Favourite excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte are performed at the Hungarian State Opera’s Best of Mozart concert. Accessible to all and ideal for a relaxed summer evening, the programme is presented by outstanding singers with piano accompaniment at the Ybl Palace on 28 June 2026.
Love, desire, jealousy, social games and painful self-discovery – Mozart and his celebrated librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte created three masterpieces that stand among the most significant artistic partnerships in operatic history. Excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte are exceptionally effective in a concert performance, allowing audiences to appreciate Mozart’s unparalleled gift for characterisation even more. In a single aria, Susanna’s intelligence, Figaro’s cunning, Donna Elvira’s vulnerability, Don Giovanni’s irrepressible energy, Zerlina’s instinctive charm, and Ferrando’s lyrical purity emerge with remarkable clarity.
The performance on 28 June features several of the OPERA’s distinguished singers, many of whom have already demonstrated their affinity for the classical repertoire in previous Mozart roles. Among them is Gabriella Balga, who portrayed Donna Anna in this season’s Don Giovanni performances at the Opera House, having previously appeared before Budapest audiences as Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro. Over the past year, Boglárka Brindás has performed both Susanna and Zerlina in the Ybl Palace on Andrássy Avenue, and has also appeared as Barbarina at the Paris Opera. Anna Csenge Fürjes made her debut this season as Marcellina in Figaro, while Ágnes Molnár has previously sung Susanna at the Erkel Theatre and Zerlina at the Miskolc National Theatre. Szilveszter Szélpál has portrayed Count Almaviva in Figaro, the title role in Don Giovanni and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at the Szeged National Theatre, while Gergely Ujvári has previously appeared as Don Basilio in Figaro. Their partner on the piano is Kálmán Szennai, who for nearly three decades has supported opera soloists both as a conductor and répétiteur.
The concert is presented under unique acoustic conditions. With the safety curtain lowered, it serves as a sounding board for the singers performing on the forestage. Projected imagery and specially designed lighting create a more intimate, almost chamber-like atmosphere within the Opera House auditorium, placing even greater emphasis on the exceptional vocal performances and Mozart’s genius music.
