Four of the eight operas submitted for this year’s “Key to the Future” Opera Composition Competition have been shortlisted by the jury for the finals. Here’s the list of the authors and works, in alphabetical order: Jan Jirásek: R.U.R.; Péter Lendvai: Tarot-mese (Tarot Tale); Szabolcs Mátyássy: Scaevola and Miklós Szilágyi–Tibor György Horváth: La Prima Donna.
The finals, open to the public, where excerpts from these works will be performed is held in Budapest at the Solti Hall of Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music on 13th December, 2016 at 19.00 pm.
The 30-30 minutes lang performers will be solo singing students of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music with guest singers. The programme is directed by András Almási-Tóth and hosted by Ádám Bősze.
Members of the jury: Gergely Kesselyák, artistic director of Bartók Plus Opera Festival; Gyula Fekete, composer, deputy rector of Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music; Alexey Rybnikov and Girolamo Deraco composers; Bubo Damen, producer and Philip de la Croix, director of Musica Prima by Classic 360, Bruno Berger-Gorski operadirector.
Booking:
Ticket for 1200,- Ft – Ticket online »
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PROGRAMME
Jan Jirásek:
R. U. R. – Rossum's Universal Robots (orig.: R.U.R. - Rossumovi Univerzální Roboti)
(in bohemian langiage)
Čapek: Attila Erdős
Helena: Zuzana Kohoutova
Nána: Anna Fürjes
Domin: Miloslav Sykora
Dr. Gall: Bence Pataki
Alquist/Radius: Pál Mátyás Tóth
Hallemeier: Luca Bojtos
Primus: András Farkas
Contribute:: Chor
Miklós Szilágyi – György Tibor Horváth:
La Prima Donna
(in hungarian language)
Janácek: Zoltán Daragó
Rozika: Anna Fürjes
Martina: Diana Kiss
Cherny: Pál Mátyás Tóth
Al Casey: Attila Erdős
Minelli: Bence Pataki
Carpenter: András Farkas
John F. Rice: Lőrinc Kósa
La Prima Donna (opera synopsis)
„If I Were A Carpenter”
Opera joke in one act
A great opera house, (Gran’Ol Opry) somewhere in the world - maybe the Metropolitan, or the Scala, or something else. In this evening will be a premier: Bellini – Norma, and the title character is played Maria Carlotta Valdez, the fabulous female singer. The audience are waits in front of the theater.
But it’s a big trouble!
Carlotta is arrives, but she can not speak. She does not have voice. This is a tragedy - will be in panic in the theater. The theatrical dresser – Rozika - is tells a story about the tarot cards.
Once upon a time an old gypsy woman predicted a card: in the judgment day is just a „carpen-ter” save for her. It’s a superstition – is the director says – Mojo working. Anybody seen a carpen-ter? Everybody is looking for a carpenter.
The power of superstition is big deal in the world of theater. Rozika is calms for Carlotta. We know then she is her mother. Doctor Czerny the psychiatrist is arrives, but he can not help it she.
But they’re still have’n’t found what they looking for. (A carpenter.) This is the end of the road – the premiere is begins, but the great Prima Donna does not have voice.
Will be come the concurrency: the young soprano singer Anna Martina.
But in this moment it’s a miracle happens: Joseph is enters to the dressing room. He is a stage hands. He is a mascot of Carlotta. Before any performance he has touched her. This is her mojo.
Joseph has „palinka”, and he’s giving her drink. This is a good ol’ tradition. The prima donna is drinking, and her fabulous voice is back. This is a miracle.
Let's start with the show, the prima donna is standing by.
Dr. Czerny does’t understand the situation: What was in the pálinka? Maybe is this just a mojo?
No. Joseph was the „Carpenter”, husband of the great female singer from the good ol’ days.
Somewhere, sometime they called him Ács Dezső. Carpenter is said in Hungarian: Ács.
This is the end of the story. I said, this is just a joke.
