In the 22 November 2020 stream of Masquerade, soloists Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser and István Kovács appeared in a joint aria recital on the Sándor Hevesi Stage of the Eiffel Art Studios. The performance could be viewed from 8:00 p.m. on Facebook and Origo.hu.
In future episodes of the Masquerade series, viewers can get acquainted not only with the Chamber Singers or Kossuth Prize recipient singers of the Hungarian State Opera, but other leading soloists. Some of them are due to appear in joint recitals, such as Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser and István Kovács, both of whom appear frequently in oratorios as well as operas, and it was not the first time for them to be together on stage. According to the traditions of the series, there was a surprise guest as well, Zoltán Daragó, a young countertenor talent.
Soprano Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser is a winner of several singing competitions, she was named Voice of the Year by the Hungarian State Opera and Deutsche Telekom in 1999. She is a regular soloist of operas, grand operettas and concerts, her repertoire ranges from pieces by Mozart to contemporary composers. Her achievements were recognised with the Silver Cross of Merit in 2020. Bass István Kovács studied first in Pécs (Hungary), then in Zurich and Venice, and he is also the winner of several international competitions. Hungarian audiences can often see him at the Opera, but he has made a name on international stages, too. Apart from several halls in Europe, he has sung his iconic role of Bluebeard in Japan as well. He was awarded the Ferenc Liszt Award in 2004, the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Hungary in 2019.
Artistic director of the performance: Erika Tóth
Host: Szilveszter Ókovács
Featuring on the piano: Sámuel Csaba Tóth
Programme:
Verdi: Attila – Attila's aria from Act 1 ("Mentre gonfiarsi l’anima") – István Kovács
Puccini: La bohème – Musetta's waltz from Act 2 ("Quando me n’vo") – Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser
Wagner: Das Rheingold – Wotan's monologue ("Abendlich strahlt der Sonne Auge") – István Kovács
Erkel: Hunyadi László – Szilágyi Erzsébet's "La Grange" aria from Act 2 ("Nagy ég, remegek") – Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser
Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice – Orfeo's aria from Act 3 ("Che faro senza Euridice") – Zoltán Daragó
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 8, "Pathétique" (op. 13) – Second movement – Sámuel Csaba Tóth
Verdi: Don Carlo – King Philip's aria from Act 3 ("Ella giammai m’am") – István Kovács
Gounod: Roméo et Juliette – Juliette's poison aria from Act 4 ("Dieu, quel frisson") – Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – Susanna and the Count's duet from Act 3 ("De mondd, szerelmes szómnak") – Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser, István Kovács
The performance can be viewed HERE.
Photo by Valter Berecz