On 21 November 2020, pieces by the Italian masters of comic operas were presented by Péter Kálmán, renowned soloist of the Hungarian State Opera and international stages. His aria recital was streamed from the Sándor Hevesi Stage of the Eiffel Art Studios from 8:00 p.m. on Facebook and Origo.hu.
Following his studies in Hungary and the USA, Budapest-born bass-baritone Péter Kálmán earned the opportunity to sing the role of Papageno at the Opera House in 1993, after winning the First International Mozart Singing Competition. The following decade saw him at the Zurich International Opera Studio, then the Zurich Opera House. He is a regular soloist at the Budapest Opera and a recurring guest at Salzburg, Vienna, Paris, Geneva and several further European opera stages. His wide repertoire includes works by Strauss and Wagner as well as Italian buffo bass roles. He dedicated his aria recital mostly to the latter, but for one excerpt, he showed the dark side of his art in the role of a villain by Verdi. One of his guests was Junior Prima Award recipient soprano Zita Szemere with her iconic roles by Donizetti, the surprise guest was Anna Fürjes, a mezzo-soprano with a revenge aria from the French opera repertoire.
Artistic director of the performance: Mária Anna Kovács
Host: Melitta Gyüdi
Featuring on the piano: Anikó Katona
Programme:
Rossini: La cenerentola – Don Magnifico's aria from Act 2 ("Sia qualunque delle figlie")
Donizetti: Don Pasquale – Don Pasquale's aria from Act 1 ("Ah! un foco insolito")
Donizetti: Don Pasquale – Norina's aria from Act 1 („"Quel guardo il cavaliere") – performed by Zita Szemere
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia – Bartolo's aria from Act 1 ("Non piú, tacete!... A un dottor della mia sorte")
Verdi: Otello – Iago's Credo from Act 2 ("Vanne!…Credo in un Dio crudel")
Saint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila – Delila's aria from Act 2 ("Amour! Viens aider ma faiblesse") – performed by Anna Fürjes
Verdi: Falstaff – Falstaff's monologue from Act 1 ("L’onore! Ladri! Via di qua!")
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore – Adina and Dulcamara's duet from Act 2 ("Quanto amore! ed io spietata!") – featuring Zita Szemere
The performance can be viewed HERE.
Photo by Péter Rákossy