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Iván Fischer's reworking of his 2017 production of Don Giovanni is musically capable, but dramatically unconvincing.

Individual performances impress, but conducting and production both prove too meandering in this year’s Wagner Days Tannhäuser.

A sense of marvel and joy permeates this New Year's Day performance of Haydn's oratorio at Müpa, Budapest. 

With Iréne Theorin's Brünnhilde rejuvenated, the Ring receives a worthy finale at the Budapest Wagner Days.

The pure magic of Ádám Fischer and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra delights with two brilliant leads, but others disappoint on the second day of Müpa's Ring.

In their role debuts, Tassis Christoyannis and Véronique Gens make for an incredible pair in this concert performance of Massenet's opera.

Iván Fischer mixes things up for Schubert's “Great C major” Symphony with an unusual seating arrangement. 

Massed Hungarian forces impress in a monumental performance of Berlioz' grand work under Howard Williams' baton.

Roberto Paternostro and the Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok give plenty of spirit to Mahler's vocal symphony... sometimes to a fault.

The opening night of Müpa’s Early Music Festival had all the makings of an excellent concert and it delivered in abundance.

A performance of highs and lows with a stellar step-in from Lidia Fridman as Lucrezia Borgia and a confused production by Ferenc Anger plays at the Palace of Arts.

Conducted by Iván Fischer, a strong cast delivers an entertaining performance of Monteverdi's opera in a production that amuses, but does not quite thrill.

Tamás Juronics choreographs the Concerto for Orchestra as a biographical ballet depicting a fragile Béla Bartók rising from his hospital bed.  

Two of Hungary's favourite composers star in an evening of Hungarian music and dance.

György Vashegyi and the period instrument Orfeo Orchestra impress in an all-Mozart programme in Budapest. 

A program of Beethoven and Mahler from the Budapest Festival Orchestra celebrated the beauty and terror of the natural world.

The tiniest orchestral details were discernible with tremendous clarity. 

Iván Fischer’s take on Monteverdi’s opera offers a radical rewriting within the trappings of a traditional staging.

A Ring cycle of sustained excellence closes with telling contributions from Foster, Vinke and Pesendorfer in the three lead roles.

Müpa's Ring sees all-round musical excellence for a third night in row, which will be remembered more than the various distracting miscues in the staging.

Six excellent singers bring out the best in Wagner's dramatic narrative, marred only by a Ride of the Valkyries that fails to convince.

Hartmut Schörghofer's updated concert staging receives strong singing from everyone and a thrilling orchestral performance.

Philippe Jaroussky and Emőke Baráth's team-up with the Ensemble Artaserse proved nothing short of wonderful.

Stephen Gould is less than convincing in the lead role of Tannhäuser, but excellent ensemble work under Ádám Fischer's inspired direction offers compensations.

As part of the annual Wagner festival in the Hungarian capital, Peter Seiffert and Allison Oakes star as the doomed lovers.

The battle of the choirs is a thrilling moment in just about any performance of Dutchman, but produces shock and awe in the live acoustics of Budapest's Bartok Bela Concert Hall.

The Iván Fischer Opera Company makes a triumphant foray into Verdi's oeuvre.

A delightful performance of Rameau's opera opens the Müpa's Early Music Festival.

The Ferenc Liszt Chamber Orchestra showcased two very promising young Hungarian pianists, Krisztián Kocsis and Ádám Balogh, at Müpa.

In a sensational Hungarian double bill of taut psychological drama at Müpa, Péter Eötvös' Senza sangue proves a thrilling partner to Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle.

Ádám Fischer delivers a remarkable performance of Haydn's great oratorio.

An early Christmas celebration in Budapest, with four of Bach's cantatas from his Christmas Oratorio.

An overpowering orchestra and unusual stage layout contribute to a disappointingly even-tempered Stabat Mater.

Two promising talents tacke Beethoven: China's Ke Ma impresses in PC4, Hungary's Szüts impresses as a composer with his cadenza for PC1. Tamás Gál and the Miskolc Symphony provide strong support.

Iván Fischer's minimalist staging of Don Giovanni makes a triumphant return to Mupa, Budapest.

A pair of Soviet Cold War classics featured in Pietari Inkinen's Budapest debut at Müpa. 

William Christie and his ensemble Les Arts Florissants (or The blooming arts – a reference to an opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier) visited the Hungarian capital to perform Handel’s Messiah in the exceptional acoustics of the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall. 

Hungarian critic Sandor Hevesy once declared that Bluebeard’s Castle was “far too dark”. Yet, Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle and Miraculous Mandarin are probably the summation of his orchestral journey. And what better experience then making it to Budapest, to hear it in its birthplace?

A master at clever programming, Maestro Iván Fischer surrounded Dutilleux with well-known pieces by Debussy, Ravel and Satie as part of the week-long French Days segment of the Bridging Europe 2016 series at Budapest’s Müpa. 

Musical charm and mighty images of this Götterdämmerung leave the audience mesmerised.

Budapest's Wagner Festival opens with an excellent Rheingold in a skilful combination of singing, acting and projections.

The grand finale to Müpa's mini-festival to celebrate ten years since the installation of the organ in its concert hallwas as spectacular a musical event as you could wish for. 

Music from the past, present, with a borrowed choir and a definitely jazzy “blue” finale invested this 70-minute recital with interest and poignancy aplenty.

Transcriptions by Hungarian composers was presented at Müpa's organ festival. 

Here's a winning formula to pack a concert hall for a Saturday night organ recital: book one of the country's best-known actor-managers to front the evening, invest in televisual effects, and write a good script. 

A neglected work in Hungary, Idomeneo receives an intense performance under the baton of György Vashegyi.

Julian Rachlin steps in at the last moment and scores a win on a winning score.

Performing a complete cycle of Brandenburg Concertos in one evening may take less time than a Wagner opera, but it is equally an epic undertaking for any Baroque ensemble.

Taking the scenic riverside tram route to Müpa in Budapest, you cannot but be impressed by the magnificent legacy of the Habsburgs in this beautiful historical city.

Though the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s programme used all the traditional ingredients for a concert of Russian music, it improved the recipe considerably with very special flavours.