The Liszt Prize-winning conductor and Artist of Merit learned of the unexpected announcement during the curtain call of the ballet Manon on 29 March. For the first time in the institution's history, he will hold the title of Kammermusiker of the Hungarian State Opera in the upcoming season. The swan-shaped award, crafted by the Herend Porcelain Manufactory, was presented by general director Dr. Szilveszter Ókovács, accompanied by the recognition of both the artists and the audience.
During the ongoing season, Gergely Kesselyák conducted both the operatic and ballet adaptations of Abbé Antoine François Prévost’s famous novel, Manon Lescaut, at the Hungarian State Opera. Among these, he conducted Puccini’s work for the first time in his nearly 30-year career. The renowned conductor will return to the podium this summer for a series of performances of Un ballo in maschera.
He earned his conducting diploma in 1995 under the tutelage of Ervin Lukács at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music. Since 1994, he has been a guest conductor at the Hungarian State Opera, where he has led more than 700 performances. He has held various positions there, including conductor since 2001, general music director in 2006, and principal conductor from 2016 to 2023. The opera house staged his productions of Don Giovanni in 2003 and Nabucco in 2015, the latter of which remains in the repertoire.
Alongside his work at the Opera House, he became the founding music director of the Miskolc National Theatre’s opera division in 1997 and the Miskolc Bartók Plus Opera Festival in 2001. From 2005 to 2012, he served as artistic director of the Szeged Open-Air Festival, and between 2011 and 2019, he was director of the Miskolc International Opera Festival. Since 2023, he has been a department head at the University of Theatre and Film Arts, and since 2024, the principal conductor of the Pannon Philharmonic. Since 1993, Kesselyák has regularly conducted Hungary’s leading symphonic ensembles and has led more than a hundred productions in various musical theatres across Budapest and the countryside, as well as at the Hungarian Opera of Cluj. He has also performed in over a dozen countries across Europe, Asia, and South America. In addition to conducting, he is also active as a composer and director.
With the Kammermusiker award, modeled after the Kammersänger title known from German opera houses, the management of the OPERA wishes to express its appreciation for its outstanding active soloists, appreciating their talent and stage performance. From this year onward, the Kammermusiker title - equivalent to the Kammersänger(in) title, which includes enhanced remuneration for the given season - can also be awarded to artists responsible for musical direction. Gergely Kesselyák received this prestigious recognition less than a week after István Horváth was honoured.
Photo by Valter Berecz
