István Kovács began his studies at the Ferenc Liszt Music School in his home town of Pécs, and then continued them in Zürich with László Polgár and in Venice with Sherman Lowe. Between 1997 and 1999, he won first prize at the Schubert and the Music of the 20th Century Festival held in Graz, the prize for best singer in the oratorio category at the Francesco Vinas International Singing Competition in Barcelona, the special sponsor's prize at the ARD Competition in Munich, and third prize at the Mozart Competition in Salzburg. Since the 1999/2000 season, he has sung, among others, the roles of Ali (L’italiana in Algeri) and Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor) at the Teatro Regio in Turin and Don Giovanni, Sparafucile (Rigoletto) and Nanni (Haydn's L'infedeltá delusa) at the Hungarian State Opera, as well as those of Publio (La clemenza di Tito) in Strasburg, Angelotti (Tosca) in Frankfurt and Timur (Turandot) at Berlin's Staatsoper under den Linden. He has also made a name for himself as a concert singer, performing works by Mozart, Handel, Bartók, Haydn and Bach. In 2004, Hungarian Television recorded his portrayal of the title character in Béla Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle, a role he has also sung in Palermo, Bologna, Tokyo, Stavanger, Budapest and Toulouse, and more recently in Nice, Dortmund and Osaka. In 2013 he sang, to great acclaim, the role of Don Silva (in Verdi's Ernani) with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. The 2014/15 season saw him singing the King of Egypt (Aida), Sarastro (The Magic Flute) and Walter (Luisa Miller) back in Budapest, where he also performed in Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah.
In 2019, in recognition of her outstanding achievements, he was decorated with the Knight's Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit (civilian division). He received the Gusztáv Oláh Commemorative Plaque in 2022 and he was awarded the Chamber Singer of the Hungarian State Opera in 2023.
István Kovács
Performances
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September 9. 19:00
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (THE MAGIC FLUTE)
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September 15. 19:00
DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (THE MAGIC FLUTE)
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December 9. 19:00
ARTABAN
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December 11. 19:00
DER MESSIAS (MESSIAH) – concert
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December 16. 19:00
ARTABAN
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December 17. 17:00
ARTABAN
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December 18. 19:00
DER MESSIAS (MESSIAH) – concert
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December 21. 16:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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December 23. 11:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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December 27. 17:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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December 28. 19:00
ARTABAN
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December 29. 16:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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January 2. 16:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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February 15. 17:00
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
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February 17. 18:00
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
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February 21. 18:00
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
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February 28. 18:00
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
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March 3. 18:00
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
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March 5. 18:00
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
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March 10. 11:00
THE QUEEN OF SPADES
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March 24. 19:00
ST MATTHEW PASSION
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March 28. 19:00
ST MATTHEW PASSION
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May 21. 10:30
ВОЙНА И МИР (WAR AND PEACE)
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May 25. 18:00
ВОЙНА И МИР (WAR AND PEACE)
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May 28. 18:00
ВОЙНА И МИР (WAR AND PEACE)
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May 31. 18:00
ВОЙНА И МИР (WAR AND PEACE)
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June 2. 11:00
ВОЙНА И МИР (WAR AND PEACE)
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June 5. 18:00
ВОЙНА И МИР (WAR AND PEACE)
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June 7. 18:00
ВОЙНА И МИР (WAR AND PEACE)
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June 14. 20:00
PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE
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June 16. 11:00
PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE
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June 22. 19:00
PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE
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June 23. 15:00
PELLÉAS ET MÉLISANDE
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September 22. 19:30
NIXON IN CHINA
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September 29. 19:30
NIXON IN CHINA
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October 1. 19:00
SYMPHONY NO. 8
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October 5. 19:30
NIXON IN CHINA
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December 22. 11:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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December 24. 11:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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December 26. 11:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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December 28. 11:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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December 29. 11:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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January 4. 11:00
PARÁZSFUVOLÁCSKA – The Magic Flute for Children
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January 25. 19:00
THE GOLD AND THE WOMAN / THE TÓT FAMILY
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February 1. 11:00
THE GOLD AND THE WOMAN / THE TÓT FAMILY
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April 13. 19:00
ST MATTHEW PASSION
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April 17. 19:00
ST MATTHEW PASSION
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April 19. 19:00
ST MATTHEW PASSION
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May 8. 18:00
MARIA STUARDA
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May 10. 18:00
MARIA STUARDA
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May 14. 18:00
MARIA STUARDA
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May 16. 18:00
MARIA STUARDA
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May 18. 11:00
MARIA STUARDA
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May 23. 18:00
MARIA STUARDA
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May 25. 11:00
MARIA STUARDA
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May 31. 18:00
MARIA STUARDA