Beside a staged performance of Gianni Schicchi, audiences can also enjoy moving excerpts from La bohème, Turandot and Madama Butterfly at the Hungarian State Opera’s Best of Puccini evening, presented on eleven occasions between 25 July and 18 August 2026 at the Opera House.
Puccini’s only comic opera, Gianni Schicchi, promises light-hearted summer entertainment. The work draws humour from a family feud over an inheritance. When the relatives of the wealthy Florentine Buoso Donati discover that the deceased has left his entire fortune to a monastery, they enlist the resourceful Gianni Schicchi to help turn the situation to their advantage. However, the cunning Schicchi outwits them all while ensuring that his daughter Lauretta and Rinuccio, a member of the Donati family, are free to marry.
In 2022, Attila Toronykőy created a playful stage adaptation of the fast-paced comic opera for secondary school audiences under the title Schicchi 2.0, which has only rarely been seen by the wider public. The performances therefore serve almost as introductions to Kammersänger Csaba Szegedi and Attila Mókus, who also appears at the Vienna State Opera, in the title role of Gianni Schicchi. The role of Lauretta, including the celebrated aria O mio babbino caro, is performed by Laura Topolánszky and Zsuzsanna Kapi, while Rinuccio ia portrayed by Kammersänger Gergely Boncsér and Barna Bartos. The role of Nella is shared by Kammersängerin Orsolya Sáfár and Valentina Puskás, the latter making her debut with the company. The Transylvanian soprano has previously appeared as Micaëla in Carmen as a member of the Royal Opera House’s young artist programme and has performed Musetta (La bohème) and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) at the Hungarian Opera of Cluj. Next season, she will also make her debut on Andrássy Avenue as Leonora in Il trovatore.
The large cast is further enriched by a host of talented comic performers, both emerging and established. Appearing on stage are Erika Gál (Zita), Péter Balczó (Gherardo), Bence Pataki (Betto di Signa), Géza Gábor (Simone), Attila Dobák (Marco), Mária Farkasréti (La Ciesca), Attila Erdős (Spinelloccio), Zoltán Bátki Fazekas (Nicolao), Dávid Dani (Pinellino), and Artúr Szeleczki (Guccio), while Dániel Tanka and Andor Kriston from the Opera Children’s Chorus alternate as Gherardino.
As a prelude to the comic opera, the first half of the programme offers a glimpse into the extraordinary emotional richness of Puccini’s stage works, with the evening’s performers demonstrating their versatility. Excerpts from La bohème combine intimacy, playfulness and dramatic tension, followed by the darker passions of La fanciulla del West. From Madama Butterfly comes the hopeful Flower Duet, imbued with tragic irony, while Turandot is represented by the contrast between Timur’s scene of mourning and Calaf’s triumphant and world-famous aria, Nessun dorma. As one of the country’s most experienced and accomplished ensembles, the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra is also be featured in orchestral selections, performing the demonic La tregenda from Le Villi and the lyrical intermezzos from Suor Angelica and Manon Lescaut. Best of Puccini is conducted by Gergely Madaras, former Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, and Ádám Cser, Music Director of the National Theatre of Miskolc.
Ideal both as a rewarding summer cultural outing and as a first encounter with opera, Best of Puccini is performed at the Hungarian State Opera at 7 p.m. on 25, 28, and 30 July, and on 1, 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, and 18 August 2026.
Photo by Attila Nagy
