Budapest, September 5 (MTI) – The Hungarian State Opera House is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the Austrian-Hungarian border with an international conference on Friday and a gala featuring renowned singers Anja Kampe, Piotr Beczala, Ferruccio Furlanetto and Andrea Rost on the day after.
Opera House director Szilveszter Ókovács told the press on Friday that the Ungarn fur Deutschland – Opera for Europe conference has attracted more than 40 guests from 20 countries.
Saturday’s open-air programme will start on the opera’s Sphinx terrace where the comic operas The Night Bell by Donizetti and The Telephone by Menotti will be performed, to be followed by a free concert of international opera stars.
Deputy state secretary for international and European relations at the Ministry for Human Resources Gergely Pröhle said Hungary’s opera had always aspired to be part of the international music scene even before the change of the regime.
“It is impossible to separate by an Iron Curtain opera performance in the west and in the east,” he said.
Neue Oper Wien artistic director Walter Kobera said that 25 years ago, some important changes were introduced also in Vienna’s art life and in recent years close links have been developed with Hungary.
Photo: MTI – Zoltán Máthé