20 Years of Stories

Some rushed straight to the box office after the end of the performance to buy another ticket on the spot; others will forever remember Ádám Fischer’s transcendent conducting, Tomasz Konieczny’s Wotan, or the profound silence that followed Götterdämmerung. And for many, the Budapest Wagner Days mean far more than performances alone: they are about encounters, shared rituals, evenings scented with blooming lime trees, and the feeling of belonging to a unique community. The personal recollections collected here reveal not only the cathartic power Wagner’s music can have on listeners, but also how a festival can become a deeply emotional and human experience. What follows are moving, passionate and at times strikingly intimate memories from some of our most devoted audience members – moments they still recall years later with exactly the same sense of wonder and excitement.

“It was on a hot Saturday in June 2006 that I saw my first Parsifal, something I will never forget as long as I live. I was enchanted from the very first moment, when the three little boys “fell asleep” on stage and the prelude began, drawing us into the story. The music, the direction, the set, the performers – everything radiated such harmony and beauty that when the performance ended, my neighbour (a complete stranger!) and I turned to each other and almost in unison said that if they started the whole four-hour work again right then, we would watch it breathlessly all over again. Almost in a trance, I ran down to the box office and bought a ticket for the following Saturday’s Parsifal…”

“Bryn Terfel was fantastic! He expressed the longing for life and love with such painfully beautiful intensity, and conveyed the faint glimmer of hope lying still within disillusionment. Every minute of the performance was exquisite, a truly life-changing experience. For me, Wagner is never boring, so I was delighted to discover once again the emotions his music awakens in me.”

“We have our “Wagner friends”, people we recognise by sight because we meet every year.”

“We came to Wagner’s music relatively late, so this was the first time we saw and heard the entire Ring in one go. The experience exceeded all our expectations. The moment we stepped into this great musical family, we felt completely at home. Every corner of the Müpa building, which we already loved, reflected the special atmosphere of those extraordinary musical days, and it was wonderful to immerse ourselves in it.”

“A particularly moving moment and worthy conclusion came after Götterdämmerung, when Ádám Fischer called the orchestra members onto the stage.”

“What a wonderful familial moment it was to celebrate Iréne Theorin’s birthday after Götterdämmerung! The whole audience stood and we sang Happy Birthday to her together with the orchestra.”

“I will always remember the powerful sense of belonging I felt during the ovations the audience gave Ádám Fischer after every performance – it was heart-warming.”

“The Wagner Days are not just a musical event but also a social gathering. They are a great opportunity to meet other music lovers, to share thoughts and experiences. The long intervals are an opportunity to catch up with old acquaintances or make new connections. I’ll never forget, for example, seeing someone bring their teenage daughter for the first time and the two of them experiencing the miracle of the music together. It is a spiritual and cultural experience worth preparing for weeks in advance, and one that nourishes us for a long time afterwards.”

“I absolutely love the whole atmosphere of the festival. Prior to performances of the Ring, we feel the need to adjust the rhythm of our daily lives – I personally call this “Ring mode”. You can already tell who is heading there on the tram. You’re always bumping into people you know. And I also adore the fact that the lime trees are in blossom at this time of year.”

“Rienzi was a cathartic experience. I truly discovered in the young Wagner the genius who was to come. You can already sense the great magician who created the Ring in this work.”

“Ádám Fischer is a miracle. I admit that sometimes I just watch him, lost in his soft, delicate, tender, or at times powerful and overwhelming gestures that bring the work to life and unite the sound of the orchestra and the singers. He conducts with incredible passion, savouring every moment of the performance and paying attention to the smallest details. The score is almost unnecessary for him – everything is contained in him: in his heart, his soul, his mind. You can tell this by the way he turns three or four pages at lightning speed, and how you can read the singers’ lines from the movement of his lips. The entire Ring tetralogy is captured in Ádám Fischer – the music, the libretto, everything.”

“It was an unbelievable gift! Every orchestral outburst sent shivers down my spine. The soloists lived their roles and sang as if their lives depended on it. Although German is not my strong point, it was extremely helpful to be able to follow the original text during the performance, because that’s when you really understand how tightly the music and text were woven together by Wagner. This is how it really gets to you.”

“That long, profound silence at the end of Götterdämmerung, right after the final chords, showed what a breathtaking experience the performance had been for everyone present. Then, out of that spellbound silence, thunderous applause erupted.”

Over the past two decades, the Budapest Wagner Days has become a defining meeting point for world-renowned singers and musicians. The recollections below reveal that for many participants, the festival means far more than prestigious appearances or professional success: it has brought dream roles fulfilled, lifelong memories, and profound artistic and personal discoveries. These stories reflect the elemental power of Wagner’s music, the inspiring personality of Ádám Fischer, and the unique artistic world that draws performers back to Budapest again and again.

