Best of Kodály / Hungarian Christmas

The director’s thoughts

Our production unfolds on two levels, not only in terms of the music and the composers, but also in terms of the storyline. The present day appears alongside an evocation of Jenő Ádám and his era – namely, a Christmas Eve in 1931 in a small Transylvanian village, where the family is preparing for dinner and awaiting the arrival of the Nativity players and carollers. What emerges is a work that is rich even from an ethnographic perspective, almost a documentary-style opera, from which one can learn many interesting things about customs and objects that are no longer familiar today. We wanted the piece – originally consisting mainly of genre scenes – to become more exciting for children also from a narrative point of view. Therefore, dramaturg Brigitta Szokolai wrote a story for it, in which a group sneaks into the Opera House and becomes acquainted with its magical world, where, when a chest found by chance is opened, the music begins to sound… And it is even revealed who the twin pair born in 1931 really are. For me, it was important to create a genuine, intimate, Christmas-like atmosphere for children, produced with children. Apart from the three adult roles (Grandfather, Farmer, Farmer’s Wife), all roles are performed by members of the children’s chorus, and working together with them, their dedication, concentration, and curiosity, is truly a great experience.

Attila Toronykőy

On the musical adaptation

From Jenő Ádám’s music it is immediately apparent that he was a contemporary of Zoltán Kodály and Béla Bartók. Many familiar harmonic turns can be discovered in his music, while one can also notice effects known today from Hollywood, as well as modern yet fairy-tale-like sounds that were ahead of their time. These, of course, originally became known mainly through Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, and the Tchaikovsky ballets, and only later became “Hollywood-esque.” Ádám’s music is eclectic yet coherent; it radiates Hungarian influences and playfulness. An important part of this exciting work was the reconstruction and digitization of Jenő Ádám’s manuscript itself, which no one had dealt with since its creation and performance in 1931. This was followed by a more substantial orchestration process: we adapted Ádám Jenő’s piece to the smaller orchestral setup devised by Miklós Kocsár, in order to maintain proportional balance. Since certain sections of Ádám’s work were cut, the remaining parts had to be connected with musical transitions. In the case of Miklós Kocsár’s Christmas song cycle for children’s choir, the orchestration likewise had to be adjusted to achieve greater unity with Ádám Jenő’s music. Thus, for example, instead of one trumpet there are two, and oboe, piano, harp, glockenspiel, celesta, and xylophone were added.

Márton Andorka