SZELLEM A SPÁJZBAN

Arrigo Boito Mefistofele

A century ago, the world first encountered this remarkable opus, a work that soon became one of the cornerstones of twentieth-century musical innovation. Premiered in 1926, the singspiel is a milestone in Hungarian music history: its composer, Zoltán Kodály, fulfilled his aspiration to elevate Hungarian folk song of ancient origin to the same status as classical music, by virtue of its equivalent values, placing it on the stage of the nation’s Opera House.

Pairing the two German composers, Wagner and the Wagnerian Strauss in a single evening creates a sweeping and overwhelming fusion of expansive melodies and driving dramatic force. The encounter between Wagner’s mythical intensity and Strauss’s modernism is a dialogue between two musical giants who reshaped not only German but also international musical life. In the performance of the OPERA Orchestra, their compositions promise deep emotions, dense musical textures, and sonic grandeur.