Péter Halász is principal guest conductor of the Hungarian State Opera. With a particular focus on the German and Italian operatic repertoire, he appears regularly as both an opera and concert conductor in Hungary and internationally. In recent seasons, he has conducted a number of major productions at the Hungarian State Opera, including the company premiere of Dvořák’s Rusalka, the Hungarian premiere of Puccini’s Turandot with Luciano Berio’s completion of the finale, and the highly acclaimed new production of Beethoven’s Fidelio directed by Tobias Kratzer. In the 2026/27 season, he conducts the centenary production of Kodály’s Háry János, as well as performances of Wagner’s Parsifal, Verdi’s Aida, and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. The season also marks his first performances of Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and The Miraculous Mandarin.
From 2021 to 2024, Halász served as First Kapellmeister at Deutsche Oper am Rhein, where he continues to appear regularly as a guest conductor. His work with the company has included new productions of Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orleans and Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, alongside a broad range of repertoire performances. He returns in the 2026/27 season to conduct Die Zauberflöte and La traviata.
Born in Budapest, Halász studied piano before taking up composition at the Béla Bartók Conservatory. He subsequently studied conducting with Leopold Hager at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Important influences on his artistic development include Bernard Haitink’s masterclasses in Lucerne and his work as assistant to Ádám Fischer. Halász began his professional career at the International Opera Studio of Zurich Opera House before joining Staatstheater Mainz as a répétiteur and subsequently as a conductor. From 2011 to 2013, he served as First Kapellmeister and Deputy General Music Director at Theater Aachen.
From 2013 to 2016, Halász was General Music Director of the Hungarian State Opera. During his tenure, he led several major productions, including Verdi’s Falstaff, the first Hungarian staging of Richard Strauss’s Die Frau ohne Schatten, the launch of a new production of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, and the Eastern European premiere of Thomas Adès’s The Tempest. As a guest conductor, he has appeared at venues including the Hamburg State Opera, Theater Bern and the Latvian National Opera, as well as with numerous opera companies and orchestras throughout Germany.
Alongside his operatic work, Halász regularly collaborates with Hungary’s leading symphony orchestras. He made his debut with the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra in 2016 at the invitation of Zoltán Kocsis. He has also taught as a guest professor at the Péter Eötvös Contemporary Music Foundation and the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. In 2017, Halász was awarded the Hungarian Gold Cross of Merit. In 2025, he received the Zoltán Závodszky Award for his interpretations of Wagner’s Parsifal and Die Walküre.
Conducted at the Hungarian State Opera
New productions: Verdi: Falstaff; R. Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten; Mozart: Così fan tutte; Wagner: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried; Weber: Der Freischütz; Adès: The Tempest; Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Bach: Cross Cantatas; Dvořák: Rusalka; Puccini: Turandot; Beethoven: Fidelio
Repertoire performances: Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia, L’italiana in Algeri; Puccini: La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Tosca; Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte; Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker; Verdi: Rigoletto, Nabucco, La traviata, Don Carlos, Requiem; J. Strauss: Die Fledermaus; R. Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos, Arabella; Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana; Leoncavallo: Pagliacci; Bizet: Carmen; Wagner: Parsifal
