PROGRAMME CALENDAR Dear Reader, First and foremost, let me allay any fears that the anniversary of Shakespeare’s dates that should be marked on the calendar in red letters. Our 120 Hungarian artists will also be joined in song by names birth in 2014 passed us by here at the Opera House. It’s just that we had other like Gruberova, D’Arcangelo, Herlitzius, Kampe, Kwangchul, Watson, Tómasson, Konieczny, Neil, Chacón-Cruz, Valenti, things to do: the festival of the Strauss repertoire that was many years in the Maestri, Ataneli and Demuro, while top domestic conductors and their world-renowned peers will be passing the baton making and the exploration of the theme of Faust, for instance. Now that the to star names like Plasson, Pido, Badea and Steinberg, and the 2nd Iván Nagy International Ballet Gala will once again 400th anniversary of the extraordinarily multi-faceted playwright is approaching, welcome the greats of the global ballet scene – this is because, ever since the times of Erkel and Mahler, the Hungarian State the opportunity has arisen for Hungary’s most prestigious cultural institution to Opera has proclaimed the joyful place among equals occupied by Hungarian culture. mobilise its enormous creative powers in service of exploring the remarkably broad literature of the Shakespearean universe. Broken down into figures, the 2015/2016 season of the Hungarian State Opera will see 500 full-scale performances with 33 new productions and 45 from the repertoire, a total of 100 concerts, chamber performances, gala and other events, some 200 This will not be a commemoration of a death; how could it be? We come to pay children’s programmes, 600 tours of the building and more than 1,100 ambassadorial presentations. With two-and-a-half tribute to Shakespeare, not to bury him: and I prefer to regard the customary times as many attractions in total, we are, of course, absolutely at the cultural forefront, just as we work hard to welcome cross that appears after the number of years he spent on this earth more as a you as front row guests. The programme has never been so rich – but we will naturally be attempting to outdo ourselves yet ‘plus’ sign. We think the Hungarian State Opera is more than capable of capturing again next year. everything that has grown out of the works of the Swan of Avon, and made them an essential bastion of European culture. What more is there to say? Let the Renaissance figure of the Faustian soul save European culture in its quest to explore the infinite universe of art, let the Dear Reader become a frequent listener and viewer who does not bow down before a Yet, despite the multitude of Shakespeare premieres, we remain a repertory cinema screen showing singers in other corners of the world, but who participates in the hic et nunc of opera at the home of theatre: Andrea Rost’s first Tosca, Erika Miklósa’s jubilee gala and Ildikó Komlósi’s traditions stretching back 131 years. return to our superlative-worthy production of Die Frau ohne Schatten are all Szilveszter Ókovács General Director Contents PREMIERES 8 OPERAS FROM THE REPERTOIRE 144 BALLETS FROM THE REPERTOIRE 224 SPECIAL EVENTS 244 CHILDREN’S AND YOUTH PROGRAMMES 360 CONCERTS 374 EXHIBITIONS 384 CALENDAR 388 OPERA BONUS 434 TICKET INFORMATION 480 REVIEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD 488 Artist and Staff Listing 498 Partners 554 Premieres Contents, premieres Contents, premieres Bernstein West Side Story 12 Wagner die walkÜre 80 Inger–Ravel–Pärt Walking MAD 16 Mozart–Novák DISRUPTION IN THE SERAGLIO 84 Donizetti I PAZZI PER PROGETTO 20 Verdi IL TROVATORE 88 Verdi Otello 24 Pergolesi LA SERVA PADRONA 92 Wagner DAS LIEBESVERBOT 28 Petipa–Wright–Tchaikovsky THE SLEEPING BEAUTY 96 Mozart Figaro 2.0 32 Barta PLANET IN TURMOIL 100 Goldmark DIE KÖNIGIN VON SABA 36 Román–Solaris THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES 104 Massenet Werther 40 Adès THE TEMPEST 109 Haydn IL MONDO DELLA LUNA 44 Nicolai DIE LUSTIGEN WEIBER VON WINDSOR 112 Eagling–Solymosi–Tchaikovsky THE NUTCRACKER 48 Wolf–Ferrari SLY 116 Puccini IL TRITTICO (Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi) 52 Britten A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM 120 Donizetti Don PasQuale 56 Purcell THE FAIRY QUEEN 124 Kylián–Bach–Heuff Sarabande 60 Puccini MADAMA BUTTERFLY 128 Kylián–Reich Falling Angels 64 Verdi LA Traviata 132 Reimann Lear 68 Puccini Tosca 136 GreekLateNight - Gluck ORFEO ED EURIDICE / Bertoni orfeo 72 John–Hall Billy Elliot – the Musical 140 Puccini LA BOHÈME 2.0 76 Leonard Bernstein West Side Story ON THE OPERA’S PROGRAMME FOR THE FIRST TIME Maria Erika Miklósa, Helga Nánási Musical in two acts, in English, with Hungarian prose and Tony Gergely Boncsér, Boldizsár László surtitles Anita Zsófia Kálnay, Lúcia Megyesi Schwartz Riff Zoltán Bátki-Fazekas, András Káldi Kiss Playwright Arthur Laurents Hungarian translation Enikő Leányvári Conductor István Dénes, István Silló Lyrics Stephen Sondheim Set designer Péter Horgas Costume