Rautavaara's The Mine in Budapest

By Katherine Syer, 26 October 2016

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Hungarian State Opera: Auditorium, Budapest on 21 October 2016

Rautavaara, The Mine (World première)

Varga, Love (World première)

Hungarian State Opera

Tibor Bogányi, Conductor

Vilppu Kiljunen, Director

Antti Mattila, Set Designer

Piia Rinne, Costume Designer

Tommi Hakala, Simon

Adrienn Miksch, Ira

Béla Laborfalvi Soós, Commissar

Péter Fried, Priest

Atilla Kiss B, Marko

Ferenc Cserhalmi, Vanha

Gergely Ujvári, A miner

Éva Balatoni, Öregasszony

Gabriella Fodor, Luca, a daughter-in-law

Boldizsár László, János

Mária Farkasréti, Irén

Veronika Dobi-Kiss, Luca's mother

Hungarian State Opera Orchestra

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.

More reviews...

Katherine Syer

Katherine Syer is a Los Angeles-based writer/editor, public scholar, and dramaturg following a teaching career at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and UCLA

Rautavaara's The Mine marks 60th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution