In spring 2020, the OPERA was inspired by the visit of the late Mariann Vízkelety and Zoltán Lomnici. The programme series Saint Stephen 2025 was launched, aiming to maintain the vivid memory of the saint king founding Hungary over five themed years. The OPERA joined the project with its own initiatives: in 2020, a grandiose symphonic opera version of Stephen, the King premiered whereas Beethoven’s incidental music König Stephan was staged in autumn 2021. In 2022, the symphonic rock opera was revived at the Opera House as well, and a year later, a “junior” version was presented to young audiences. In 2024, the workshops produced two replicas of the coronation mantle (one for the Parliament, the other one for the Eiffel Art Studios), and finally, the OPERA is to record the last opera of Ferenc Erkel, titled King Stephen in the 2025/26 season. The coronation mantles are expected to be made in 2025, and their ceremonial handover is expected on 1 January 2026, the 1025th anniversary of Hungarian statehood, as part of the evening gala concert.