The relationship drama of Armida, set during the crusades and depicting the story of a breakup, is presented in a modern context by emerging artists from the Éva Marton International Opera Studio and San Diego’s Opera Neo on 21 June 2025, at the Eiffel Art Studios. The contemporary production, which will also presented in the United States a month later, is directed by András Almási-Tóth, and the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra is conducted by Péter Kozma.
Set during the First Crusade, the pagan sorceress Armida seduces crusader knights to distract them from capturing Jerusalem. Not even the greatest Christian hero, Rinaldo, can escape her spell, and Armida herself falls in love with him. Rinaldo’s two friends, Ubaldo and Clotarco, attempt to free him from Armida’s enchantment, but their success comes through a painful and challenging journey.
Torquato Tasso’s epic Jerusalem Delivered, written in the 16th century, was a foundational work of the Baroque era. In addition to the story of Tancred and Clorinda, the drama of Armida inspired dozens of operas. Composers such as Monteverdi, Lully, Händel, Vivaldi, Gluck, Salieri, and even Rossini and Dvořák created musical stage works on this theme. In what became Haydn’s most frequently performed and most esteemed opera, he focused on the separation of Armida and Rinaldo. In the OPERA and San Diego-based Opera Neo co-production, the creators have reinterpreted this breakup story as a contemporary chamber drama, where the audience witnesses the conflict of two people trapped in a toxic relationship, unable to let go of each other.
The production features young talents from Opera Neo in San Diego, including Emily Helenbrook (Armida), Katherine Malone (Zelmira), and Tyrese Byrd (Ubaldo), alongside emerging artists from the Éva Marton International Opera Studio of the Hungarian State Opera: Botond Pál (Rinaldo), Norbert Balázs (Idreno), and Vivienne Ortan (Clotarco). The production is directed by András Almási-Tóth, artistic director of the Opera Studio, who brings decades of experience in working with young singers at the Liszt Academy. Regular collaborators include Richárd Márton, who designed the costumes, and Lili Izsák, who adapted stage elements from their production of L'incoronazione di Poppea to create the distinctive performance space. The staging emphasizes physical theatre and movement, choreographed by Eszter Lázár, with visual elements and an introductory video in the style of American indie films created by Zsombor Czeglédi. The Hungarian State Opera Orchestra is conducted by Péter Kozma, founder and artistic director of Opera Neo.
Following its premiere at the Eiffel Art Studios on 21 June 2025, the production will also be performed on 18 and 19 July at the UC San Diego Park & Market event venue. This is not the first collaboration between the Hungarian State Opera and Opera Neo, which has operated since 2012: a similar co-production of Mozart’s La finta giardiniera was staged both in the U.S. and in Hungary in 2022.
Joseph Haydn’s Armida premiered in 1784 at Eszterháza (today: Fertőd) and, with 58 performances, became the most successful opera of the princely court. Haydn himself regarded this stage work as his finest. It was later performed in Pest, Bratislava, and Vienna, but after a 1804/05 production in Turin, the piece fell into obscurity for over 160 years. It was revived in Bern in 1968 and since the 1980s it has enjoyed new stagings. The Eiffel Art Studios production marks the first time the opera is being performed by the Hungarian State Opera.
