Dance TriptychNouvelle production

The Wooden Prince

“There is no date in the half-a-century history of our Opera House as important as the premier day of Béla Bartók’s first pantomime ballet The Wooden Prince on 12 May 1917. It was the first time that the Hungarian spirit, the genius of Vörösmarty, Petőfi and Ady’s nation was expressed in its true greatness and absolute authenticity in the music played in the Hungarian opera”, writes musicologist Aladár Tóth, who later became the director of the OPERA. The piece that has been part of the repertoire almost constantly in the 105 years passed since its original premier has been staged by several renowned choreographers. This mixture of a fairytale-like world of a forest and the realistically deep and human struggles of men and women, is brought to life in the 2022/23 season by László Velekei, ballet director of Győr Ballet.

The Miraculous Mandarin

Today we mostly find disturbing The Miraculous Mandarin, which is based on Menyhért Lengyel’s pantomime play full of erotica, sexuality and abuse. But at the time of its original premiere in Cologne, it was truly scandalous. Whether disturbing or scandalous, it is certainly an influential work, which travelled the world accordingly. It was played in numerous countries of Europe, America and Asia, and even in South Africa. In the 2023/24 season, this ballet is choreographed by Marianna Venekei, who explores the inner worlds of the characters and discovers the increasing depths of their personalities, combines past and present to find a way to reach a 21st-century audience while staying true to the music of Béla Bartók.