gérard is performed by Michele Kalmandy. Further cast includes Bernadett Wiedemann, Ildikó Megyimórecz, Lajos Geiger, Máté Fülep, János Szerekován and András Hábetler. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus (chorus director: Gábor Csiki) are conducted by general music director Balázs Kocsár.

The OperaVision platform offered by Opera Europa, the European association of opera companies and festivals started in autumn 2017 to promote the genre among opera lovers and novices. Supported by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme, OperaVision brings together 29 partners from 17 countries and invites you to travel and discover the diversity of opera from wherever you want, whenever you want. Previous contributions by the Hungarian State Opera included Hänsel und Gretel by Humperdinck, Bánk Bán (The Viceroy Bánk) by Erkel and L’oca del Cairo, ossia Lo sposo deluso by Mozart, all of which were available to watch on www.operavision.eu.

Read alsoThe new Hungarian State Opera production of Andrea Chénier on OperaVision

Program recommendation: Nutcracker performed by the Hungarian State Opera House

Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary

Due to the epidemic situation, a number of interventions took place in Hungary and many other countries of the world. There are curfews, shorter opening hours in the shops; there are no Christmas markets, people do not have the opportunity to go to the cinema, theatre or opera. For many, the best traditional Christmas cultural program is the Nutcracker performance. While this Christmas will be very different in many ways, thanks to the opera house, nobody will miss the Nutcracker.

The most missed performance of the Hungarian State Opera House is probably the fairytale ballet of the Christmas period, The Nutcracker. As a festive surprise, the Opera House will therefore make the recording of the performance available for one day on the 24th of December.

The classical ballet, based on ETA Hoffmann’s tale The Nutcracker and the Mouse King, has been part of the Christmas repertoire of the Hungarian State Opera House almost every year since 1950. The series has so far only been interrupted after the 1956 revolution and during the previous renovation of the Ybl Palace between 1981-82. The artists of the Hungarian National Ballet, as well as the Orchestra and Children’s Choir of the Hungarian State Opera House, will take part in the recording. The choreography is written by the internationally recognised Nutcracker-specialist Wayne Eagling and Tamás Solymosi.

The recording of the performance can be viewed free of charge on the Opera’s Facebook page and origo.hu from 3 pm on the 24th of December until the next day, on the 25th of December.

As part of OperaLive broadcasts, the institution will present other cross-sectional performances related to the holidays, such as on the 26th of December from Händel’s oratorio The Messiah,  on the 27th of December Puccini’s opera Bohemian Life and on the 30th of December Johann Strauss’s The Bat operetta. Further details on the broadcasts can be found on the Opera website.

This year is making our lives harder in many ways. Theatres also had to switch so that they were not left without work and so that spectators were not left without culture. What is missing from the classic theatrical experience – ceremonial nature, presence, audience, community experience, atmosphere – is replaced by online theatrical streaming platforms.

“The theatre is in the XXI. century, it may not be the only form that three hundred people are in an auditorium or sixty sitting in a cellar,”

says Márk Radnai, the artistic director of SzínházTV (TheaterTV). According to him, the profession found a long-standing solution to the challenge that the enjoyment of the much-lauded thousand-colour Hungarian theatre culture should not be the privilege of a narrow circle, writes 24.hu.

Orchestra conductor from Hungary designs facemasks that help you hear better

Facemask Hearing Aid

Although many people think about facemasks as a necessity nowadays, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ivan Fischer, a Hungarian orchestra conductor, thinks differently about them.

As Channel News Asia reports, he saw in it a possibility, and according to him, everyone should “make a virtue of necessity”. His idea was to combine the function of a face mask – as it is compulsory to wear them indoors – with another one: to help the audience enjoy the music more.

His idea originated from the fact that if someone cups their hands behind their ears, they not only hear the music better, but the sound of the music also becomes – as he put it – “warmer, richer, and more energetic”.

The end product uses the plastic frame of glasses as its base. The ‘ears’ are clear plastic, and they are shaped like real hands. These hearing-enhancing plastic cups are attached to the frame and rest on your ears. A special facemask is also attached to the frame at the nose, but it still uses the mask’s bands to attach to your ears.

