In the 2010/2011 season, the Hungarian State Opera Budapest welcomes audiences to 10 premières, and a further 28 opera and 20 ballet productions in its repertoire.
The balance of tradition and renewal, classical and contemporary, and Hungarian and international artists was an important consideration in the planning of the season.
In the programme of the 2010/2011 season, special emphasis will be given to the Erkel jubilee, the 200th anniversary of the birth of this outstanding figure of Hungarian music history. On his birthday, 7 November, the Opera House will premiere a new production of his opera Bánk bán in an interpretation by renowned Italian director Césare Lievi.
Lovers of contemporary Hungarian music will be fascinated by the premieres of two specialities: István Márta’s opera Amazing Cellphone World and Gyula Fekete’s Excelsior! – the former staged by János Szikora, the latter by Péter Gothár.
Italian operatic tradition will be represented by Verdi’s Macbeth, but the programme also includes Arrigo Boito’s Mefistofele, an adaptation of the Faust-legend, directed by Balázs Kovalik.
In addition to the popular Mozart operas in the repertoire, the coming season will feature his opera Ascanio in Alba, a pastorale, which he composed whilst still a teenager.
Lovers of Wagner can look forward to two premieres: Der fliegende Holländer at the Opera House on 23 January, and Lohengrin, a joint production of the Palace of Arts and Opera Budapest at the Béla Bartók Concert Hall as part of the 2011 Wagner days.
The Hungarian National Ballet will feature two premieres: La fille mal gardée, a choreography by world-renowned Sir Frederick Ashton, founder of the Royal Ballet, London, and the world premiere of A Streetcar Named Desire, choreographed by Marianna Venekei to László Dés’s music.
Mayfest will be a significant event of the next season. The festival, which is to be organised for the third time, will feature international stars in Verdi’s Otello and Rigoletto and Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. The special guest will be the world-famous American soprano Renée Fleming, a star of the Metropolitan Opera, who will give a full-evening concert at the Hungarian State Opera House.
The season is to be opened with a Mahler concert in September, and the World Stars Ballet Gala, which continues its ten-year history, followed by an Erkel Gala on the eve of the premiere of Bánk bán in November.
Jazz fans will again be welcomed to the Opera House in late November for the third Jazz at the Opera. After the Opera Ball in March, the charity performance for children, Hänsel und Gretel will follow; this has become not only a tradition but a commitment.
The programme of the next season includes 86 ballet and 208 opera performances; the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra will give 14 concerts.
Premieres in the 2010/2011 season
14 September 2010
Arrigo Boito: Mefistofele
Conductors: János Kovács and Géza Köteles
Director: Balázs Kovalik
9 October 2010
István Márta: Amazing Cellphone World
A joint production of the Budapest Autumn Festival, the Új Színház and the Opera House
Conductor: Kálmán Szennai
Director: János Szikora
7 November 2010
Ferenc Erkel: Bánk bán
Conductor: Domonkos Héja
Director: Césare Lievi
27 & 28 November 2010
Ferdinand Hérold – Frederick Ashton: La fille mal gardée
Conductors: Géza Török and Kálmán Szennai
Choreographer: Sir Frederick Ashton
12 December 2010
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Ascanio in Alba
Conductor: Ádám Fischer
Directors: Magdolna Parditka and Alexandra Szemerédy
23 January 2011
Richard Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
Conductor: Ádám Fischer
Director: Balázs Kovalik
18 March 2011
Fekete Gyula: Excelsior!
A joint production of the Spring Festival, the Thália Theatre and the Opera House
Conductor: Gergely Kesselyák
Director: Péter Gothár
22 March 2011
Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth
Conductor: György Gyoriványi Ráth
Director: Miklós Szinetár
29 & 30 April 2011
László Dés – Marianna Venekei: A Streetcar Named Desire
Conductors: Gergely Kesselyák and Kálmán Szennai
Choreographer: Marianna Venekei
9 June 2011
Richard Wagner: Lohengrin
Palace of Arts, Budapest Wagner Days 2011
Conductor: Ádám Fischer
Director: László Marton