On 17 January 2021, soprano Beatrix Fodor and baritone Károly Szemerédy presented their favourite arias by Mozart and Puccini as well as excerpts from operas heard less frequently. Their recital was streamed from 8:00 p.m. on Facebook and Origo.hu.
Beatrix Fodor studied singing in Koblenz and Budapest. She graduated from Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music as a student of Júlia Pászthy in 2000, and she continued her postgraduate studies in Graz and Vienna. She was still an undergraduate when she first appeared at the Hungarian State Opera as Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto. She has been a regular soloist at the Opera since 2006, where her repertoire includes operas by Mozart, Erkel, Wagner and R. Strauss. She also regularly participates in concerts and oratorios. She is a winner of severeal international singing competitions, and has appeared on stages in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States.
Károly Szemerédy began his career as a member of the Hungarian State Opera Children's Chorus at the age of 11. He started his singing studies at the institute as a student of Margit László and continued them at the Escuela Superior de Canto de Madrid. He made his 2007 debut at Madrid's Teatro Real at a relatively young age, as Levitsky in Boris Godunov. He also appeared om stages in Warsaw, Venice and Turin. One highlight for him was his smashing success in the title role of Guillaume Tell at Peru's international opera festival, where he partnered with Juan Diego Flórez. In 2008, he was named Singer of the Year in Hungary. He made his debut at the Hungarian State Opera in 2014, in Blood Wedding, an opera by Sándor Szokolay. Later he sang in operas by Bizet, Erkel, Puccini and R. Strauss, as well as in The Queen of Sheba by Goldmark, in which he achieved critical acclaim both in Hungary and Tel Aviv.
Artistic directors of the performance: Andrea Kováts és Andrea Valkai
Hosted by Melitta Gyüdi
Pianist: Balázs Kálvin
Programme:
Rossini: Guillaume Tell – Mathilde's aria from Act 2 („Ils s'éloignent enfin... Sombre foret”) – Beatrix Fodor
Rossini: Guillaume Tell – Guillaume's aria from Act 3 ("Sois immobile et vers la terre") – Károly Szemerédy
Smetana: Prodaná nevěsta (The Bartered Bride) – Mařenka's aria from Act 3 ("Ach jaky zal... Ten lasky sen") – Beatrix Fodor
Dvořák: Rusalka – Vodnik's aria from Act 2 ("Celý svět nedá ti, nedá") – Károly Szemerédy
Schubert: Moments Musicaux No. 2 (Andantino) – Balázs Kálvin
Erkel: Névtelen hősök (Nameless Heroes) – Ilonka's aria ("Ki mondja meg, hol lehetsz angyalom") – Beatrix Fodor
Puccini: Il tabarro – Michele's aria ("Nulla! Silenzio!") – Károly Szemerédy
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – Susanna and the Count's duet from Act 3 ("Crudel, perché finora") – Beatrix Fodor and Károly Szemerédy
The performance can be viewed HERE.
Photo by Péter Rákossy