The mask and frame are beautifully adorned and perfectly match the style of classical concerts.

According to Channel News Asia, the gadget is quite popular among the audience, and they have positive feedback about it. Zsuzsa Hunyadi-Zoltán said to them that she could “clearly hear the performance better” and that she was “more focused on the music”.

The mask can be pre-ordered via e-mail and can be collected at the office of Budapesti Fesztiválzenekar (Budapest Festival Orchestra) or before concerts in Müpa at the booth of Budapest Fesztiválzenekar. You can also buy it at the orchestra’s office in person or at the bookstore or during the break of any concert in Müpa.

If pre-ordered or purchased at their office, the mask is 8.000 forints (€~22,5); otherwise, it is 10,000 forints (€~28)

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Bach for Everyone Festival begins on March 16, 2020

bach for everyone

Bach for Everyone Festival (Bach Mindenkinek Fesztivál) is taking place this year, free of charge, in 100 cities and localities in the Carpathian Basin in concert halls, churches, schools, hospitals, underpasses and squares from March 16 to 22, with artists volunteering their time in aid of the child ambulance charity foundation Magyar Gyermekmentő Alapítvány.

Audiences will be asked to make donations to the charity, László Zalán Kovács, the festival’s director, told a news conference on Tuesday.

The festival features the National Philharmonic Orchestra, Honvéd Male Choir, Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra in Debrecen and the Kodály Choir among others.

The opening concert takes place in the Eiffel Workshop of the State Opera House, and the closing concert will be hosted by the Gödöllő Royal Palace.

Éva Gesztes of the Hungarian Children’s Rescue Foundation said

money raised will go towards purchasing a mobile ventilator suitable for babies, children and adults.

At the press conference, a new ventilator-anesthesia machine, purchased from 3.5 million forints raised at the festival in 2019, was unveiled at Bethesda Children’s Hospital.

Hungarian State Opera House to reopen for season 2021/2022

Hungarian State Opera House, Budapest, Hungary

As the Hungarian State Opera House is currently being renovated the opera moved to Erkel Theatre. According to the plans, the opera receives back it’s building on Andrássy Road in the next season.

Read alsoHungarian State Opera closing for one and a half year

Index reported that the building of the historical Hungarian State Opera would be reopened in 2021 during the autumn or winter season. If everything goes as planned the company of the opera could start season 2021/2022 in the renovated building.

The opera house was renovated from the cellar to the basement entirely and also from the outside. Since the 1980s, the building has not been restored and was in a miserable condition.

After the reopening, the opera would give place to classical pieces, and folk operas as the building can fit more viewers inside as the Erkel Theatre. In Erkel, rehearsals already started for The Master and Margarita which premieres in February 2020. Richard Wagner’s Parsifal will entertain the visitors from spring alongside with Don Carlos.

Hungarian State Opera Orchestra
Read alsoHungarian State Opera Orchestra opens 2019/2020 concert season

Budapest Spring Festival to be held April 3-19

budapest spring festival

The Budapest Spring Festival (BTF) will host classical concerts, opera, ballet, dance and theatre performances between April 3 and 19, 2020, organisers said on Wednesday.

Csaba Káel, director of the Budapest Palace of Arts (MÜPA) and head of the BTF operative body, said

Giselle, a production by Győr Ballet and violinist Felix Lajkó, will open the festival.

Other performances include the Hungarian premiere of György Kurtág’s opera, Fin de partie, and aria recitals by singers such as Lawrence Brownlee and Kristine Opolais.

The Collegium Vocale Gent will perform Bach’s Matthew Passion under the baton of Phillippe Herreweghe, he said.

The festival will also feature a 24-hour Liszt marathon, with 40 pianists performing, organisers said.

Meanwhile, the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth will be commemorated with concerts of South Korean pianist Ji, the Peter Sarik Trio and cimbalom player Miklós Lukács with the National Philharmonic Orchestra, she said.

A performance based on Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires will take place in the market place on Rákóczi Square, in downtown Budapest, she added.

