Theatre, Opera / Operetta

Bartók Béla’s two highly influential stage works explore the dynamics of the relationship between man and woman and the deeper layers of their personalities, as presented by creators who, through a fusion of tradition and innovation, reveal the possibilities inherent in these works for 21st-century audiences.

Gioachino Rossini
Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville)
Language: Hungarian
Surtitle: Hungarian, English

Claude Debussy / Franz Liszt
L'enfant prodigue / La damoiselle élue / Sardanapalo
Cantata
Language: Italian, French
Surtitle: Hungarian, English, same-language

Giuseppe Verdi
Il trovatore

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
Singspiel in Hungarian and German with Hungarian, English, German subtitles

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute)
Singspiel in Hungarian and German with Hungarian, English, German subtitles

“I've captured a terrific storm of elements and of hearts which gradually calms to Brünnhilde's magic sleep,” Wagner on the score of Die Walküre, in a letter to Ferenc Liszt. Following on the heels of the introductory Das Rheingold, this opera about the tragic love between two of Wotan's children constitutes the start of the more tightly drawn dramatic trilogy. Once again, the laws of the gods clash: can paternal love save a lad who has violated the sanctity of marriage?

Giuseppe Verdi
AIDA
Opera in three parts, four acts, in Italian, with Hungarian, English, and Italian subtitles

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Gian Carlo Menotti
BASTIEN UND BASTIENNE / THE TELEPHONE
One-act operas in Hungarian, with Hungarian subtitles

Jenő Ádám, a student of Kodály’s and perhaps his greatest contemporary admirer, was also the one who structured and developed his pedagogical method: his Christmas one-act was the first work at the Opera House, which placed the pure Hungarian folk song on the same stage as the works of the great figures of classical music history. On Christmas 1931, Hungarian Christmas premiered with the theatre's greatest singers, conducted by the composer.

Giacomo Puccini
LA BOHÈME
Opera in four acts, in Italian, with Hungarian, English, and Italian subtitles

Georges Bizet
CARMEN
Opera in four acts, in French, with Hungarian, English, and French subtitles

Carl Orff
CARMINA BURANA
Scenic cantata in the original languages, with Hungarian, English, and same-language subtitles

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Così fan tutte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
DON GIOVANNI
Opera in two acts, in Italian, with Hungarian, English and Italian subtitles

Ludwig van Beethoven
FIDELIO
Opera in two acts in German with Hungarian, English, German subtitles

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO
Comic opera in two acts, in Italian, with Hungarian, English, and Italian subtitles

Gioachino Rossini – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Darius Milhaud
The Barber of Seville / The Marriage of Figaro / The Guilty Mother
Opera-mix in two parts, is Hungarian with Hungarian and English surtitles

A century ago, the world first encountered this remarkable opus, a work that soon became one of the cornerstones of twentieth-century musical innovation. Premiered in 1926, the singspiel is a milestone in Hungarian music history: its composer, Zoltán Kodály, fulfilled his aspiration to elevate Hungarian folk song of ancient origin to the same status as classical music, by virtue of its equivalent values, placing it on the stage of the nation’s Opera House.

Zoltán Kodály
Háry Jánoska
Language: Hungarian

János Hunyadi is responsible for the tolling of bells around the world; Mátyás Hunyadi is the hero of a string of folk tales; László Hunyadi inspired “only” an opera.

Pongrác Kacsóh
John the Valiant

György Selmeczi / János Vajda
Royal Highness / The Verdict
World premiere

The tale of Leander the goblin and Princess Linseed, brimming with magic and a seemingly unbreakable curse, not to mention a wealth of twists and turns, is a genuinely good yarn. Set to a libretto by Barnabás Szöllősi that is based on Andor Szilágyi's fable for the theatre and written at the OPERA's request in the 2014/15 season, Erkel Prize-winning composer Zsófia Tallér's masterful, expressive and entertaining music makes this Hungarian fairy tale opera an enjoyable experience for children and adults alike, and, we hope, a possible future classic.

Giuseppe Verdi
MACBETH
Opera in four acts, two parts, in Italian, with Hungarian, English, and Italian subtitles

Arrigo Boito
Mefistofele

Giuseppe Verdi
Nabucco

John Adams
NIXON IN CHINA
Opera in three acts, in English, with Hungarian and English surtitles

Gioachino Rossini
L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI
Opera in two acts, in Italian, with Hungarian, English, and Italian subtitles

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
Fairy-tale Singspiel in two parts, in Hungarian, with Hungarian and English surtitles

Máté Bella – András Almási-Tóth
Passion
contemporary Opera

György Ránki
King Pomade's New Cothes

Giuseppe Verdi
REQUIEM
Staged oratorio in Latin, with Hungarian, English, and Latin subtitles

Giuseppe Verdi
RIGOLETTO
Opera in three acts, in Italian, with Hungarian English and Italian subtitles

What happens when the worst traits of a power-hungry prince incapable of resisting earthly pleasures, a morally corrupt, vengeful, manipulative woman, and a desire-driven but highly impressionable teenage girl all erupt at the same time upon the appearance of a holy man?

Balázs Szálinger
Siegfried Idyll, or The End of a Friendship / Chrysanthemums, or The Death of Liù
Language: Hungarian