Devilishly good fun: Faust in Budapest

By Mark Pullinger, 27 May 2015

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“Bretz's inky black bass was supple and suave and he sang a thrilling “Le veau d’or””

Reviewed at Hungarian State Opera: Auditorium, Budapest on 26 May 2015

Gounod, Faust

Hungarian State Opera

Maurizio Benini, Conductor

Michał Znaniecki, Director

Ramos Ana Aguayo, Costume Designer

Luigi Scoglio, Set Designer

Andrea Rost, Marguerite

Darío Schmunck, Faust

Gábor Bretz, Méphistophélès

Bernadett Wiedemann, Marthe

Szilvia Vörös, Siebel

Zsolt Haja, Valentin

Lajos Geiger, Wagner

Marianna Venekei, Choreography

Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra

Hungarian State Opera Chorus

All that glitters is not gold in Budapest's new Lohengrin

Orsolya Gyárfás, 16th November

Klára Kolonits's radiant Elsa proves the main attraction in the Hungarian State Opera's visually appealing but conceptually lacking new Lohengrin.

**111

A thrilling, opulent La Bayadère at Hungarian National Ballet

Gianmarco Segato, 14th June

Hungarian National Ballet's La Bayadère revitalizes tradition with a new reconstruction of its forgotten final act.

*****

Visually splendid, dramatically parched La Gioconda in Budapest

Gianmarco Segato, 11th June

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

***11

Stumbling towards the chopping block: Maria Stuarda in Budapest

Orsolya Gyárfás, 14th May

Martin Rajna's energetic conducting and Gabriella Balga's glorious Elisabetta are the bright spots in this flashy but empty house premiere of Donizetti's classic.

**111

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.

****1

A promising class: 6th Éva Marton Competition grand final

Orsolya Gyárfás, 7th September

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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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Devilishly good fun: Gábor Bretz’s Méphistophélès dominates the stage in Budapest