Dear Brigitta, Tamás, Dóra, Anna and of course Maestro Fischer,

For a want of anything more succinct to say I think I have just summed up the essence and soul of Budapest Wagner Days in the one sentence above – without you all there would be no Wagner Days.

You and the Wagner Days have been a part of my Wagner life since 2010, a very special part. As I have grown into the role of Brünnhilde – you have been there to encourage and see that growth with me. The Ring – which I have had the honour of singing with you on so many occasions and, of also being recorded with you in 2019, will forever remain in my heart as one of the most special Rings. Not only for the music but because of you behind the scenes that make it so.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the times I have shared this with you – I will never forget the standing ovation of Happy Birthday from the orchestra and public that you orchestrated! For once I was speechless 😂

Have a wonderful exciting 20th anniversary, wishing all the best to you and everyone in the shows.

Catherine Foster

Of my many experiences over the years at the Budapest Wagner Days, the most memorable and instructive for me as a singer took place in the artists’ entrance staircase, whose acoustics are so phenomenal they make everyone burst out singing in a way that puts a shower to shame, when Catherine Foster, after completing two Ring series, launched into the Queen of the Night’s aria. This is when it dawned on me that nothing is impossible – you just have to be a genius. And that is what she is. It is extraordinary and fantastic to be able to watch such artists on stage at the Wagner Days – and I am very grateful!

Polina Pasztircsák

It fills me with immense joy that I was able to be part of this wonderful festival for so many years. When I watched my first performances at Bayreuth as a university student, I couldn’t have imagined that this marvel would one day be realised in Hungary, and that I would be able to hear the Ring, Parsifal, Lohengrin, Tristan and Tannhäuser on the banks of the Danube, performed by world-renowned singers. It is an extraordinarily heart-warming feeling to have been an active part of this marvel.

Unforgettable moments include singing Gerhilde between Linda Watson and Waltraud Meier and, in Das Rheingold, entering Valhalla together with Egils Siliņš’s Wotan and the whole family of gods. During that scene, I always struggled to hold back my tears – the music is simply that uplifting.

And Elisabeth in Tannhäuser: a dream come true. It was uplifting to sing with partners like Robert Dean Smith and Stephen Gould. This was the opera I listened to until the recording was worn out during my student years. The Pilgrims’ Chorus is so beautiful that, even today, I cannot hear it without being deeply moved.

The staging was also unique: instead of dying out of sight as usual, Elisabeth dies on stage and then spends three quarters of an hour lying there motionless. This meant that I got to hear Wolfram’s Song to the Evening Star and the Rome Narrative up close. Defining moments in my life!

There were exciting moments as well – when the lights went out in the orchestra pit, or when I forgot to bring on the vial containing the poison – but our “invisible colleagues,” whose professional work behind the scenes I would like to acknowledge with heartfelt gratitude, always resolved the situation, no matter what difficulties arose.

I am grateful to Ádám Fischer, who dared to dream big, and to everyone who helped turn that dream into reality, making it possible for a festival of such exceptional artistic quality as the Budapest Wagner Days to thrive and achieve uninterrupted success for twenty years.

Tünde Szabóki

I first took part in the Budapest Wagner Days with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in 2010, at a pivotal point in my life, and I have returned every year since.

The 20th-anniversary season holds special significance within this long-standing artistic relationship. For me, it is not just a series of performances, but an inner journey that marks the beginning of an important phase of my existence, perhaps now approaching a worthy conclusion.

The first year an icy sense of dread came over me, a fear that I might never see my daughter again – a mixture of Wotan’s grief and my own pain was working within me. Wagner’s music opened up new horizons, gradually transforming my fears and sorrows into the possibility of a fuller, more nuanced experience.

These days, my daughter’s presence at the performances relieves this anxiety, and after completing a double Ring cycle, although physically exhausted, I set out to face new challenges with a renewed spirit.

Throughout these years, Ádám Fischer’s leadership has served as both an artistic and intellectual compass. Bringing an opera to life is not merely a professional task; it is a shared, almost ritual fulfillment, as the orchestra reveals the richness of the works in every layer and detail of their sound world.

The silvery brilliance of a Stradivari violin conveys the sensual nuances of temptation in a truly unparalleled way. The Ring cycle is one of the most complete metaphors for all of human existence: a unity of struggle and resolution, of failure and rebirth. Perhaps that is why we return to it again and again.

Wagner’s music becomes a profoundly personal experience, one in which my own emotions intertwine with the unfolding mythological drama.

