Royal Highness / The Verdict
Details
In Brief
World premiere
The works by two significant authors of the German-speaking world, Thomas Mann and Friedrich Dürrenmatt, come to life in a single evening through new world premieres at the Hungarian State Opera. The two one-act operas are composed by popular contemporary Hungarian composers: György Selmeczi adapts Mann’s autobiographically inspired, fairy-tale-like novel Royal Highness into the language of music, while in The Verdict, János Vajda places Dürrenmatt’s increasingly serious “game” from the novella Die Panne (A Dangerous Game) into a chamber opera setting, within the intimate atmosphere of the Bánffy Stage at the Eiffel Art Studios. Both stories are marked by unexpected turns, but while the arranged marriage of his royal highness gradually transforms into true love, Dürrenmatt’s hero takes part in a game whose outcome is anything but a joke.
Parental guidance
Events
Premiere: April 11, 2026
Royal Highness
An American millionaire arrives with his daughter in a fictional German principality plagued by perpetual economic troubles. Love blossoms between the German crown prince and the American girl – but the question remains: will the principality’s problems be resolved, and can the young couple be together? Thomas Mann’s Königliche Hoheit (Royal Highness) is a rarely mentioned early work – his second novel, following the 1901 Buddenbrooks – published in 1909. With its blend of fairy-tale and even Hollywood-like motifs, the story served as inspiration for György Selmeczi’s opera. The world premiere is directed by Máté Szabó, who has previously staged several of the composer’s works.
The Verdict
Traps, a travelling salesman, finds himself stranded one night when his car breaks down. Beside dinner, he is also invited to join a peculiar game. All that has been missing for amock trial is a defendant. As the evening progresses, the game gradually becomes more serious… Following the 2020 opera The Imaginary Invalid, the same creative trio – composer János Vajda, librettist Szabolcs Várady, and scriptwriter Diána Eszter Mátrai – delight audiences once again with an adaptation of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s novella Die Panne (A Dangerous Game), directed by Máté Szabó.
This production is presented courtesy of Diogenes Verlag AG, with the mediation of Hofra Kft.
Opera guide
Light and Shadow
György Selmeczi composed a new opera based on a work by Thomas Mann, while János Vajda based his on a work by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The two operas are to be performed in a double bill April 2026, at the Bánffy Stage of the Eiffel Art Studios. We spoke with two leading figures of contemporary Hungarian composition about Royal Highness and The Verdict, two works that offer a contrast of light and shadow, as well as of fairy tale and psychological crime story.
Why did you choose these two authors? As the works will be performed one after the other is there a connection?
György Selmeczi: Thomas Mann’s Royal Highness began to interest me because it is a rarely read novel, not necessarily typical of the author, and unusually light in tone. In fact, it is more of a fairy tale about the lonely life of a prince, the burden of official duties, and the reconciliation of love and social responsibility. At the same time, it hints at the complexity and deep social interest that clearly define his later works. The text focuses on the question of being the chosen one, the characters are sympathetic, and during the composition process it also became clear that the work lends itself quite well to operatic topoi inherited by our time. The plot ascends upwards, towards the light. Everything is in place for a splendid comedy.
János Vajda: My choice of subject is always determined by whether I hear music behind it. Dürrenmatt’s novella is an absurd psychological crime story that examines aspects of moral guilt within the framework of a game. This may not be typical for the operatic stage, but I believe that in this pairing the excitement lies precisely in the contrast between the works. This piece is far more dramatic, much darker, but I am not afraid that they would not complement one another, as we know each other’s work very well.
Both operas are based on literary works. How much does this determine the compositional process?
Gy. S.: At the very first moment, the composer demolishes the literary greatness of the original work, and music takes centre stage, even if Péter Horváth’s fantastic libretto counterbalances this. Instead of concrete references, what matters most to me is to faithfully convey the spirit of the work.
J. V.: Adapting a literary work provides a certain formal framework, which can sometimes be an advantage, but is in any case inspiring. It is a completely different process from, say, composing a string quartet. For the opera, Szabolcs Várady wrote a sensational libretto, while Diána Mátrai did an excellent job with the screenplay.
How would you characterise the musical material of the works?
J. V.: There was a time when I used many quotations, but that is not characteristic of this current piece; however, I did not resist the depiction of archetypes justified by the dramaturgy. The greatest challenge was to convey the process by which the previously self-confident protagonist confronts himself. The musical material is quite condensed, and it only gradually becomes clear that the game at the centre of the work is in fact very much a matter of life and death.
G. S.: I myself like to refer to the greatest masters. The influence of Shostakovich, Poulenc, as well as Kodály and Bartók is clearly felt in my works, and this is no different now. The music, just like the novel itself, is strongly tied to the period in which the events take place. I wrote a practical opera, driven by dance scenes and ariettas. In my interpretation, the modern is that which most faithfully reflects the author’s intention.
The two operas will be performed at the Bánffy Stage of the Eiffel Art Studios. Does this present any particular characteristics?
J. V.: Although I do not know the Eiffel Art Studios very well, I am sure that the intimacy of the hall will have an effect on what is heard; the rest is the task of the director, Máté Szabó. We consult frequently, he also staged my previous work, and I trust him completely. The orchestra is not large, yet a pit is still required: strings, individual wind instruments, percussion, harp, and a piano will shape the sound.
G. S.: I feel at home in the spaces of the Eiffel Art Studios; nevertheless, I always write for the world stage. Royal Highness can be imagined in a thousand different environments, in a castle, or even in an empty space in the style of Peter Brook. I am curious to see the experiences of the premiere.
How do you see the future of opera in general?
J. V.: I am extremely interested in the genre. I very much enjoy writing opera so much so that while composing The Verdict, the outline of another work was already forming in my mind. In short, for me it has a future, and that is quite enough.
G. S.: I am optimistic about it. There is a future if the West returns to the common points of its own musical history. I am convinced that a kind of shared gesture-language with the audience must be rediscovered, the essence of which is that when someone enters a concert, they can connect their prior experiences to the new. This effort is, in fact, very visible in East-Central Europe, and success is only a matter of time.
Máté Ur