A Bartók Plusz Operafesztivál 2016 záróhangversenye. Kocsis Zoltán és a Nemzeti Filharmonikus Zenekar.Bartók Plus Opera Festival took an end on June 19th, 2016. We truly hope that our performances offered all of you pleasant and meaningful entertainment.
This summary looking back on the events of the festival brings together the most memorable moments of this year’s programme. Our undisguised aim is to lure you back next year to be our guests in July 2017 in Miskolc, at the Hungarian capital of opera.
BARTÓK PLUS OPERAFESTIVaL – 2016
Bartók Plus Opera Festival invited lovers of classical and contemporary opera, dance and ballet or symphonic and popular concerts to Miskolc, the largest city in the North Hungarian region between 10th to 19th June.
Bartók marathon
Bartók Marathon (The Wooden Prince)
2016 is a Bartók year in Hungary. We pay tribute to Béla Bartók, the best known Hungarian composer’s oeuvre by the performance of his stage works. The audience could see Bartók Marathon, a composition set up from Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, The Miraculous Mandarin and The Wooden Prince, the staging of which is the work of Géza M. Tóth, rector of the Hungarian University of Film and Theatrical Arts.
The four-hour production brought to the stage talented young dance artists (Bence Apáti, Lili Felméry, Andrea Kocsis) as well as doyens of Hungarian dance , (Teodóra Uhrik and Pál Lovas), and world renowned opera singers (Ildikó Komlósi and Bálint Szabó) The Pannon Philharmonic, the orchestra of this special night was lead by a versatile lady conductor, Oksana Lyniv.
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From the Opera Stages in Central Eastern Europe
Bartók Plus Opera Festival has gained international reputation in the world of opera as the Salzburg of Central and Eastern Europe. In the programme presenting a cross-section of European opera life Russian, Slovak and Romanian companies arrived in Miskolc from the stages of Moscow, Košice (Kassa), Constanța and Bucharest.
Leoš Janáček: Věc Makropulos (The Macropulos Case) – Helikon Opera, Moscow
Leoš Janáček: Věc Makropulos (The Macropulos Case) – Helikon Opera, MoscowThe Moscow Helikon Opera is a returning guest at Bartók Plus Opera Festival. This year they brought a strange ‘opera thriller’, which had a reception very much similar to their earlier performances in Miskolc: the audience, with their enthusiastic applause lasting for minutes, could hardly let the performing singers leave the stage. The appreciating ovation was also due to Dmitri Bertmann, founding director of the company who, once again, created a brilliant unity of music and sight in this production.
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Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (Ariadne on Naxos) – Košice State Theatre
Richard Strauss: Ariadné Naxoszban (Kassai Nemzeti Színház)
Ariadne on Naxos returned to the stage of Bartók Plus in the production of a Slovak company, the Košice State Theatre. This opera, balancing on the edge of tragedy and comedy was arranged in a manner that emphasizes the supremacy of art. The ideas of the performance gave authentic credit to Richard Strauss, the author’s spirit.
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George Enescu: Oedipe (Oedipus) – Bucharest National Opera
George Enescu: Oedipe (Oedipus) – Bucharest National Opera
This opera by the best known Romanian composer of the twentieth century is a rare guest on opera stages of the world. The work covers the whole life of Oedipus from birth to death, making us feel act by act how the protagonist is unable to break free from the cursed destiny inflicted upon him. The monumental tragedy and enormous emotional tension of this masterpiece conquered the heart of the audience always avid for the peculiar. Although the opera was performed in a symphonic version, its reception was comparable to fully staged performances.
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Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – Oleg Danovski National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Constanța
Sergei Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet – Oleg Danovski National Opera and Ballet Theatre, Constanța
A classical theme in a classical presentation - Shakespeare’s story about eternal love was told in the noblest, traditional version of ballet by the Constanța company. The dancers’ mature, refined gestures and the brisk tempo of the piece were highly acclaimed by the audience who expressed their appraisal by high applause, even during the performance. Classical ballet is always a fresh colour on the palette of festive events at Bartók Plus Opera Festivals.
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Contemporary Premiere
Tamás Beischer-Matyó Tamás: Creative Relationships
It is a mission of Bartók Plus to stage works by contemporary composers. We aim at creating a new popular opera and make it available to the public in the world of both Hungarian and International Opera.
The opera Kreatív kapcsolatok (Creative Relationships) by the young Hungarian composer, Tamás Beischer-Matyó was first performed to the festival audience in a guest performance of the Budapest Operetta Theatre directed by Kriszta Székely.
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Carmen, the Opera for Thousands
Opera for Thousands: Georges Bizet: Carmen
The next piece in the series presenting eternal masterpieces of World Opera was Carmen by Georges Bizet in a direction by Gábor Miklós Kerényi, artistic director of the Budapest Operetta Theatre.
“Initiation performances” telling about the secrets of the work were held in public spaces of the city; on Szent István Square and at the Avas Observation Tower while the full opera as a spectacular, grandiose performance could be seen at the Tournament Field of Diósgyőr next to the Castle. The main roles were taken by excellent young opera singers: Viktória Mester (Carmen), Hector Lopez Mendoza (Don José), Levente Molnár (Escamillo), Gabriella Létay Kiss (Micaëla). The conductor of the production was Gergely Kesselyák, art director of Bartók Plus Opera Festival.
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