Vilmos Oláh

1. It was out of Parsifal and the Ring that I drew the most – one could even say that, in certain respects, they transformed me. I spent a lot of time studying the librettos, analysing the characters and their interactions (of course, with help; without dear Éva Szilágyi, it would have been much more difficult). The concept of ‘Mitleid’ from Parsifal became the motto of my life: if people treated each other with compassion, the world would be a much better place.
I sang almost all of the female roles in the Ring, and for me the most moving aspect was Brünnhilde’s transformation. It shows that by cleansing ourselves of all manipulation, shedding our harmful attachments and being ourselves, we can also help lead others find the right path. And one of the keys to understanding the Ring lies in the scene between Fricka and Wotan in Die Walküre. What a masterful game of strategy! I loved every nuance of it.

2. When I was merely watching Lohengrin, I had a completely different view of Ortrud. The moment I began working on the opera and studying the text, the richness and complexity of her character suddenly revealed itself. I also came to understand what made her the antagonist of the drama – and how she ultimately drags Telramund down with her.

3. The meaning of the scene in Tristan und Isolde where Brangäne pours the potion into the cup instead of the deadly poison also changed for me. While analysing the text, it became clear to me that, by doing so, she was not only protecting Isolde, but also Tristan, with whom she too had fallen in love.

4. If there were one thing I could change in the plot of the Ring, it would be this: I would not allow Siegfried to be killed. Hagen should die instead, thereby shattering Alberich’s hopes. Siegfried and Brünnhilde could continue their lives together and become the representatives of a new world order. Of course, that would make for a far less dramatic and less philosophical ending.

5. The question I would most like to ask Wagner is this: all right, Wotan leaves children behind wherever he goes – but why did he have to make a brother and sister fall in love? My second question would be what other operatic projects he had planned.

7. The productions that remain most memorable to me are Parsifal and Tristan und Isolde, directed by Alexandra Szemerédy and Magdolna Parditka. Never before or since have I experienced such joy, such security, or such emotional intensity as I did in those two productions.
Interpreting Wagner together with Ádám Fischer is like reading a book that both of us love and understand. The voice soars because everything feels completely natural. Those eighteen years were a wonderful experience. Everyone was there for a single purpose: to bring Wagner’s vision of the Gesamtkunstwerk – the total work of art – to life.

That is true service.

Judit Németh

I remember how intimidating Wagner’s operas seemed at first. So it was with a bit of fear, but also excitement and anticipation, that I leaped into this musical world. It’s thanks to the Budapest Wagner Days that I’ve immersed myself in his world and fallen so profoundly in love with it. My first ‘season’ was enough for it to draw me deeply inside and embrace me forever! Thank you!

Lilla Horti

1. Above all, Wagner’s works have taught me humility. These are extremely long operas, incredibly demanding for every voice type – especially for tenors and bass-baritones. That kind of foundational work really shaped me as an artist. In fact, I only truly began singing seriously when I immersed myself in Wagner’s music, and to some extent also in Richard Strauss. Wagner’s repertoire has also taught me something equally important: humanity. He was a great humanist. Through allegory, he explores human nature in a profound way. That’s what moves me most and what I find so compelling in his work.

2. All of my Wagner roles have changed for me over time. Because of their complexity, I now see them through the lens of many years of experience. Take Wotan, for example – my signature role. I’ve performed him in 21 different productions of Die Walküre. Naturally, my understanding of the character today is completely different from what it was 20 years ago, when I first started singing it under Ádám Fischer. These characters truly become living beings over time. Their depth reveals itself more and more with experience.

3. Our perception of theatres changes. When I return to venues where I performed 20–25 years ago, they now feel smaller – especially when viewed from the perspective of places like the Metropolitan Opera or the Wiener Staatsoper.
At the same time, there are stages whose importance continues to grow for me – again, the Met and the Vienna State Opera among them. And then there’s Müpa Budapest, where my returns are always deeply meaningful and emotionally moving.

4. If I could have magical powers for one day – which of course I don’t have – to sing a different Wagner role I might be tempted to try one of the female roles, perhaps Brünnhilde. It’s an incredibly complex and fascinating character. That said, I’m truly happy with the repertoire I’ve been given. I love all my operatic roles, and Wotan in particular is very close to me – he’s almost like a member of my family.

5. I wouldn’t change a single thing in the story of the Ring cycle. I believe it is a perfect work. It’s a magnificent reflection on human nature. Wagner, as a humanist, created something complete and deeply truthful. I feel very fortunate to be able to perform the works of such a great reformer of opera.

