The internationally renowned opera singer-couple will appear in the roles of Leonora and Manrico in a concert performance of one of Verdi's most popular operas on 2 February 2024, at the Locomotive Hall of the Eiffel Art Studios. Further cast includes Mihály Kálmándy and Ildikó Komlósi, both acclaimed soloists of the Hungarian State Opera, the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by Denis Vlasenko. Tickets are on sale from 26 October 2023.
Count Luna is the rival of troubadour-military officer Manrico both in love and war. While Manrico's love is requited by Leonora, it is Luna who is successful on the battlefield. However, the fate of the two men is dramatically influenced by the mysterious Azucena... Verdi's opera has enjoyed unbroken popularity since its premiere in 1853, and now the legendary characters are brought to life in the interpretation of the most famous opera singer-couple of our time, Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov joining the soloists and ensembles of the Hungarian State Opera.
Anna Netrebko made her debut as Leonora at the Berliner Staatsoper in 2013 alongside Gaston Rivero (Manrico) and Plácido Domingo (Count Luna) under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. She later reprised the role at the Salzburg Festival and the Metropolitan Opera, partnering Dmitri Hvorostovsky as Luna at the latter. Yusif Eyvazov made his debut as Manrico at the Paris Opera in 2016, where he and Netrebko sang in Il trovatore together for the first time. In 2019, they gave a memorable performance at the Arena di Verona in Zefirelli's famous production, and most recently, in a semi-staged performance at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires.
Beside the two guest stars, two internationally recognized and popular, Kossuth Award recipient singers are to appear, both Chamber Singers of the Hungarian State Opera. Mihály Kálmándy, one of the OPERA's leading baritone has played Count Luna dozens of times since 1992, and has also performed it in Athens, Beijing, Prague, Bratislava, Poznań, Warsaw, as well as at prestigious German, Austrian, Italian and French festivals. Azucena is performed by Ildikó Komlósi, a celebrated singer at the New York Metropolitan, La Scala in Milan, Arena di Verona, and the Vienna State Opera. She made her debut as the gypsy woman at the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg in 2014. The conductor of the concert performance is Denis Vlasenko, the most sought-after Russian conductor of his generation, a popular figure in Europe and Asia, has worked with such international stars as the Netrebko-Eyvazov couple, Vadim Repin, Denis Matsuev, Aida Garifullina, Ildar Abdrazakov, Dmitriy Korchak, Erwin Schrott, and Vittorio Grigolo.
The special location of the evening is the multi-functional Locomotive Hall of the Eiffel Art Studios, which can accommodate an audience of 1000 with its mobile auditorium. The venue with excellent acoustic properties has already seen Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand, as well as Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and a semi-stage performance of Fidelio. Later this year, it is to be the venue of a grandiose concert dedicated to Zoltán Kodály entitled Psalmus100.
Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov's collaboration with the Hungarian State Opera goes back more than half a decade. In August 2017, the OPERA Orchestra accompanied the couple's televised gala at Berlin's Waldbühne, in December they performed in the concert version of Andrea Chénier at the Erkel Theatre. In 2021, Netrebko and Eyvazov visited Budapest again as guest stars at Müpa, where the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Children's Chorus participated in the concert performance of Tosca. In September 2022, the Russian soprano gave a recital at the Opera House, and this July, the OPERA Orchestra accompanied them once again at VeszprémFest.
Photo by Valter Berecz
