Hungarian State Folk Ensemble: His Cross Blossomed
Dance drama for the feast of Easter
The Hungarian State Folk Ensemble’s dance production for the Easter holiday relies as much on the liturgies of the different denominations as on the ancient peasant customs and songs of regions in the Carpathian Basin that lie at great distances from each other. The respective Easter rituals of the Székely Land, the Rábaköz, former Upper Hungary and the south of the Great Hungarian Plain – both Christian and pagan – are linked in a unified dramatic form.
The exciting musical fabric of the performance consists not only of folk songs, religious folk tunes and dance music, but also the Easter-themed songs of the Roman Catholic, Protestant, Greek Catholic and Orthodox churches, as well as archaic folk prayers. Most of the latter are rooted in the distant past, the time before the conversion to Christianity.
Performed by: dancers and orchestra of the Hungarian State Folk Ensemble
Featuring
voice: Júlia Kubinyi, Eszter Pál, Milán Hetényi
koboz: Ilona Molnár
accordion: Gábor Gera
organ: Domonkos Farkas
ütőgardon, drums: Gergely Okos
Saint Ephraim Male Choir (artistic directors: Tamás Bubnó, Lőrinc Bubnó)
Concert Ensemble of Budapesti Énekes Iskola (artistic directors: Tamás Bubnó, János Mezei)
students of the Deák Diák Musical Primary and Grammar School
students of the Hungarian Dance Academy (head of department: Béla Ónodi)
Creators
Music editors: István Szalonna Pál, Tamás Bubnó, Attila Gera, Milán Hetényi
Attila Mihó
Music director, artistic director: István Szalonna Pál
Music director: Ferenc Radics
band director: Gyula Karacs
dance ensemble director: György Ágfalvi
dance ensemble assistants: Beatrix Borbély, Katalin Jávor, Klára Hetényi-Kulcsár, Péter Darabos, Máté Farkas
Ethnography consultant: János Vas
Production design: György Árvai
Animation: Zsolt Korai
Traditional costumes consultants: Krisztina Palik, Edit Szűcs, Borbála Winklerné Petri-Kiss
Costumes: Edit Szűcs
Sound: Péter Szabó
Lighting: Ákos Gimpel
Assistants to the choreographers: Beatrix Borbély, Andrea Lévay
Choreographers: György Ágfalvi, Máté Farkas, Klára Hetényi-Kulcsár, Zsolt Juhász, Gábor Mihályi
director choreographer, ensemble director: Gábor Mihályi
This performance of the Bartók Spring was presented by Müpa Budapest as a joint event with
Hungarian Heritage House – Hungarian State Folk Ensemble.
Presented by: Müpa Budapest
Photo: Szilvia Csibi, Müpa