6. The most important moment of the Budapest Wagner Days for me was my very first invitation to the festival, when I performed Amfortas in Parsifal. I had the privilege of appearing alongside the great bass Matti Salminen. Those were unforgettable moments.
I was incredibly proud to share the stage with such a remarkable artist at Müpa Budapest, a venue with outstanding acoustics. And working with Ádám Fischer – his sensitivity to singers, his musicality, and his deep understanding of what happens on stage – is something increasingly rare today, yet so important for us as performers.
I also remember a bittersweet moment. I was very young at the time, and one member of the Wagner family who attended that Parsifal performance didn’t speak a single word to me. It was painful, because I loved this music so deeply.
But Ádám Fischer has always treated every artist with great respect – regardless of experience. He is truly a man of the theatre, someone whose kindness and care for singers radiate naturally.
I still hope to perform with him many more times. Of course, as the years go by, such opportunities become rarer. But I’m very happy that this year I can once again appear in the Ring cycle in Budapest.

Tomasz Konieczny

Singing Wagner roles has been a constant throughout my 30-year career – from Waltraute in Die Walküre to Isolde and the Brünnhildes in Ring cycles. Alongside the physical and vocal demands, I have always found engaging with these larger-than-life characters to be a great challenge. I found it fascinating to see the different perspectives of various directors and conductors on one and the same role over the years. And so, I was able to sing various roles such as Fricka, Sieglinde, Waltraute and Brünnhilde in Die Walküre, Brünnhilde and Waltraute in Götterdämmerung, or Brangäne and Isolde in Tristan und Isolde – some even in the same production. I was able to return once more to the role of Waltraute in Götterdämmerung towards the end of my active singing career at the Wagner Days in Budapest. I had the privilege of performing with Ádám Fischer not only at the Müpa. His conducting was always very inspiring, placed the work at the forefront and was singer-centred, which gave me a great sense of security. For many years, Tamás Bátor was a key enabler for me; together with his team, he made my performances at the Budapest Wagner Days a lot easier. Many thanks and congratulations on 20 years of the Budapest Wagner Days!

Petra Lang

For me the Wagner Days in Budapest means working in a wonderful artistic environment with top singers and musicians from the whole world. Being part of the Wagner Days is a highlight in the calendar, always knowing that You are cared for in the very best way by the organizers and the staff – to be honest I never had such a great experience anywhere else in the world like in Budapest. My Senta, Siegfried-Brünnhilde and Elisabeth at the Wagner Days are unforgettable memories and I can’t wait to perform Walküre-Brünnhilde this summer.

Elisabet Strid

Greetings to Tamás Bátor, Ádám Fischer, Brigitta Kovács, and all my friends in Budapest!

I would just like to say how important it was for me to finally make my role debut in Parsifal, as Gurnemanz, in 2009. This was, for me, one of the greatest goals of my singing/acting career, and it came late for me... my professional debut was in 1973! I feel so privileged to have had that experience with your brilliant team: Alexandra Szemerédy and Magdolna Parditka, under the supporting and sensitive musical direction of Maestro Fischer! For me, this was really like reaching the top of the mountain! It was one of the most important and unforgettable experiences of my entire career!

I have always felt privileged to return to your magnificent hall with such perfect acoustics, on the other occasions in roles like Hagen and Pogner. I can not thank you all enough for adding so much to my life! Thanks so very much!!

Eric Halfvarson

When we were doing Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 2013, I had scheduled a knee operation during the run of the performances. The doctor had promised me, that it would only be very light and I would be able to walk immediately. When I woke up, I had a huge bandage around my knee and several hosepipes sticking out. And I was supposed to sing Beckmesser two days later. It turned out that the doctor had moved my kneecap to make place later for an implant. That was no good timing! As Beckmesser is being beaten up at the end of the second act, and sings the third act with a crutch. There were no other way for me to start the show with two crutches and keep them for the whole show. I had somebody to help me carrying my things, and specially the big harp, I was „playing“ in the second act. It all worked out so well, that everybody wanted me to do the same again last year, when we did the revival of Meistersinger. But one time like that, is really enough. So I did it the normal way we have rehearsed it.

Bo Skovhus

I was involved in two productions: Lohengrin, as Ortrud, and the Ring, as Brünnhilde.

I can say it was always a pleasure to work at the Müpa, mainly because of the people involved. Not only my colleagues, who were completely professional and a lot of fun as well, but the people working at the theatre. If there was ever a problem (and there always is with opera!) everyone worked together to make it happen.

Another thing I would like to comment on, is the very successful stage adaptations of both pieces which is something one can rarely say about opera productions these days. Both done extremely simply, with good lighting, colours and simple but effective backdrops, which allowed the singers to be very present to the audience. The main focus was on the acting and music. The audiences responded very positively.

And of course, working with Ádám Fischer is a joy. I have also worked with him in Vienna at the Staatsoper. His energy is contagious and his music-making glorious.

Linda Watson

I have been invited to participate in the Wagner Days in Budapest regularly since 2021. And what has made a particular impact on me as an artist is working with Maestro Fischer. His generous musicianship and especially his masterful knowledge and performance of Wagner’s complex scores have inspired me every time he has helped me discover new layers and aspects of these incredible operas.

