• Home
• Channel: Community & Culture
• Ókovács Will Be Longest Serving Director in Budapest Opera’s History

Ókovács Will Be Longest Serving Director in Budapest Opera’s History

• 30 May 2023 12:03 PM
• Hungary Matters

Incumbent Szilveszter Ókovács has won the tender to serve as director general of the Budapest Opera House for another five years, Culture and Innovation Minister János Csák told a press conference.

By winning the tender, Ókovács will be the longest serving director in the Opera’s history, he said. “This is an enormous opportunity and is going at the same time with an even greater responsibility,” Csák said.

Ókovács expressed thanks to his colleagues and to the government for “the 100 billion forints invested in the institution’s development, and the additional 150 billion allocated for its operation which the Opera could match with an amount of 30 billion”.

He said his aim was to make the Hungarian State Opera an institution up to the highest of European standards.

Ókovács, a former television host who graduated as an opera singer, worked as government commissioner and then interim director at the Opera in 2011-2012.

He has served two terms since 2013.

MTI Photo: Szilárd Koszticsák

• How does this content make you feel?
• I love it
• I like it
• I dislike it

• Ókovács Director Budapest Opera

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

New Così Fan Tutte Presented by Eiffel Art Studios in Budapest

• 21 Apr 2026 12:46 PM

Mozart’s popular comic opera Così fan tutte is reimagined in the illusion-filled world of social media in the new production by Kriszta Székely, director of the Katona József Theatre, Budapest. This visually striking, projection-enhanced and youthful production features soloist Ildikó Megyimórecz, Zsófia Kálnay, Botond Pál, and Attila Dobák in the leading roles.



Yuri Bashmet & the Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra, Opera House Budapest, 7 April

• 6 Apr 2026 6:29 PM

The legendary Yuri Bashmet returns to Budapest after a long absence to appear on the stage of the Hungarian State Opera with the Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra, which he founded 14 years ago.



Budapest Festival Orchestra Unveils New Season - 'Titans From Here to Mahler'

• 18 Mar 2026 5:19 PM

Legendary conductors; international soloists from Alaska to the Caucasus Mountains; young talents; a new children’s opera and more song than one can imagine. The Budapest Festival Orchestra has published its program for the 2026-2027 season. Season passes for the general public go on sale March 31; single ticket sales begin April 29.



Organ Weekend, Palace of Arts Budapest, 25 - 26 April

• 18 Mar 2026 2:14 PM

This year, Müpa’s much-loved Organ Weekend once again opens the door to the remarkable world of this extraordinary instrument. The programme invites audiences to explore the organ’s vast expressive range – from family-friendly discovery concerts and timeless classics to a silent film screening with live accompaniment, and even a world premiere.