Already as an established tradition, each year, we can view the concert performance of opera in the Kodály Centre. This time, it is Gaetano Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, opera in a prologue and two acts, whose libretto is based on Victor Hugo's eponymous drama. The melodramatic opera is set in 16th-century Venice and Ferrara, in the world of the red-handed Borgias and aristocrats plotting against each other. The main storyline focuses on Lucrezia Borgia and the young nobleman Gennaro with a mysterious family background. The elephant in the room – the secret – is that Gennero is actually Lucrezia's son. Still, only Lucrezia herself is aware of it, so nobody else understands why she is so well-disposed towards him. Lucrezia's husband wants to have him executed, while Lucrezia wants to take revenge on her enemies, who are also Gennaro's friends. The tragedy is caused by Lucrezia's poison, which alongside his friends, also Gennaro drinks. The duchess arrives too late with the antidote: her son dies in her arms. The popularity of the opera premiering in the Scala of Milan in 1833 is clearly evidenced by it being staged in the two-year-old Pest Hungarian Theatre in Hungarian as early as 1839.

"Beautiful voices, enchanting melodies, exciting plot and thrilling destinies. These are the main features of the universe of the 19th-century bel canto opera. As to the three great names of this repertoire, Rossini is especially beloved for his opere buffe, but Bellini and Donizetti penned several masterpieces of the successor genre of the opera seria, among them, a series of operas with a historical plot. One of these is a rare musical treat, Lucrezia Borgia, performed tonight by international stars. Usually, when it comes to operas based on Victor Hugo’s dramas, we tend to think of Verdi’s Rigoletto and Ernani. This great French poet and writer's drama, written in 1833, Lucrèce Borgia, however, also inspired one of the great composers of the bel canto era, Donizetti, to pen his opera with the eponymous title. It was first staged in the Scala in Milan already in the same year as the drama itself. The plot teeming with secrets and surprises unfold in a prologue and two acts. For the Spanish soprano in the title role, Yolanda Auyanet, the Italian-language repertoire doesn’t only mean Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti but also Mozart, Verdi, Puccini and Leoncavallo. The Romanian tenor, Stefan Pop, winner of Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition in 2010, now starring in the role of the young Venetian nobleman, Gennaro, is, however, a bel canto singer through and through. The concert’s conductor, Edita Gurberova’s frequent partner, a true specialist of the bel canto repertoire, Andry Yurkevych, is already a returning guest in Müpa.”

This production is a joint effort of Müpa, the Pannon Philharmonic, the Zsolnay Heritage Management Ltd.

I HAVEN'T YET SUNG THE DUKE OF FERRARA, BUT DON ANNIBALE IN IL CAMPANELLO, THE NIGHT BELL, HAS BEEN ON MY REPERTOIRE. I AM SORRY THAT DONIZETTI'S OPERAS, AND IN GENERAL, BEL CANTO OPERAS, RARELY FEATURE ON STAGE. I FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE IN THESE ROLES, SO MUCH SO THAT I HAVE SUNG THEM AT VARIOUS SINGING CONTESTS. THEY ARE LIKE GOING  TO A HEALTH RESORT TO GIVE YOUR VOICE A PLEASANT TREATMENT.

(GÁBOR BRETZ/ PAPAGENO)

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Beautiful voices, magical melodies and a plot full of twists and turns and exciting endings: this is the world of the bel canto operas that flourished early in the 19th century. The three greatest composers involved in creating that repertoire were Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti. Rossini is primarily appreciated for his comic operas, while the other two created many masterpieces of opera seria, the genre that developed as the descendant of serious opera, which included a number of pieces about historical subjects. The rare treat the Müpa Budapest audience will be hearing performed by a cast of international stars on this evening is one of these: Lucrezia Borgia.

On the topic of operas inspired by the dramas of Victor Hugo, we might also mention Verdi's Rigoletto and Ernani. It was the great French poet and writer's 1833 play Lucrèce Borgia, though, that Donizetti, a great figure of the bel canto era, used as a basis to write his opera Lucrezia Borgia, which received its première in the same year that Hugo's drama itself was first staged. Brimming with secrets and surprises, the plot evolves over the course of a prologue and two acts. For the Spanish soprano Yolanda Auyanet, who will be singing the title role, the Italian-language repertoire extends beyond Rossini, Bellini and Donizetti to also include Mozart, Verdi, Puccini and Leoncavallo. Taking the stage in the role of the young Venetian nobleman Gennaro will be the Romanian tenor Stefan Pop, an authentic bel canto specialist who won Plácido Domingo's 2020 Operalia competition. They will be joined by the internationally acclaimed Hungarian bass Gábor Bretz and the Italian mezzo-soprano Paola Gardina. On the conductor's podium, we will have a familiar guest at Müpa Budapest, a specialist in bel canto opera who regularly accompanies Edita Gruberova: Andriy Yurkevich.

The performance is a cooproduction of Müpa Budapest, Pannon Philharmonic and Zsolnay Heritage Managment Ltd." Müpa Budapest

Presented by: Müpa Budapest