Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II and Bánk Bán (The Viceroy Bánk) by Ferenc Erkel are presented by the Hungarian State Opera in Mumbai between 12 and 16 October 2022, at the invitation of the National Centre for the Performing Arts.
For the first time in its history, the Hungarian State Opera is visiting India's largest and richest city, Mumbai, with a population of 12.5 million. The OPERA can now fulfill the invitation by the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA), a leading cultural institution, after the guest performances had to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The invitation by the NCPA gives the Hungarian State Opera an opportunity to provide an insight into the rich 19th-century musical theatre tradition of the Central European region. Thus, the grand operetta, Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II caricaturing the piquant intricacies of the bourgeois existence of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy has been chosen ,which the audience can see on 12, 14 and 16 October 2022. The 2001 production by Miklós Szinetár features István Kovácsházi (Eisenstein), Lilla Horti (Rosalinda), Csaba Sándor (Frank), Nadin Haris (Orlovsky), Péter Balczó (Alfred), Zsolt Haja (Falke), Gergely Ujvári (Blind), Rita Rácz (Adele), Péter Vida (Frosch), and Zsuzsanna Kapi (Ida) as well as the Hungarian State Opera Chorus (chorus director: Gábor Csiki) and NCPA's resident ensemble, the Symphony Orchestra of India (SOI), formed in 2006, which is coached by leaders of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra and conductor Ádám Cser.
The guest appearances in Mumbai also include a special performance of the Hungarian national opera Bánk Bán (The Viceroy Bánk) by Ferenc Erkel. The Indian audience are presented with a concert version featuring costumes by Viktória Nagy on 15 October. The cast includes István Kovácsházi (Bánk), Orsolya Hajnalka Rőser (Melinda), Erika Gál (Gertrúd), Péter Balczó (Ottó), Róbert Rezsnyák (Endre II / Biberach), Csaba Sándor (Petur bán), Zsolt Haja (Tiborc), and Gergely Ujvári (Royal officer). Once again, the Symphony Orchestra of India joined by the Hungarian State Opera Chorus, leaders of the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra, and conductor Ádám Cser. The venue for both performances is the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre, which opened in 1999 and can accommodate more than 1,100 people, making it the largest of the five theaters of the National Center for the Performing Arts, which was inaugurated in 1969, and is home to many genres.
Following the performances in Mumbai, the OPERA goes on to tour to the Far East. Between 28 October and 13 November, the company returns to Japan after five years for another twelve-stop tour, this time with the 2014 production of Miklós Szinetár's Die Zauberflöte.
Photo by NCPA
