In a spectacular production featuring an international and Hungarian cast, Wagner’s Lohengrin is presented by the Hungarian State Opera on 15 November 2025, directed by András Almási-Tóth and conducted by Martin Rajna. The large-scale production, involving more than 250 participants, stars Christopher Sokolowski and Szabolcs Brickner, Johanni van Oostrum and Klára Kolonits, as well as Judit Kutasi and Szilvia Rálik, and features the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, Chorus, and Children’s Chorus.
Does a personal secret strengthen or poison love? Can a relationship be truly happy if we do not fully know the other person? Wagner’s Lohengrin seeks answers to these questions as well, telling the story of the mysterious Knight of the Swan, who arrives to save Elsa, accused of murder, and marries her on the condition that she never ask about his true identity. However, Elsa, partly due to the machinations of the demonic Ortrud, asks the forbidden question on their wedding day.
According to director András Almási-Tóth, Lohengrin’s tragedy lies in the fact that, as a representative of superhuman ideals, he imposes expectations on human relationships that make his existence impossible in reality. “Lohengrin depicts a male-dominated world in which Elsa must conform to a male fantasy of unconditional devotion. Wagner’s genius lies in his multifaceted exploration of this question: there is no clear good or evil, each character is both right and wrong at the same time,” the director explains.
Although the plot is originally set in a chivalric environment in 10th-century Antwerp, it is, in essence, a thoroughly 19th-century romantic story. The creators of the new productions have therefore transposed the setting to Wagner’s own era, into a steampunk world, one akin to the visionary, futuristic past imagined by Jules Verne, H. G. Wells, and Mary Shelley. The striking sets and lighting are designed by the director’s longtime creative partners Sebastian Hannak, with costumes by Krisztina Lisztopád, projections by Zsombor Czeglédi, and choreography by Eszter Lázár.
Lohengrin is presented with both international and Hungarian casts, featuring outstanding soloists. In the premiere, the title role is sung by young American tenor Christopher Sokolowski, who has already achieved great success performing the role in Bremen. Elsa is portrayed by South African soprano Johanni van Oostrum, and King Heinrich by Australian bass-baritone Derek Welton, both frequent Wagner performers at Europe’s leading opera houses, now making their debuts at the Hungarian State Opera. Judit Kutasi takes the role of Ortrud; the young Romanian-Hungarian mezzo-soprano debuted in this role two years ago at the San Francisco Opera, while her husband, Telramund, is portrayed by Latvian bass-baritone Egils Siliņš, returning to the Budapest Opera after performing in Siegfried in 2017.
The Hungarian cast features some of the finest and internationally acclaimed artists of their generation: Szabolcs Brickner (Lohengrin), Klára Kolonits (Elsa), and Károly Szemerédy (Telramund) all make their debuts in their roles, while Szilvia Rálik previously sang Ortrud at the Dortmund Theatre, and Péter Fried, recipient of the 2025 Kossuth Prize, has performed King Heinrich at both the Erkel Theatre and Müpa Budapest. Musical direction is by Martin Rajna, principal conductor of the Hungarian State Opera, who will also serve as co-artistic director of the Budapest Wagner Days starting in 2026. This grand production features over 100 musicians from the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, more than 120 members of the Chorus (chorus director: Gábor Csiki), and 30 members of the Children’s Chorus (chorus director: Nikolett Hajzer).
Following its premiere on 15 November 2025, Lohengrin is performed three more times during the season: 16, 18, and 20 November at the Hungarian State Opera.
In Hungary, the opera was first performed in 1866 at the National Theatre in Pest, where it was staged 77 times. Its popularity was such that the first act was performed at the opening of the Hungarian Royal Opera House in 1884, and Lohengrin was also the first music drama presented there in its entirety. Since then, it has remained one of the most frequently performed Wagner operas in the history of the Hungarian State Opera with a total of 512 performances to date.