designers Péter Novák, Mónika Szelei Director Péter Novák, Molnár Éva, Bordás Attila 11, 13, 20, 25 and 27 September, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 October 2015 22 and 26 May 2016 Erkel Theatre Premieres 12 13 Premieres Leonard Bernstein West Side Story ON THE OPERA’S PROGRAMME FOR THE FIRST TIME The 2015 Budapest Premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story promises to be an exciting undertaking. The now classic musical workwill be performed on the stage of the Erkel Theatre in a way that sheds an even newer light on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. The conflict between immigrants and “natives”, and warfare between street gangs are, unfortunately, not problems unknown to our own time. Bernstein’s music and, not least of all, Péter Novák’s direction combining operatic voices and elements of dance theatre will ensure a powerful start to the 2015/16 Shakespeare season. Leonard Bernstein was a composer, conductor and writer. On hearing his name, most people first think of West Side Story, the work that is generally considered his masterpiece, and one that has contributed a great deal to his status among the most important American composers. In addition to his best-known work, he also devised musicals and operas from literary works such as Candide and Peter Pan, and his compositions also include, alongside orchestral and choral works, a mass and various piano pieces. One thing remains certain, though: none of them approach West Side Story in terms of either their popularity or acclaim in the world of music. Péter Novák is a director, actor, choreographer, singer, programme host, and most of all, a dyed-in-the-wool man of the theatre. He has taken on the task of premiering this Bernstein classic on a Hungarian opera stage for the first time with the intention of remaining faithful to the studio recording, which was directed by the composer himself, while holding himself to the highest standards of musical quality. Premieres 14 Johan Inger–Maurice Ravel–Arvo Pärt Walking Mad HUNGARIAN PREMIERE Conductor Imre Kollár Choreographer Johan Inger Composers Maurice Ravel, Arvo Pärt Set and costume design Johan Inger Lighting design Erik Berglund Répétiteur Yvan Dubreuil Coaching ballet masters Angéla Kövessy, Marianna Venekei The production features a segment of the Hungarian 19, 20, 24, 26 and 27 September, 3 and 4 October 2015 National Ballet production Mad Dance - Yet There Is Method Erkel Theatre In It together with the choreographies Petite mort, Six Dances, and Troy Game / Troy Game With Amazons 17 Premieres Johan Inger–Maurice Ravel–Arvo Pärt Walking Mad HUNGARIAN PREMIERE The former artistic director of the Cullberg Ballet and one-time director of the Swedish Royal Ballet and the Netherlands Dance Theatre first debuted as a choreographer 20 years ago at the instigation of the influential Jiří Kylián. His first attempt (Mellantid) was an immediate success and was followed by numerous other choreographies, including Walking Mad, conceived for the stage with nine dancers moving to the music of Ravel’s Bolero. The piece reflects the Socratic principle that “the greatest blessings find us in the face of madness”. For his breathtaking dance, Johan Inger won both the Lucas Hoving Prize for best production and the Danza & Danza Prize in the same year. “The famous Bolero from Ravel with its sexual, almost kitsch history was the trigger for me to make my own version. I quickly decided that it was going to be about relationships in different forms and circumstances. I came up with the idea of a wall that could transform the space during this minimalistic music and create small pockets of space and situations. Walking Mad is a journey in which we encounter our fears, our longings and the lightness of being,” said the work’s creator. This is the first time Johan Inger’s piece will be seen in Hungary. Premieres 18 Gaetano Donizetti I pazzi per progetto MADMEN BY DESIGN – HUNGARIAN PREMIERE Darlemont László Szvétek Comic opera in one act, in Hungarian Norina Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser Blinval Tamás Busa Librettist Domenico Gilardoni Cristina Éva Várhelyi Hungarian translation Lajos Csákovics Venanzio Ferenc Cserhalmi Visual concept a student of the University of Theatre Eustachio Róbert Rezsnyák and Film Arts Director a student of the University of Theatre and Conductor Géza Köteles Film Arts Partners University of Theatre and Film Arts 19, 20 and 26 September 2015 Opera House, Sphinx Terrace 21 Premieres Gaetano Donizetti I pazzi per progetto MADMEN BY DESIGN – HUNGARIAN PREMIERE In Donizetti’s one act opera I pazzi per progetto, five “weighty” male characters, all of them baritones, bass-baritones or basses, gyrate around two women. In spite of the excellent singers involved in the production, the 1830 premiere did not win unalloyed success, and the work was only performed a handful of times over the next 15 years, and never outside the regions of Naples and Palermo.