Hungarian Conservative

From 19 May to 11 September, theatrical performances, concerts, dance shows, opera galas, classical ballets, and operas will await audiences at the Margaret Island Open-Air Stage, as stated by Managing Director and Artistic Director of the theatre Teodóra Bán.

Péter Eötvös, one of the most renowned composers of Hungary and also a music teacher and conductor, passed away last Sunday, on 24 March at the age of 80. During his career, he conducted Europe‘s leading orchestras, including the Berlin, Munich, London, Los Angeles, and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras as well as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

‘If you are a Hungarian, then I think you have a duty to conserve Hungarian culture. And there is certain music that is native to Hungary. If you’re an Austrian, or a German, then really the most important people in your musical culture are Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, these names.’

The international celebrity last visited Hungary in 2010 when she directed her first film, In the Land of Blood and Honey. After 13 years, she is returning to Budapest to shoot a film about the world-renowned opera singer Maria Callas.

The director of the Hungarian State Opera House, Szilveszter Ókovács, published a scathing response to the depiction by the Regensburg Theatre of a soon-to-premiere Péter Eötvös opera as a ‘bitter parable of the Orbán regime’.

The music and operas of Ferenc Erkel greatly contributed to the birth of Hungarian theatre and opera as well as to the emergence of patriotic Hungarian music.