6 March, 2017 - Erkel Theatre - Hungarian State Opera Orchestra concert:  Kodály50+

The academic qualifications of Zoltán Kodály and the fact that he worked as a composer writing music only reveals a small fraction about this man who possessed wisdom on a biblical scale from a very young age. In addition to his knowledge of literature and languages, his academic devotion to folk music, his professorship at the Academy of Music and his desire to familiarise the entire Hungarian nation and especially the young with the world of music.

Regardless of which regime was in power, he protected the downtrodden and supported the talented, and when it was necessary, he stood up against tyranny, trusting in the protective shield of the international renown he had gained through several decades of exhibiting human greatness.

On the 50th anniversary of his death, the morning will begin at the Opera House where Kodály and his family survived the siege of Budapest in the winter of 1944/45. We will be remembering at the same place where his Missa brevis was premiered, conducted by himself: the ground floor cloakroom.

In the evening, the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra celebrates the life and art of Kodály with a symphonic concert conducted by internationally renowned Ion Marin including Dances of Galánta, Two Songs, and Te Deum at the Erkel Theatre.

11 March, 2017 - Opera House - Pártay75 with Anna Karenina

The Hungarian Season brings a significant birthday for our internationally-renowned ballet dancer and choreographer, which will be a true celebration of Hungarian classical ballet. Lilla Pártay’s career as a ballerina and the appealing choreographic work that grew out of it always remained faithful to classical foundations, gave Hungarian dance of the past few decades its second – alongside László Seregi – great creative artist.

After her active career as an internationally successful prima ballerina and the winner of several competitions, she created more than three dozen choreographies, and her full-length productions were also performed at the Opera. On her 75th birthday, we will be relaunching a run of her first two-act ballet, Anna Karenina, and before the first performance, the Hungarian National Ballet will be saluting the master choreographer, while the Opera celebrates with a brand-new illustrated publication about Lilla Pártay’s career.

13 March, 2017 - Opera House - Tokody40 gala concert

In the last third of the 20th century, there was a Hungarian lyric soprano whose talent, diligence and enchanting personality enabled to win acclaim all over the world. Ilona Tokody was a paragon in every single Italian role, a great figure of sophisticated and artistic singing.

On the 40th anniversary of the beginning of her career, she will be compiling the programme of the night and selecting the participants, and of course she herself will be appearing before her fans with former colleagues and special guests.

The Opera will also be celebrating this outstanding artist who has always remained faithful to it with a photo album published for this occasion. Featuring the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus (chorus master: Kálmán Strausz)

Conductor: Janos Acs
Director: András Aczél

More info: opera.hu