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Hungarian State Opera Orchestra opens 2019/2020 concert season

Hungarian State Opera Orchestra


As the ensemble to perform the most opera and ballet performances in the world, the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra widens its concert repertoire year after year. During the reconstruction of the Opera House in Budapest, the oldest symphony orchestra in Hungary provides exciting performances at the Erkel Theatre, the second venue of the Hungarian State Opera.

The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra is the oldest theatre orchestra in Hungary. Due to the vast selection of performances offered by the Opera, it is the most employed Hungarian symphony orchestra. Its roots reach back as far as 1838, when Ferenc Erkel, the father of the Hungarian national opera as a genre organised an opera orchestra for the Hungarian Theatre of Pest. The orchestra moved into their present home, the Opera House after its inauguration in 1884 and was presided over by notable principal music directors including Gustav Mahler.

In the course of its history, the Hungarian and world premieres of numerous operas and ballet pieces featured the orchestra.

Most of Bartók’s stage works and all of those by Kodály premiered at the Opera House as well as Mahler’s Symphony No. 1. The orchestra was headed by renowned Hungarian composers Kodály, Dohnányi, Petrovics and Péter Eötvös and international opera composers like Mascagni, Respighi and Richard Strauss. Apart from excellent generations of Hungarian opera singers, the orchestra accompanied the greatest stars. Mario del Monaco, Nicolai Gedda, Luciano Pavarotti, Montserrat Caballé, José Carreras, Cecilia Bartoli, Erwin Schrott, Jonas Kaufmann, Plácido Domingo, Bryn Terfel, René Pape, Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov are only a few to mention as it would almost be impossible to list all the famous artists who have appeared at the performances and concerts of the Opera alongside the orchestra with the longest history in Hungary.

The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra 2019/2020 concert schedule at the Erkel Theatre – highlights

30 September 2019 (Opera182)
Mozart: La clemenza di Tito (excerpts)
Mozart: Violin Concerto No. 5 in A major, K. 219
Rybnikov: Smyphony No. 6 (“Tenebrosa”)
Featuring Haruka Nagao (violin) / Conductor: Gergely Kesselyák

28 October 2019
Pierre de la Rue: Requiem
Arvo Pärt: Symphony No. 3
Honegger: Symphony No. 3 (“Liturgical”)
Featuring the Hungarian State Opera Chorus / Conductor: Balázs Kocsár

2 November 2019
Verdi: Requiem
Featuring Gabriella Létay Kiss, Bernadett Fodor, Gergely Boncsér, András Palerdi
Conductor: Petr Popelka

1 January 2020 (New Year’s concert)
Zoltán Kovács: Three dances… – In memoriam Ferenc Erkel
Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 12
Featuring Klára Kolonits, Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz, István Horváth, Kolos Kováts
Conductor: György Vashegyi

20 January 2020
Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Classical Symphony”), Op. 25
Haydn: Sinfonia Concertante in B flat major (Hob. I/105)
Weber: Clarinet Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 74
Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber
Conductor: Stefan Soltész

10 February 2020
Bizet – Shchedrin: Carmen Suite
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
Conductor: Mladen Tarbuk

16 March 2020 (Ybl206)
Mahler: Blumine
Mahler: Rückert-Lieder
Dohnányi: Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 9
Conductor: Kocsár Balázs

15 May 2020 (20th Century Christian Music Concert)
Britten: Cantata Misericordium
Britten: The Prodigal Son (excerpts)
Debussy: Danse sacrée et Danse profane
Debussy: L’enfant prodigue
Featuring Klára Kolonits, Szabolcs Brickner / Conductor: Michel Tabachnik

Chinese dance drama Opera Warriors coming to Hungary

opera warriors

China’s epic dance drama Opera Warriors is set to make its premiere in Hungary at Budapest’s Erkel Theatre this autumn courtesy of the world-famous Chinese National Opera.

Opera Warriors tells the story of three apprentices who join a theatrical troupe at the Beijing Opera upon completing their martial arts training. Their ways are later parted by fate and disaster.

The show deals with the issues of life, death, love, hate and the struggle to make it in the glamour-filled world of the theatre.

The back-to-back premiere on September 25-26 is being organised by the Sino-European Foundation of Chinese Culture and Education to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic ties between China and Hungary, the foundation told MTI.