Damiano Michieletto's La bohème 2.0 in Budapest

By Olga de Kort, 03 March 2016

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“Attention, please, 2.0: a new format, a new look, a new version”

Reviewed at Erkel Színház (Erkel Theatre), Budapest on 26 February 2016

Puccini, La bohème

Hungarian State Opera

János Kovács, Conductor

Damiano Michieletto, Director

Paolo Fantin, Set Designer

Carla Teti, Costume Designer

Orsolya Sáfár, Mimì

Ildikó Szakács, Musetta

Gergely Boncsér, Rodolfo

Zsolt Haja, Marcello

Zoltan Nagy, Schaunard

András Kiss, Colline

Lajos Geiger, Alcindoro

Gábor Gárday, Benoît

László Beöthy-Kiss, Parpignol

Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra

Hungarian State Opera Chorus

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Hungarian State Opera's cut-down, dramatically inert Gioconda fails to ignite the stage in Budapest, despite a solid musical foundation.

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Hungarian National Ballet: a tremendously witty Merry Widow

Deborah Weiss, 12th February

Hungarian National Ballet strike a delightful balance between lighthearted comedy and technical assurance in Ronald Hynd's The Merry Widow.

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A promising class: 6th Éva Marton Competition grand final

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In its tenth year and going strong, the biennial Éva Marton International Singing Competition fields an even level of talent in an entertaining finale.

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Olga de Kort

Musicologist and music critic Olga de Kort (The Netherlands) studied in Russia (piano, culture sciences), France (journalism) and the Netherlands (musicology and music history, music education and communication, organ) where she has lived from 1998. She is active as a music journalist, lecturer in music history and culture and as a freelance musician. She writes for Piano Bulletin, Pianist, Luister, Preludium, De Klank, Het Orgel, Muziek&Liturgie, Kunstzone and Bachtrack. Besides her personal journalist blog, Olga de Kort has a website about Russian music in the Netherlands. At this moment she is working on a book about Russian music and musicians in the Netherlands and on a biography of Russian singer Anna El Tour.

Damiano Michieletto's La bohème 2.0 in Budapest: dramatically convincing