On 15 November 2020, Kossuth Award recipient Chamber Singer Klára Kolonits evoked her favourite coloratura and bel canto roles at the Sándor Hevesi Stage of the Eiffel Art Studios. The aria recital was streamed from 8:00 p.m., on Facebook and Origo.hu.
Klára Kolonits has enchanted her Hungarian audience for almost two decades in roles of heroines by Mozart, Meyerbeer, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Offenbach and Erkel. She has also made a name in several countries of Europe, where she has performed her most iconic roles such as the Queen of the Night, Luisa Miller or Violetta Valéry. Beside operas, she can frequently be heard at song recitals and concerts, her repertoire includes pieces from baroque to contemporary works. She is a winner of several international singing competitions, her achievements were recognised with the Ferenc Liszt Award in 2010, the Kossuth Award in 2020, and the Hungarian State Opera named her Chamber Singer twice: in the 2013/14 and the 2018/19 seasons. For her recital, she chose arias by Erkel, Verdi and Bellini. With her guest, Chamber Singer Gabriella Balga she had already appeared in the Masquerade series, now they were on stage again together with another excerpt from Norma. The surprise guest was Nihn Duc Hoang Long, a young tenor preparing with a French masterpiece.
Artistic director of the performance: Mária Harangi
Host: Szilveszter Ókovács
Featuring on the piano: Kálmán Szennai
Programme:
Erkel: King Stephen – Crescimira's aria from Act 3 ("Álmodtam egy édes éjszakán")
Verdi: I lombardi – Giselda's prayer from Act 1 ("Te Vergin santa, invoco... Salve Maria")
Verdi: I lombardi – Giselda's aria from Act 4 ("Qual prodigio… Non fu sogno")
Verdi: La forza del destino – Leonora's aria from Act 4 ("Pace, pace mio Dio") – performed by Gabriella Balga
Bellini: Norma – Norma and Adalgisa's duet from Act 2 ("Mira, o Norma”) – featuring Gabriella Balga
Chopin: Nocturne in C-sharp minor (Op. posth.) – performed by Kálmán Szennai
Erkel: Hunyadi László – Erzsébet Szilágyi's ('La Grange") aria from Act 2 ("Nagy ég, remegek!")
Gounod: Roméo et Juliette – Roméo's cavatina from Act 2 ("Ah! Lève-toi soleil") – performed by Nihn Duc Hoang Long
Verdi: La traviata – Violetta's aria from Act 1 ("È strano, è strano... Sempre libera")
The performance can be viewed HERE.
Photo by Attila Nagy