Fifty thousand people attended the Hungarian State Opera House’s summer productions, and on the eve of the national holiday, the State Opera House’s season titled ‘Myth & History’ came to an end, the institution informed on Tuesday.

In their statement, the Opera recalled that the season’s four-opera summer series, with Madama Butterfly, La Traviata, Rigoletto, and The Magic Flute attracted more than 25,000 paying spectators through thirty performances, including public dress rehearsals. The Opera’s own classic productions ran to full houses on nineteen occasions, with most tickets having been sold months in advance. The gross revenue from performances approaches half a billion forints.

The high attendance rates of the plays and the frequent standing ovations confirmed the State Opera House’s expectations that it is worthwhile to stage popular pieces from the operatic literature in classic performances with an air-conditioned auditorium in the summer. The institution also pointed out that the July–August performances, the first full summer season, were favoured by both tourists and locals from the capital city and the countryside.

In July, as part of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture project, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 was performed by the Hungarian State Opera House’s orchestra, choir, children’s choir, and soloists. A few days later,

the same orchestra accompanied Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov’s performance

at the VeszprémFest.

Following a decade-old tradition, the Opera Orchestra and Choir held concerts in Balatonfüred as part of the Anna Festival, while the 198th Anna Ball was traditionally opened by the Hungarian National Ballet’s performers. At the same time, at the Valley of Arts festival, the Opera House achieved success with Mozart’s The Impresario and Menotti’s The Telephone.

The Opera’s ensembles and artists are also recurring guests at the Margaret Island Theatre’s programmes, where this year, Nadine Sierra and Francesco Demuro’s operatic gala and Verdi’s opera Attila were performed, delighting nearly 13,000 viewers with the performances of the Hungarian State Opera House’s artists.

Apart from its own productions, the largest Hungarian artistic institution also hosted numerous events during the summer: in the Erkel Theatre, performances were given by Shakti, Manfred’s Mann’s Earth Band, Jon Anderson, the lead singer of Yes, as well as Yamato. These six sold-out evenings attracted more than 10,000 people. In the Eiffel Műhelyház, the Erasmus Youth Orchestra performed, and a degree recital of the Hungarian Dance Academy was also held with the participation of the Opera’s Orchestra.

Only three days after the previous season’s conclusion, the Opera House started its 140th season, now expanded to twelve months, on 22 August, with a Slavic theme. The first performance will be 20th century Polish compers Karol Szymanowski’s opera King Roger as part of the 10th Theatrical Olympiad, performed by the Kassa (Košice) National Theatre in the Eiffel Műhelyház. The performance will be attended by the Minister of Culture of Slovakia, Silvia Hroncová, who previously directed the Prague Opera.

The season will continue on 8 September with another series of The Magic Flute performances on Andrássy Avenue; the Hungarian State Opera House will be hosted by the Dubai Opera in the capital of the United Arab Emirates with performances of Swan Lake and Madama Butterfly this autumn.

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Source: Hungarian Conservative/MTI