ABOUT THE OPERA

As its title suggests, Prima Donna set in Paris in the 1970s, is a so-called art opera: we follow one day of the once popular and respected diva, who by seizing her last chance, would like to play the role once again that raise her to success, hoping that she might break out from the shades of oblivion and neglect. Prima Donna, which gained huge international success and was co-written with librettist Bernadette Colomine, is Rufus Wainwright’s first opera. Its first premiere took place at Palace Theatre in Manchester, England in 2009, and it was presented at Luminato Festival in Toronto in 2010, and at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London in the same year and at New York City Opera in the USA in 2012.

Cast

Régine Saint Laurent, Prima Donna: FARKASRÉTI Mária

Marie, the maid: Je Ni KIM – singer in the competition role

Philippe: SÓLYOM-NAGY Máté

André La Tourner: ÓDOR Botond

François: RAFFAY Soma

Scenery and costumes: Tihanyi Ildi

Musical collaborators: GYÖKÉR Gabriella, BAJA Mónika

With: Pannon Philharmonic

Conductor: VAJDA Gergely

Director: ALFÖLDI Róbert

ABOUT THE OPERA

Fallujah by Tobin Stokes and Pál Rózsa’s Gina are all about choices, the difficulties of decisions and their potential consequences. Gina tells about love and art, placing the main theme in a circus environment. Fallujah is a war drama about di cult decisions and survival. Two contemporary opera excerpts that have not been presented before, dealing with classical opera themes. The scenes come alive in the interpretation of young artists, the students of Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, the Hungarian Dance Academy and the Hungarian University of Fine Arts.

Cast

Cast: NAGY Zsófia, TÓTH Pál Mátyás, DARGÓ Gergely, FÜRJES Anna, ERDŐS Attila

Dancers: HORVÁTH Attila, KOVÁCS Eszter

Choregrapher: WIDDER Kristóf

Music director: SÁNDOR Szabolcs

Visual design: SZELEI Mónika, BARTOS Letícia, students of the Scenography Department of the Hungarian University of Fine Arts

Director: ALMÁSI-TÓTH András 

ABOUT THE OPERA

The youngsters – the 24-year-old Hans Scholl and Sophie, his sister three years younger than him and their companions, who founded the White Rose movement confronting the Nazi regime, demonstrated incredible courage. They were caught towards the end of 1945 while distributing flyers at the University of Munich, which led to their arrest. They were sentenced to death and executed almost immediately.

Although more than seventy years have passed since then, the message of their story is still valid. The tragic story of the youngsters was by written by Dresden composer, Udo Zimmermann in 1968 as a chamber opera. Since its re-arrangement in 1986, the power of the composition has touched a worldwide audience. The sounding of Zimmermann’s composition written for male and female vocals was definitely influenced by the musical aesthetics of his time. However, its melodic sensitivity and cantability. With the concept of the performance, the director, Anna Drescher won the European Opera-Directing Prize in 2015.

Cast

Sophie Scholl: Marion GRANGE

Hans Scholl: Wolfgang RESCH singer in the competition role

Stage design and costumes: Hudda CHUKRI

Dramaturgy: Maximilian HAGEMEYER, Joëlle JOBIN

With: Sinfonie Orchester Biel Solothurn

Conductor: Kaspar ZEHNDER

Director: Anna DRESCHER

ABOUT THE OPERA

Although Nina is in love with Teodoro, her father, the Colonel singled out Ernesto Rousignac as her future husband.  Sigismondo and his wife, Camilla have pity on the maiden. They decide that by a trick borrowed from Molière, they will be able to fool Ernesto: Sigismondo – disguised as Monsieur Piquet – greets the young man as his old friend. When Ernesto arrives, the door is answered by the maid, who unaware of the events, blurts out the plan. The young lad adds another twist to the situation, saying that Camilla presenting herself as Madame Piquet is actually his old lover with whom he has had fun on more occasions. He is such an impressive actor that a huge jealousy awakens in Sigismondo.

The opera’s original title is Il giovedì grasso, which literally means “Fat Thursday”. The plot full of comedy is set in the kitchen by the director. The indispensable disguises used in Donizetti’s comic operas can be regarded as the starting point for funny situations.

Cast

Colonello: DANI Dávid

Nina: Morgane HEYSE – Singer in the competition role

Teodoro: DOSZPOD Kristóf

Sigismondo: CSEH Antal

Camilla: LACZÁK Boglárka

Stefanina: RÁKAI-HIMMER Veronika

Ernesto Rousignac: KISS Tivadar

Cola: SZÉLPÁL Szilveszter

Stage design and costumes: MOLNÁR Zsuzsa

Prompter: MOLNÁR Tünde

Director’s Assistant: KÜRTÖS Petra

Stage Manager: KÜRTÖS Petra

Music Assistant: FLÓRIÁN Gergely

With: Szeged Symphonic Orchestra

Conductor: GYÜDI Sándor

Director: TORONYKŐY Attila

ABOUT THE OPERA

Operetta, which was written by the famous Polish contemporary writer, Witold Gombrowitz for more than 15 years, is regarded as one of the most remarkable plays by the author.