One of my treasured moments when working in Budapest was my first year as a guest soloist. In 2021 I was supposed to perform the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre, but due to the lock down (corona pandemic) it was not possible to go through with the semi staged production of the Ring for a live audience. In this dark period for many of us, we as artists were used to opera houses cancelling our contracts without any compensation. But Wagner Days decided to arrange a couple of live streamed concerts instead. I was asked to sing excerpts from Lohengrin together with amazing world class singers such as Annette Dasch, Iréne Theorin and Tomasz Konieczny. I am to this day thankful that the festival found this creative solution, and the streamed concerts became a beautiful statement and experience for many opera lovers in the safety of their own homes.

Magnus Vigilius

The Budapest Wagner Days has given rise not only to memorable performances, but also to a close-knit and dedicated community of professionals working behind the scenes. In the recollections of production and musical staff, editors and technicians, we glimpse how monumental Wagner productions are transformed through meticulous collaboration into living theatrical miracles. Their stories evoke the everyday life of a remarkable creative workshop: rehearsals, unexpected turns, and months of preparation without which these unforgettable performances could never come to life. At the same time, their words make it clear that for them, the Wagner Days is far more than simply work – it is also a profound human connection.

What was the most defining moment for me over these 20 years? Naturally, it was sitting in the audience in 2006. And in 2007, I was already playing the piano at the rehearsals for Das Rheingold and Die Walküre. At that time, I was just getting to know the Wagner repertoire, and it was a great experience to work with singers whom I had heard and admired only from recordings. A répétiteur sometimes has to step in as a singer if a performer falls ill or their flight is cancelled. At rehearsals conducted by Ádám Fischer and partnering with world-famous soloists, I got the chance to sing roles – ones not entirely compatible with my own voice type – like Fasolt, Siegfried, the Wanderer, Hagen, Brünnhilde, supposedly Venus (although I have no memory of this, my colleagues seem to be quite certain it actually happened) and Fafner – the latter on the main stage, during the piano dress rehearsal, alongside Stefan Vinke’s Siegfried.

Gábor Bartinai, head répétiteur

1. I was all of 17 years old when I first met Ádám Fischer. He was looking for an assistant for the Budapest Wagner Days and told me, “Next year we’re going to do the Ring. It’s just a short work, ideal to start off with.” But in the meantime, I should go to watch Meistersinger to see if the job appealed to me. The moment I decided to become his assistant – and I ended up doing that for four years – came during the bows. Dömötör Pintér, who not only sang the role of the Night Watchman but also played the trombone, was somehow left off the list to take his curtain call. Ádám ran backstage, grabbed him by the hand, led him onto the stage, and encouraged the audience to applaud him even more enthusiastically. I thought, “This is a person I want to work with.” But first I still had to finish my high school graduation exams.

2. The first time I stood in front of the orchestra, I suddenly knew: this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to surround myself with this music and with such a vast musical apparatus. My devotion to the Wagner Days went so far that during the winter semester at university I completed the coursework for the summer term as well, just so I could be completely free in May and June and work sixteen hours a day for Ádám and the Wagner Days.

3. Wagner’s works can be rediscovered again and again; they continually reveal new meanings. During my very first rehearsal at Müpa, a singer sat down next to me (I was not yet twenty, while he was over seventy) and, almost in tears, told me that he had sung the role more than fifty times, yet had only just realized that he had understood a particular line of Alberich’s in a completely different way from what he had always believed. It meant that he had misinterpreted the role throughout his entire career and now had to rethink it from the ground up. At that moment, it became clear to me that even at the age of seventy one could still sit here and continue learning.

4. I loved everything I was able to do backstage: dancing disco moves to the Ride of the Valkyries motifs, bringing bandages to Anja Kampe, touching the dancers to check whether the green paint was still holding on their skin, waiting for the octave drops at the end of the first act of Götterdämmerung so that I could order a double espresso for Ádám at precisely the right moment – and refining the timing year after year until the espresso was already in his hand as he entered the dressing room, yet still perfectly hot. When I had to stop working as Ádám’s assistant, I secretly sneaked onto the stage, hid behind the video wall, lay down on the staircase, and listened to Wotan’s Farewell from there. I felt that, like Brünnhilde, I had lost my magical powers; without the Wagner Days, I would henceforth be just an ordinary mortal.

