On 12 December 2020, the joint aria recital given by two internationally renowned singers, Andrea Szántó and Szabolcs Brickner was streamed from the Sándor Hevesi Stage of the Eiffel Art Studios from 8:00 p.m. on Facebook and Origo.hu.
Andrea Szántó launched her musical studies at the Gyula Music School, later becoming a student at the Szeged Conservatory. She earned her diploma from the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy in Budapest in the course headed by Éva Andor. She was still a student at the academy when she shared first prize, and won Hungarian Radio and Television's special prize, at the First International Baroque Singing Competition. After completing her studies, she signed with the Hungarian State Opera. A former member of Theater-Bielefeld, she would go on to become a soloist at the National Theatre Mannheim. With a repertoire embracing more than 50 operatic roles and also as a concert singer, she has performed at the Bregenz Festival and the Schwerin Castle Festival, as well as in such cities as Vienna, Graz, Hannover, Frankfurt, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Zagreb, Toulouse, Nagoya, Sapporo and Tokyo.
Szabolcs Brickner first obtained a degree in clarinet at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music before going on to earn another diploma in voice there. He then continued his studies in the master's programme at Augsburg's Hochschule für Musik, graduating with the highest honours achievable in Germany. He further developed his vocal skills alongside Nicolai Gedda, Renata Scotto, Robert Holl, Júlia Hamari, Brigitte Fassbaender. The winner of both the Mihaly Székely and József Simándy national singing competitions, he also took second place at the Ferruccio Tagliavini International Singing Competition and, in 2008, first prize at the Queen Elisabeth International Singing Competition. He has been appearing on stage of the Hungarian State Opera since 2007, and he has sung us a guest soloist at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Oper Frankfurt and Nationaltheater Weimar.
For their programme, they have chosen three arias each from 19th century French, Russian and Italian operas, and they are to sing a duet from Carmen as well.
Artistic director of the performance: Sylvie Gábor
Host: Melitta Gyüdi
Featuring on the piano: Pálma Hidegkuti
Programme:
Bizet: Carmen – Don José's Flower song from Act 2 ("La fleur que tu m’avais jetée") – Szabolcs Brickner
Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila – Dalila's aria from Act 2 ("Amour! Viens aider ma faiblesse!") – Andrea Szántó
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin – Lensky's aria from Act 2 ("Kuda, kuda vï udalilis”) – Szabolcs Brickner
Gounod: Sapho – Sapho's aria from Act 3 („Ô ma lyre immortelle”) – Andrea Szántó
Verdi: Luisa Miller – Rodolfo's aria from Act 2 ("Quando le sere al placido") – Szabolcs Brickner
Bizet: Carmen – Carmen's Seguidilla from Act 1 ("Près des remparts de Séville") – Szántó Andrea
Bizet: Carmen – Don José and Carmen's duet from Act 4 ("C'est toi?... C'est moi") – Andrea Szántó and Szabolcs Brickner
The performance can be viewed HERE.
Photo by Valter Berecz