The 115-member ensemble of the Hungarian State Opera will present Miklós Szinetár's 2014 production of Mozart's singspiel on its 12-stop tour between 28 October and 13 November 2022 with a double cast featuring Andrea Rost as Pamina. The OPERA Orchestra will then give four symphonic concerts with the participation of Japanese pianists between 15 and 19 November.
Andrea Rost and Kriszta Kinga (Pamina), Gergely Ujvári and József Mukk (Tamino), Éva Bodor and Lucie Kaňková (Queen of the Night) are in the main roles of the performance series that covers twelve cities, including Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, the most prestigious theatre in the Japanese capital on November 5 and 6. Further cast includes István Kovács (Sarastro), Róbert Rezsnyák and Csaba Sándor (Papageno), Diána Kiss and Zsófia Nagy (Papagena), and János Szerkován (Monostatos). The OPERA Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by János Kovács and Sámuel Csaba Tóth. During the two weeks, the troupe will also perform in Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka, among others.
Following The Magic Flute performances, the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra will, as usual, perform four concerts featuring Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 and piano concertos by Mozart. The soloists of the evenings conducted by Mario Košik and János Kovács are Ingrid Fujiko Hemming - the 90-year-old performer gave a concert at the Eiffel Art Studios in March this year - and pianist Mami Hagiwara.
Since 2001, the Hungarian State Opera is carrying out its 11th tour to Japan in a row, following the cooperation initiated by Japanese cultural manager Masayuki Kobayashi and Miklós Szinetár, former general director of OPERA. The last time the ensemble visited the land of the rising sun was in the fall of 2017 with Donizetti' Lucia di Lammermoor, directed by Máté Szabó in 2016, with Edita Gruberová and Andrea Rost in the title role, as well as Miklós Szinetár's 2001 production of the operetta Die Fledermaus, which at the time also launched the guest appearances in Japan and in which Erika Miklósa played Adél most recently.