5. I have two great passions: opera and watching football. Unfortunately, the Wagner Days often coincide with the UEFA European Championship or the FIFA World Cup. One of my favourite memories is from 2016, when the Iceland–Hungary match took place during a performance of Siegfried. One goal was scored during the first interval, the other during the second, so we managed to see every goal while also getting through three eighty-minute acts of Siegfried. There we were, standing and crouching around a television: musicians in tailcoats, technicians in uniform, dancers rushing about painted green as Nibelungs, and me in an evening dress with the Hungarian colours painted on my arm. And perhaps the greatest logistical challenge of my career came when it turned out that the dress rehearsal of Die Walküre would coincide with the Austria–Hungary match. Many members of the staff asked whether we could move the rehearsal forward by an hour. At first glance, you think: “That’s impossible. If even one person misses the message, the whole thing falls apart.” But somehow we made it happen. Hundreds of colleagues signed in support of moving the rehearsal one hour earlier. Everyone did. In the end, we were able to enjoy both worlds.

6. Sitting behind Ádám during orchestral rehearsals, I had the chance to observe every musician. Sometimes, though, it felt as if Ádám was testing me. Or perhaps he was simply having a momentary blackout?
Once, he was about to begin a rehearsal of Tannhäuser. He turned to the orchestra and said, “Right, Tannhäuser.” Then he suddenly turned to me and asked,
“How does it start again?”
“What?”
“How does Tannhäuser begin?”
Embarrassed, I sang: “Da-dáááá-da-dááá…”
“Ah, yes!” he said.
Then he turned back to the orchestra and conducted six hours of rehearsal without the slightest hesitation.

7. Ten minutes before one of the performances, Ádám realized he had left his dress shoes in the taxi. He told me the size and instructed me to find him a pair of black shoes immediately. Müpa is not an opera house, so I couldn’t just race into a costume shop. I went out into the foyer in my pink gown and started scanning the feet of the male guests. This was one of those moments when one sheds all inhibitions for the sake of a good cause: “Excuse me, sir – what is your shoe size?” Fortunately, I eventually found Ádám’s brother-in-law, who sat through the entire performance in his socks.

Vera Blum, Ádám Fischer’s previous assistant

I have great respect for Ádám Fischer, whom I have known for a long time. As a young singer, I performed in several concerts with him, which were always a wonderful experience. In 2004, when he made his debut in Bayreuth (having been asked to conduct the Ring cycle after the sudden death of Giuseppe Sinopoli), I was personally present at a performance of Die Walküre. It was a huge success, both for the singers and, of course, for Ádám as well. I travelled there from Weimar, where I was living at the time; I had a strong connection to Ferenc Liszt and, through Liszt, also to Wagner. In the 1990s I sang several of his operas – Parsifal, Tannhäuser, Tristan und Isolde – so I was able to draw on my own experience when I later helped with the organisation of the Wagner Days. Between 2006 and 2010 Ádám and I frequently consulted each other on matters of casting, and I continued collaborating with him as the festival’s artistic programmer from 2011 onwards; our collaboration has been characterised by an outstanding harmony ever since.

Müpa Budapest is a magnificent venue for Wagner productions. Both the international press and audiences highlight the richness of the building, the auditorium, the stage, and the functioning of the orchestra pit. Its acoustics are exceptional, the soloists are clearly visible and audible throughout the semi-staged performances, while maintaining clear visual contact with the conductor. This is why singers are so happy to return to Wagner Days performances. Wagner dreamed of having the chorus placed above the stage – here that dream can also be realised.

I also consider the involvement of Hungarian singers to be very important, as many of them have studied Wagner roles here and later performed them both abroad and at the Opera House. The performances of Hungarian orchestras and choirs involved are also consistently praised by the international press. In addition, the Hungarian–English–German surtitles delight audiences, as they help them better understand the works and the text. It is also important to highlight the work of my Müpa colleagues, who organise every aspect of the guest artists’ stay in a highly human, caring and supportive way.

It is my wish for the Budapest Wagner Days to continue to be a gift and a memorable experience for everyone in the years to come!

Tamás Bátor artistic programmer

I was 26 years old when Éva Darvas and the Müpa gave me the opportunity to be present at the birth of the first Parsifal as an interpreter and assistant. At the time, I had no idea that I was not only finding a job, but would grow up together with the Ring cycle. The following year, already as an employee of Müpa, I began working on the tetralogy and was able to learn the profession’s secrets by observing it from within.

Today, I am one of those who help coordinate the entire cycle. Over the past twenty years, Wagner and Müpa have somehow always been present in my life. In May and June we work behind the scenes, but throughout the year we are constantly juggling tasks, rehearsals and budgets in the background; every year we process thousands of emails to make everything come together. At times I exchanged letters about the spelling of runes with an endlessly kind German philologist, while at other times we were casting synchronized swimmers for underwater scenes. But I never did this alone – it is a vast, visible and invisible teamwork that allows me to work with every department of Müpa, and with all the participants and artists of the Ring.

