The Hungarian premiere of Nixon in China, new productions of Maria Stuarda, Macbeth, as well as Turandot, on the 100th anniversary of Puccini's death feature in the Anglophone Season. The Hungarian State Opera also celebrates its 140th birthday, the 150th anniversary of the birth of Schönberg with the spectacular Gurre-Lieder, and Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov return with an opera gala. The OPERA participates in the Hungarian-Turkisc cultural season, and takes guest performances to Taiwan and Dubai.
Following the Italian, German, French, Hungarian, and Slavic thematic seasons in the past decade, it is now time for the Anglophone Season, which showcases productions by composers, creative artists, and performers that are in some way all connected to British, American, or even South African cultural heritage. The well-known, almost mandatory repertoire pieces such as Il barbiere di Siviglia, La bohème, Swan Lake will also return, of course. From baroque to contemporary music, from classical to modern ballet, from children’s and youth programs to stars’ recitals with piano, and a number of domestic tours to international guest performances in Dubai will all be a part of the OPERA’s season, and, the life of our audience.
Premieres
In the 2024/25 season, whose productions are linked to British and American culture and history story in terms of their composers, subject, and featured artists, John Adams’s Nixon in China will enjoy its Hungarian premiere in a production by artistic director András Almási-Tóth, whereas Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda will also be produced by the Hungarian State Opera for the first time by Máté Szabó. In addition to countless surprises and special features, it is also no coincidence that through Shakespeare, the author of the original play, and director Matthew Wild of South African origin, Verdi’s Macbeth ties in with the theme of the season in more than one way. On the 100th anniversary of its composer's death, Turandot is staged by director-choreographer Dóra Barta, from a female point of view. In addition to the diverse repertoire performances, the OPERA will also present a spectacular main stage ballet production. La Bayadère by Marius Petipa with music by Ludwig Minkus takes the viewer into legendary India through the love story of a temple dancer and a noble warrior. The Hungarian National Ballet strives to preserve the classical ballet tradition year after year. La Bayadère promises to be an exciting challenge: the fourth act of Petipa’s choreography as presented at the Mariinsky Theatre in 1877 is lost. Ballet master Albert Mirzoyan will undertake the task to reconstruct the missing parts by following the original.
Repertoire
Beside staging new productions of well-known pieces and presenting rarities, among the many missions of the Hungarian State Opera is the revival of performances from previous seasons time after time. The 2024/25 season brings back Bizet’s Carmen, Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer, Verdi’s Otello, Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, and Gounod’s Faust. A real historical arc of Hungarian opera emerges from Erkel’s Bánk Bán (The Viceroy Bánk) to Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and János Vajda’s Mario and the Magician. There is another composer who cannot be missing from the repertoire: it is Mozart and his Le nozze di Figaro. Spectacular ballet revivals include MacMillan and Massenet’s Manon, Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, and Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow set to the music of Lehár, and The Taming of the Shrew choreographed by László Seregi will also return to the stage. A number of international guest stars will appear in various productions, Gaston Rivero will star in Manon Lescaut and La fanciulla del West, Sir Willard White will perform the role of Porgy, Yusif Eyvazov will sing Kalaf in the new Turandot and appear in an opera gala with Anna Netrebko, Juraj Hollý will join the cast of Maria Stuarda, and José Cura, a regular guest at the OPERA will make an appearance in Otello.
Young audiences
The OPERA also provides for the fun and education of children, from toddlers to adolescents in the Anglophone Season with a wide range of programmes. The popular “little” ballet productions – Little Swan Lake, Little Sleeping Beauty, and Little Corsaire – all return, and a new production of The Little Sweep by Britten is staged by János Novák tying in with the theme of the season. During the winter holiday, Hungarian Christmas provides the festive atmosphere. Its world premiere is directed by Attila Toronykőy, whose other production, Magic Flute for Children aimed at younger audiences remain on the repertoire together.
Concerts, galas, recitals
The season offer 40 different concerts, oratorios, galas, and recitals. The jubilee concert celebrating the 140th anniversary of the Hungarian State Opera features works by Liszt, Erkel, Dohnányi, Bartók, and Kodály conducted by Martin Rajna, Ádám Medveczky, Balázs Kocsár, Péter Halász, and János Kovács. In October, the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra is joined by Freddie De Tommaso, Hera Hyesang Park, Aigul Akhmetshina, and Paul Grant to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Solti Academy. The programmes of the concerts Golden Age: British Elegance and Golden Age: American Beauty tie in the season, the former featuring works by Britten, Elgar, and Holst conducted by David Coleman, the latter featuring titles by Ives, Philip Glass, Bernstein, and John Williams conducted by Paul Connelly. The 2024/25 season of the OPERA will organise its Stars’ recitals with piano series for the third time in which such internationally renowned soloists present their favourite songs and arias as Erwin Schrott, Matthew Polenzani, Vittorio Grigolo, Georg Zeppenfeld, and Joyce DiDonato.
Tours and guest performances
From Szeged to Dubai, from Pécs to Taiwan – as it has been customary for years, domestic and international guest performances also form an important part of the OPERA’s 2024/25 season. It is still in the ongoing season, that a concert performance of Manon Lescaut will be presented in Bucharest, and the annual three-day OperaFüred festival in Balatonfüred along with events at Margaret Island should not be missed this summer. In the autumn, José Cura will direct Tosca in Pécs and a concert version will travel to Székesfehérvár. As part of the Hungarian-Turkish cultural season, Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus, Bartók’s Dance Suite, and other important Hungarian pieces will be performed in Ankara with the local orchestra and Hungarian singers, conducted by István Dénes. In return, a Turkish guest performance of the opera Murat IV will come to Hungary, and the Krakow Opera will also present one of their works in Budapest. In the meantime, some Hungarian National Ballet productions will ravel the world: Swan Lake goes to Taiwan (together with Madama Butterfly) and Sleeping Beauty (together with La bohème) to Dubai in April, and in December two of our Étoiles will join Bogotá’s production of The Nutcracker.
