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© Nagy Attila
Hungarian Christmas
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December 2025 | ||||||
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Hungarian Christmas – MVM Piccolo Programme | Classical Singspiel
Based on Ádám Jenő's work by the same title
Running time: 1 hour 10 minutes, without intervals
Language: Hungarian
Jenő Ádám, a student of Kodály’s and perhaps his greatest contemporary admirer, was also the one who structured and developed his pedagogical method: his Christmas one-act was the first work at the Opera House, which placed the pure Hungarian folk song on the same stage as the works of the great figures of classical music history. On Christmas 1931, Hungarian Christmas premiered with the theatre's greatest singers, conducted by the composer. The OPERA attempts to revive the essence of the singspiel and by joining it with the Christmas carol collection Oh, Beautiful, Mysterious Night by Miklós Kocsár to create an Advent performance that draws from the past of both Hungary and the Opera House itself, with the participation of the Children’s Chorus. The production directed by Attila Toronykőy, an expert in staging youth performances, evokes the characters of folk traditions referring to Biblical figures from the family to the angel, the shepherds, and the soldier.
Age restriction: The performance is not recommended for children under 6 years of age.
Program and cast
Conductor: Nikolett Hajzer
Grandpa - András Palerdi
The farmer - Csaba Szegedi
The farmer’s wife - Anna Csenge Fürjes
Zsófi - Veronika Szabó
Julis - Anna Zsófia Forrai
Vencel - Andor Kriston
Sára - Lorina Jobbágy
Lieutenant minstrel - András Deim
Little shepherd - Dániel Tanka
Star - Kíra Gálbory
Old shepherd lad - Fülöp Gergely Takács
Minstrel - Botond Takács
Drunk shepard / Jokey minstrel - Szilárd Sebestyén
Mária - Ágnes Balogh
Angels - Zsófia Bede, Panna Csányi, Boróka Emese Kovács, Natália Tanka, Brigitta Turi, Johanna Turi
Jenő Ádám (from recording) - N. N.
Band - Richárd Bede, Hanna Czepek, Márton Dávida, Elmira Jobbágy, Márton Osztovits, Botond Tompa
Featuring the Hungarian State Opera Orhcestra, Children's Chorus and the students of the Hungarian National Ballet Institute
Costume designer: Katalin Juhász
Animation designer: Zsombor Czeglédi
Assistant director: Beáta Breinich
Speech trainer: Hella Szabó
Head of the children's chorus: Nikolett Hajzer
Hungarian State Opera
STANDING ROOM TICKETS - INFORMATION IN CASE OF A FULL HOUSE!
If all the seats are sold out for the selected time, but you still want to see the production on that day, 84 of the extremely affordable standing seats will be sold at the theatre, 2 hours before the start of the performance, with which you can visit the gallery on the 3rd floor. Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office of the Budapest Opera House. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that the stage can only be seen to a limited extent from the standing places and the side seats, but at the same time, following the performance is also supported by television broadcasting on the spot.
The Opera House is not only one of the most significant art relic of Budapest, but the symbol of the Hungarian operatic tradition of more than three hundred years as well. The long-awaited moment in Hungarian opera life arrived on September 27, 1884, when, in the presence of Franz Joseph I. the Opera House was opened amid great pomp and ceremony. The event, however, erupted into a small scandal - the curious crowd broke into the entrance hall and overran the security guards in order to catch a glimpse of the splendid Palace on Sugar út. Designed by Mikós Ybl, a major figure of 19th century Hungarian architecture, the construction lived up to the highest expectations. Ornamentation included paintings and sculptures by leading figures of Hungarian art of the time: Károly Lotz, Bertalan Székely, Mór Than and Alajos Stróbl. The great bronze chandelier from Mainz and the stage machinery moda by the Asphaleia company of Vienna were both considered as cutting-edge technology at that time.
Many important artists were guests here including Gustav Mahler, the composer who was director in Budapest from 1887 to 1891. He founded the international prestige of the institution, performing Wagner operas as well as Magcagni’ Cavalleria Rusticana. The Hungarian State Opera has always maintained high professional standards, inviting international stars like Renée Fleming, Cecilia Bartoli, Monserrat Caballé, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, José Cura, Thomas Hampson and Juan Diego Flórez to perform on its stage. The Hungarian cast include outstanding and renowed artists like Éva Marton, Ilona Tokody, Andrea Rost, Dénes Gulyás, Attila Fekete and Gábor Bretz.
© Nagy Attila
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