Un ballo glitters but doesn’t ignite in Budapest

By Jenny Camilleri, 23 April 2018

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“a glittering ballet of changing colour palettes”

Reviewed at Erkel Színház (Erkel Theatre), Budapest on 21 April 2018

Verdi, Un ballo in maschera

Hungarian State Opera

Michelangelo Mazza, Conductor

Fabio Ceresa, Director

Tiziano Santi, Set Designer

Giuseppe Palella, Costume Designer

Szilvia Rálik, Amelia

Eszter Sümegi, Amelia

Mykhailo Malafii, Gustavo, King of Sweden

Attila Fekete, Gustavo, King of Sweden

Bernadett Wiedemann, Ulrica

Bernadett Fodor, Riccardo

Levente Molnár, Renato

Alexandru Agache, Renato

Yolanda Covacinschi, Oscar

Zita Szemere, Oscar

Sándor Egri, Amelia's servant

Attila Erdős, Cristiano

Máté Fülep, Cristiano

András Kőrösi, Count Horn

Ferenc Cserhalmi, Count Horn

Géza Gábor, Count Ribbing

Krisztián Cser, Count Ribbing

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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Jenny Camilleri

After completing her postgraduate studies in psychology at the University of Toronto, Jenny moved to Amsterdam, where she enjoys singing in amateur choirs. She loves all genres of classical vocal music, especially nineteenth and early twentieth century Italian and German opera and art songs.

Un ballo in maschera glitters but doesn’t ignite in Budapest