The play contrasts the trivial, fake world and spiritual emptiness with the pathos of history, its real horrors and pain, the only fragile hope for mankind is seen in denuding oneself. The play represents two prominent social categories: the aristocracy and the lower class. The audience’s attention is mainly drawn towards the aristocracy pressed into the corset of rules and norms, their narrow-mindedness is characterised by their dressing style, their pompous speech and their constantly repeated, bizarre gestures. Master Fior, the tyrant of pretence pops into this artificial and fake world, forcing garments on his dependents, at the same time holding them under his thumb. The reserved Albertine strikes out from the above described crowd. Her pure desire for nudity symbolises freedom and the breakout from the captivity of forms.

Cast

Libretto  based on the drama “Operetta” by Witold Gombrowicz : Michał DOBRZYŃSKI

Albertine: HEITER Melinda – singer in the competition role

Master Fior; Jan Jakub MONOWID

Count Charmant: Tomasz RAK

Baron Firulet: Karol BARTOSIŃSKI

Princess Himalay: Anna RADZIEJEWSKA

The Professor: Artur JANDA

Count Hufnagel : Piotr PIERON

The Priest: Paweł TUCHOLSKI

Lords: Magdalena SMULCZYŃSKA, Ewa PUCHALSKA, Andrzej MARUSIAK

Valets: Jakub Andrzej GRABOWSKI,  Piotr KĘDZIORA, Grzegorz ŻOŁYNIAK, Marek Wawrzyniak ( Ladislaus )

Dancers : Ewa AMPULSKA, Angelika PARADOWSKA, Anna SZYMONIAK, Marek BRATKOWSKI, Michał GÓRAL, Mariusz KARPIŃSKI, Szymon OSIŃSKI (Prince)

Set design: Jerzy RUDZKI

Choreographer: Jarosław STANIEK

Director’s Assistant: Paweł TUCHOLSKI

Music Director: Przemysław FIUGAJSKI

With: Cappella Gedanensis

Conductor: Przemysław FIUGAJSKI

Director: Jerzy LACH

ABOUT THE OPERA

The Storyteller starts talking about a fairytale – how it would feel like to be inside the plot of the never-ending threads of tales. He tells the story of a Sea Daughter who wanted to have darkness in her husband’s kingdom of light. He describes how the cowardly servants, the Four Day Fairies, dropped the Bag of Darkness on their way home and then… the night came!

Klothó – Thread of the Tales written by the young composer and conductor, Martyna Kosecka is a fairy tale, a fable, a myth and a legend all at once – a complexity of genres the majority of which are usually intended for younger generations. In this case they create something else, an extra – a universal story for adults. Klothó, the ancient Greek goddess responsible for spinning the thread of life, is entangled in the web of events that lead to a dramatic, somehow grotesque end.

Cast

Reó –  Ingrid HALLER

Athuö –  Ivana SRBLJAN

Élles –  Karol BARTOSINSKI

Vári –  Marko FORTUNATO

Shá – Nicolas RIGAS – singer in the competition role

Klotho: : Dina Dehni SOW

Narrato: Dario BERCICH

Stage design and costumes: Julia KOSEK

Visual design: Bartłomiej SZLACHCIC

With: Ivan Noble Zajc Opera Orchestra of the Croatian National Theatre

Choreographer: Dina Dehni Sow

Conductor: Berislav ŠIPUŠ

Director: Krzysztof CICHENSKI

In collaboration with: Music Biennale Zagreb

Get acquainted with the 10-year success story of Armel Opera Festival.

At the Jubilee Gala Evening the audience will get a cross-section of the past ten years of Armel Opera Festival based on Róbert Alföldi Director’s personal experience.

With the participation of the Pannon Philharmonic, the orchestra that has collaborated with Armel Opera Festival since the beginnings. During the evening the winning participants of Armel Opera Festival’s productions from Hungary, the award- winners of the Opera Competition organised by the Opéra Grand Avignon from France will appear on stage along with Benjámin Beéri, the singer who got into the finals at the 2017 Virtuózok Talent Show. At the Jubilee Gala Evening the Awards for Best Production and Best Performer of the 10th
Armel Opera Festival and the ARTE Audience Award will be presented.
Armel Opera Festival has been invited to France on the occasion of the 10th anniversary. The Gala Evening will be held at the Opéra Grand Avignon on 3 February 2018.

Cast

Moderator: ALFÖLDI Róbert

With : Pannon Filharmonikusok

Conductor : VAJDA Gergely

Director : SZABÓ Máté

Participants including but not limited to:

Déborah SALAZAR, Julie ROSET, Lisa CHAIB-AURIOL, HAJA Zsolt, KRISTÓF Réka, BEÉRI Benjámin, SAPSZON Orsolya, KÁLMÁN Tamás, JŐRÖS Andrea, JUHÁSZ Levente

In the programme along with the popular arias of operas by Mozart, Donizetti, Massenet, Delibes and Salazar, the Hungarian version of Armel Opera Festival’s official song will also be presented by Andrea Jőrös and Levente Juhász, winners of the main prize of the Song Competition and by Orsolya Sapszon and Tamás Kálmán, winners of the Audience Award.