Péter Lendvai:
Tarot mese (Tarot Tale)
(in hungarian language)
Girl: Lilla Horti
Boy: Benjámin Beéry
Father: Ágoston Cser
Contribute: Chor
Tarot tale (opera synopsis)
The Tarot card - as a spiritual symbolism and contemplation – has been in my mind for a long time. Because of the symbols and diversity of interpretation I decided to use the 22-card pack also known as High Arcana for the conception of a play. At first I was thinking about some kind of dance production because in 2004 I had the chance to be the co-(music-) writer „Swan Lake-club” at the National Theatre of Miskolc. This made a big impression on me. The idea of writing the opera came not much before the BARTÓKPLUS Opera Festival announced this competition. The main idea was that I combined the folk tales with the Tarot. After that I made the synopsis where the entire 22-card pack can be found in some form. (In the synopsis the references in parentheses printed in bold are standing for numbers and the symbols of the Tarot) In 2010 I asked a dramaturge (Tünde Kardos) from the theatre to help me with the libretto. Once I had the full libretto I started the opera. Because the orchestrations are claim more time and I had other things to do I only reached the stage now when I can enter the „The Key of
the Future” opera writer competition. In this opera the dancing parts play the key role.
During this time we can follow the story through the music and the on-goings.
Szabolcs Mátyássy:
Scaevola
(in hungarian language)
Plamen: Benjamin Beéry
Mirela: Lilla Horti
Baldo: Attila Erdős
Frater: Pál Mátyás Tóth
Slava: Ágoston Cser
Contribute: Á la cARTe Chor
Directed by András Almási-Tóth
Scaevola (opera synosos)
Somewhere in Europe, around the millennium during a war.
ln the monastery of the town surrounded by the soldiers the novices give food to the inhabitants. They sing about the cold the famine and the war. Reclining of his daughter , Mirela arrives the captain of the garrison: Slava. He takes the prelate to ask why he does not allow the novices to fight? Duet about home and human and divine justice. Frater, the prelate is adamant at this point. After his short pray Slava puts daughter in Plamens, one of the young novices care and goes away letargically. The girl is upset because she has not received any news about her husband for three month. Baldo went to the battlefield on the following day of their wedding. Mirela pours her heart out to Plamen, about whom turns out that he is not just very similar to Miras husband but they are brothers. Both of them courted Mirela but Plamen renounced the girl in his brothers favour. Watching the lines of Plamens face, she recalls of the face of her husband. Because of this the conjugal declaration of love hurts the boy very had.
After Mirela left the novices swear that the are going to murder Boyra the captain of the enemy, after escaping from the town via a secret tunnel. They draw Plamen so he has the opportunity to accomplish the dangerous mission first.
The next scene is the camp of the enemy. They celebrate the near victory. A loud bacchanalia is happening led by the captain. His henchman and faithful friend stands by him all the time. Plamen arrives at that moment in a disguise. He recognize shocked that the henchman is his own brother. After this he strives to get close to him to ask what is happening. Baldo tells him that he wants to kill the leader as well bud Plamen does not believes him. Plamen takes his brothers gun and wants to kill Boyra. Baldo to protect his brother does not allow this. During the fight the gun goes off and hurts Baldo. The soldiers catch Plamen, who is not willing to betray his companions. He holds his arm into the frre of the nearest barrel, showing how much power the faith and the love of his nation gives to him.
During his double suffering he tells that even if he can not succeed, there are others following him, and Boyra wont ever be in safe. The leader is amazed by the moral strength of the boy and pushes him away from the frre. Boyra is totally shocked, set the boy free and retreats his troops.
The news of the enemies escape spread in the town like wildfire.
Slava kneels in the middle of the church and prays above a body. Plamen had left his brother there before he left into exile. The loss of both of the brothers is like a bot out of the blue for Mirela. The memories of the last meeting with her brother-in-law are back and the pictures of the two faces are mixed in her con:fused mind. lnher pain she can not hear her father, just like Plamen before and meanwhile the people are celebrating the wonderful release, she hangs herself up on the bell rope.
