The Hungarian State Opera, as one of the leading repertoire opera houses on the continent, has a season which could easily become overwhelming. With 230 performances of 37 different operas, and 130 performances of 16 different ballets, the house’s adaptability is obvious. With an additional 36 concert performances, and a few on tour in Dubai, the company has its work cut out.
New productions
The 2025–26 season sees several new productions, the first of which will be Wagner’s Lohengrin in a production directed by András Almási-Toth. The house has assembled a standout international cast, including among others Christopher Sokolowski, Egils Siliņš and Johanni van Oostrum. Almási-Toth’s most recent Wagnerian offering was a well-regarded Parsifal – perhaps a return to grail lore suits his sensibility. And indeed his Parsifal will be presented later in the season, in April.
Also in April is another new production: Tobias Kratzer’s Fidelio. Young US tenor Jamez McCorkle stars as Florestan in this production on loan from London’s Royal Opera. The Hungarian State are making a point of Beethovenianism this year, presenting a slew of orchestral works to go alongside the composer’s belaboured, single opera. With performances of Symphonies Seven and Nine with overtures and vocal works (and Fifth Symphony and Fifth Piano Concerto in Dubai), one would almost think it an anniversary.
Mozart is also enjoying a bumper year this season. In May, the smaller Bánffy Stage sees a new production of Mozart’s classic symmetrical comedy of errors, Così fan tutte, directed by Kriszta Székely. Initially training as a dancer, Székely transitioned to theatre and opera directing, and as well as a highly regarded young director, she is an admirably outspoken critic of the Hungarian government on LGBT rights. This contemporary production will be one to catch.
Also in May, Bánffy Stage will also host two other Mozart operas, Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Der Schauspieldirektor. That same month, in the main Auditorium the company presents Don Giovanni, in Claus Guth’s production, and the season opens in September with Le nozze di Figaro, completing the Da Ponte trilogy. (Performances of Die Zauberflöte can be seen in November and December.)
World premieres
The Hungarian State is a reliable commissioner of new opera. Also in May, the Bánffy Stage hosts a pair one-act world premieres: János Vajda’s The Verdict, and György Selmeczi’s Royal Highness. Derived from literary sources – Swiss Brechtian dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Thomas Mann respectively – these explore tangled dramas of mock-trials that become real, American heiresses and German crown princes. Peter Eötvös’ last opera Valuska, also deriving from a tangled literary source in Krasznahorkai, will be revived this season too.
In contrast to these decidedly adult topics is Péter Tóth’s Beauty and the Beast, given its world premiere this season in May. A short work, which includes children’s chorus and is designed for an audience of all ages, it is blurbed to be very much not the Disney version. Instead, a “deeper question” is proposed, “how to find the beauty in everything”. Young audiences are well served elsewhere in the opera season, with performances of Britten’s The Little Sweep from September, and a pairing of Mozart’s youthful Bastien et Bastienne with Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Telephone from January.
Hungarian National Ballet
In March, the Hungarian National Ballet joins with its junior department, the Hungarian National Ballet Institute, to give a new production designed for young people: Léo Delibes’ famous ballet adapted by Dace Radina as Little Coppélia. (Other similar family friendly productions include Little Sleeping Beauty in October and Little Swan Lake in May.) The Ballet also performs several contemporary works this season. In October, Johan Inger’s Walking Mad juxtaposes Ravel’s Boléro with music of Arvo Pärt, and the company also performs recent works by Alexander Ekman and Hans van Manen. Later in March, van Manen’s choreography appears again, this time of Erik Satie’s hypnotic Trois Gnoissiennes.
The Ballet performs reliable repertoire items throughout the season, including Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet choreographed by László Seregi in October, and Cranko’s Oneginin February. The Ballet Institute’s young dancers, who also appear throughout the season, hold their gala in June. Training dancers from ages 4 to 14, members of the company’s younger half will join the older half for a performance of A Streetcar Named Desire later that month.
Soloists and concerts
Alongside its operatic repertoire, Hungarian State Opera welcomes a range of international soloists for recitals this season, including Ludovic Tézier in November, Asmik Grigorian in February, and Nadine Sierra in April. In January, young British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso, familiar to Covent Garden audiences, will also be one to catch, as will be renowned baritone Michael Volle in May. On the opera stage, Anna Netrebko makes a return to Budapest to star in Verdi’s Macbeth in June.
Among orchestral concerts, there are few worth noting – Mahler’s Eighth Symphony is presented in October: a natural fit for Hungarian State Opera, given Mahler’s tenure as music director from 1888. Young Czech conductor Jiří Habart (who impressed our correspondent at the Donatella Flick Competition a few years ago) joins to conduct Verdi’s Requiem in November. And given the Wagner on offer this season – Péter Halász conducts a concert of selections in October – the Opera also present Schoenberg’s post-Wagnerian early masterpiece, Gurre-Lieder, in May at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall.
There is much else besides in this wide ranging season: see our complete listings to get your bearings.
See our complete listings for Hungarian State Opera in 2025–26.
This article was sponsored by Hungarian State Opera
