By far the most successful of the Hungarian crop of rock operas, ever since its original album release Stephen, the King has had not only symphonic features but has also been pervaded by the vocal, closed number structure characteristic of traditional operas, the presence of large tableaus, and instrumentation that gives the rock music universal perspectives. The poems for Levente Szörényi, who approached one of the fundamental stories in Hungarian history through Miklos Boldizsar’s play titled Ezredforduló (Turn of the Millennium), was written by his old co-author János Bródy. The Hungarian State Opera production stages the work with operatic instrumentation and opera singers. Thanks to the entirely symphonic score by composer Levente Gyöngyösi and the opera singers participating in the production, the work completely sheds the need for amplification, allowing new treasures to be discovered in the atmosphere of Hungary’s largest theatre, the Erkel in the interpretation of Miklós Szinetár, the doyen of Hungarian directors.
This production has been made possible through the mediation of the Zikkurat Stage Agency and Melody Kft.
CAST
Conductor: Ádám Cser
István: Zoltán Nyári
Sarolt: Andrea Meláth
Gizella: Kinga Kriszta
Asztrik: Tibor Szappanos
Vecellin: Attila Dobák
Koppány: Antal Cseh
Torda: Boldizsár László
Laborc: János Szemenyei
Réka: Zsófia Kálnay
Bese: János Szerekován
Solt: Zoltán Megyesi
Sur: András Kőrösi
First Narrator: Zoltán Bátki Fazekas
Second Narrator: András Káldi Kiss
First bard: Benjámin Beeri
Second bard: Gergely Ujvári
Shamaness: Lusine Sahakyan
Boglárka: Orsolya Bagosi
Enikő: Enikő Mentes-Soós
Picur: Júlia Magassy
A mourner: Kolos Kováts
Hont: Márió Matyó
Pázmány: Dávid Tarnai
AUTHORS
Composer: Szörényi Levente
Original work by: Miklós Boldizsár
Orchestrated by: Levente Gyöngyösi
Director: Miklós Szinetár
Set designer: Balázs Horesnyi
Costume designer: Rita Velich
Choreographer: Bertalan Vári
English surtitles: Arthur Roger Crane
Chorus director: Gábor Csiki
Head of the Children’s Chorus: Nikolett Hajzer
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