I was in Brussels at the time of ordering the glass wall that was then considered a technical marvel; in the early days, together with musical and linguistic experts, we debated the subtleties of the Hungarian surtitles – how much of a dragon is a Wurm? – gradually immersing ourselves in the idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk. I was also there when we selected fabrics for the Valkyries’ costumes in a military surplus store. During the first filming sessions I sometimes climbed ladders on the roof of Müpa in a skirt suit, and during the revival I was already discussing the environmentally responsible fate of earthworms. I have held a Stradivarius in my hands and helped artists choose jewellery and stage costumes.

Very often we have to work in the most unexpected situations: escorting artists to hospital or to the police, celebrating birthdays during rehearsal breaks, and trying to provide the secure background that allows performers to focus solely on the music during the performance itself. Over twenty years, countless personal stories and close friendships have formed; the more I think about it, the more fond, difficult, or even absurd moments come to mind.

Even some of the most important moments of my private life are connected here: during the early morning of the 2019 revival shoot, I was proposed to. It was amusing to show my new ring on my finger to colleagues while we were literally working on The Ring. Nobody quite understood what I meant, since there were already plenty of rings around.

My passion for the production literally remained on stage as well. After one rehearsal, an artist threw the original prop so far that we never found it again; so I enrolled in a goldsmithing workshop and personally made the ring we have been using in performances ever since. For some singers, it even barely fits on their fingers – Wagnerian proportions always bring extra challenges.

Although the musical and artistic aspects are the result of my colleagues’ and Ádám Fischer’s wonderful work, we – this year together with Anna Siller – move the threads from behind the scenes. Sometimes, as a form of relaxation, I carry horses and swords from the rehearsal room to the stage; at the start of the rehearsal period I move my office down into the rehearsal space or orchestral waiting room, and during those months it truly feels like home. For two months it is all Wagner music and the Wagner family (which, fortunately, my real family tolerates with infinite patience).

When the opening of Das Rheingold sounds, it is a remedy for me: at such moments I always feel that all the stress and sleepless nights were worth it. I have developed a personal ritual of my own: for the final minutes of Götterdämmerung, I retreat under the stage, and there, in the darkness, I experience that indescribable catharsis that still impacts me with the same elemental force 20 years on as it did when I first heard the music of the Ring.

Dóra Julianna Somogyi, production manager

Wagner’s oeuvre initially seemed to me like an enormous, impenetrable fortress, surrounded by unclimbable cliffs and roaring waterfalls that seemed impossible to overcome. It took years and excellent teachers like György Kroó and my unforgettable colleague from Hungarian Radio Mihály Meixner before I could approach it.

At first, I was captivated by Wagner’s astonishingly rich orchestration and extraordinary harmonic language. Gradually, however, I found myself ever more deeply drawn into the spell of Wagner’s music.

This became especially true when good fortune allowed me to take part in almost all of the performances of the Wagner Days that featured Wagner’s choral writing. Through these productions, I encountered Parsifal, with its choruses of remarkable dramatic power and radiant beauty. This was followed by the monumental tableaux of Lohengrin, in which the choir’s actual singing time exceeds an hour, and I also had the opportunity to work on a production of Tannhäuser. Then came the greatest of them all: Götterdämmerung – a world of enchantment, wild characters, gods, dwarfs, heroes, intrigue, and passion, all brought to life through an exceptional musical language.

The most important lesson was that, with these tales about gods and demigods, or Grail Knights, Wagner was always speaking about the same thing: about human beings. We can recognise ourselves in their qualities, emotions and desires; their problems and conflicts are the same as ours. This is what Wagner’s works have taught me.

I consider it one of the greatest gifts of my life that I have been able to participate in these productions on nineteen occasions – productions distinguished by the name of conductor Ádám Fischer and by Müpa.

Kálmán Strausz, former choirmaster of the Hungarian Radio Choir and Hungarian National Male Choir

Wagner’s operas have been very important to me since childhood. My mother would take me to the Budapest Opera for every Wagner performance – we sat in the upper gallery in 3,50-forint seats. That is one of the reasons why it was such a joy and an honour for me to work for the Wagner Days as an artistic administrator for eight years. my task was to invite foreign singers and prepare their contracts – based on instructions from Ádám Fischer, of course. I knew him well; as an employee of Interkoncert, I had already been involved in organizing his international engagements back in the 1970s. He has an extraordinary overview of the opera world, knowing exactly who sang what and when. If the first candidate can’t make it, he still has three or four other names to pull out of his hat. I was already familiar with the operas being performed, but here they provided a completely new experience. First of all, because of the remarkably transparent, almost chamber music-like, sound that Ádám created, and secondly, thanks to the visual imagination of the directors we invited, which at the same time invariably served the music. Although every production was outstanding, I would single out Parsifal, as it was the festival’s first major success, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, which is my favourite opera. I also joined the Wagner Society, which not only gave me the opportunity to witness many memorable Wagner performances abroad, but also introduced me to what is now a close group of friends.

