Mario and The Magician; Bluebeard's Castle

How far do we let other people into our minds, our soul, and our past? And what happens if someone pushes their way into our consciousness even though we haven't let them in? Béla Bartók and Béla Balázs's world-famous opera offers insight into the various layers and stages of the relationship between men and women, while János Vajda's work based on the famous novella by Thomas Mann depicts the effects of blind extremism and mass hypnosis. Two brilliant 20th century one-act operas in one evening: both Hungarian, and both about the deepest functioning of the human mind and how the psyche can be influenced.

Mario and the Magician
Opera in one act, in Hungarian, with Hungarian and English surtitles

General cast:

Conductor: János Kovács
Cipolla: András Palerdi
Mario: Balázs Csémy
Signora Angiolieri: Mária Farkasréti
Signor Angiolieri: András Hábetler
The woollen-shirted one: László Beöthy-Kiss
Roman gentleman: Zoltán Bátki Fazekas

Credits:

Composer: János Vajda
Librettist: Gábor Bókkon
Director: Péter Galambos
Set designer: Péter Galambos
Costume designer: Enikő Kárpáti
Choreographer: Csaba Solti
English surtitles: Káldi Tamás
Chorus director: Kálmán Strausz

Premiere: Nov. 9, 2013

Bluebeard's Castle
Opera in one act in Hungarian, with Hungarian and English surtitles

General cast:

Conductor: János Kovács

Judit: Ildikó Komlósi
Bluebeard: András Palerdi

Credits:

Composer: Béla Bartók
Librettist: Béla Balázs
Director: Péter Galambos
Set designer: Péter Galambos
Costume designer: Enikő Kárpáti
Choreographer: Csaba Solti
English surtitles: Péter Zollman
Chorus director: Kálmán Strausz

Premiere: Nov. 9, 2013