Ildikó Gedényi, artistic programmer

We ran the surtitles for the entire Ring between 2006 and 2019. We also took part in the rehearsal process, which meant that every year we had the opportunity to hear Wagner’s operas two or three times over. From a room behind the auditorium, through high-quality speakers, we enjoyed the diverse and flowing music and the intertwining of characteristic motifs as we followed the profoundly human actions and conflicts of the gods and demigods, the ride of the Valkyries, Wotan’s farewell from Brünnhilde, he bird’s chirping, Siegfried’s clumsy attempts with his horn, and the driving energy of the forging of Nothung.

One of us used to sing in the Hungarian State Opera Chorus, and the other taught at Toldy High School. It was especially thrilling to reconnect with former colleagues and students among the singers and crew, such as such as Natália Jakab, who assisted the guest artists, or Eszter Wirdl, who had set her sights on a career on the opera stage even in her teens. Alongside the renowned international singers, many Hungarian artists also gave outstanding performances, and the trios of the Rhinemaidens and the Norns sounded beautifully blended and harmonious, standing comparison with the finest international ensembles.

We also gained insight into the multifaceted and demanding work of the main organizers of the performances, Éva Darvas and Dóra Somogyi. We spent many hours working together on the surtitles with Dóri, whose knowledge of both Wagner’s operas and the German language was exceptional. During one rehearsal, she even stepped in as a stand-in model to help the lighting team.

During the Covid lockdowns, Müpa broadcast recordings of previous performances online. We inserted the translations at the bottom of the videos, and finally got to see up close what great acting performance the singers had given as well. For us, this made our Ring experience complete.

Kati and Gábor Szilágyi, surtitle operators

1. For years, I observed the Müpa Wagner productions from the “other side,” from the Opera House. To be honest, I felt it was almost a kind of betrayal that, until 2007, the Opera House had practically dismantled all its Wagner productions, with only Parsifal being performed almost every year around Easter, along with occasional performances of Tannhäuser and Die Meistersinger. This was further complicated by the fact that in 2010–11 Müpa “took over” the Opera Orchestra for the premieres of Tristan und Isolde and Lohengrin, with plans for further performances. As a committed opera professional, I never really understood why there had to be competition in this way. I would have preferred a carefully thought-out, mutually beneficial, clearly defined long-term cooperation agreement between the two institutions. But, as is often the Hungarian way, things were instead “sorted out informally,” leaving behind points of friction for future coexistence, and by the time one agreement was signed, another round of the great national turf game had already begun.
Eventually, albeit somewhat slowly, the Opera House’s Wagner Aufdämmerung began. By then I had also switched teams, though not of my own volition. Since 2014 I have been playing on the Müpa side: my enthusiasm remained, in fact it grew, but now I aim at the other goal. Certainly not both!
Over time, the spheres of interest were eventually clarified: from 2015, the Opera programmed Wagner operas in a series with Hungarian artists, while Müpa invited singers from the international top tier for the main roles, in a festival-like model similar to the Bayreuth Festival. Only in this way does peaceful coexistence have any chance and meaning.

2. Wagner’s operas are brilliant, #ineveryrespect! For him, plot is never merely an excuse to string together a series of arias into a libretto. Instead, he addresses in philosophically profound terms (where even the language itself seems to think!) questions about the individual and society that have remained essential problems of humankind from the very beginning to the present day.
Do we not all sometimes feel, like the nameless Dutchman, the burden of being cursed and long for redemption? Do we recognise in ourselves Tannhäuser’s oscillations between religious purity and lust? Can we comprehend the complex individual and social messages of the Ring? Might Wotan be ensnared in the same entanglements that our European leaders find themselves in? And does Hans Sachs’s admonition at the end of Act 3 not resonate with the Europe of today? Wagner’s operas can, of course, be enjoyed simply as music, but I would encourage everyone to delve into the deeper layers. It is there where the magic unfolds in its entirety.

Brigitta Kovács, artistic programmer

I cherish many wonderful memories of the Wagner Days, but what really touched me year after year was this sense of an extraordinary collaboration being undertaken between Ádám Fischer, Müpa Budapest and Richard Wagner himself. Wagner’s works encompass the broadest possible range of human emotions and motives, expressed in a uniquely colourful fashion. The rich forte sounds that Ádám took to the hall’s acoustic limits were incredibly powerful, and, depending on the situation, he made those chamber music moments when it was possible to play softly – sometimes with just a few musicians, but sometimes with the entire orchestra, choir and soloists – particularly dazzling and uplifting. These acoustic expectations and the demand for the highest quality sound are burned into me forever.

Zoltán Pad, former choirmaster of the Hungarian Radio Choir

I have been a part of the Wagner Days productions since 2008, and each year I watch the unique energy that surrounds this event with the same sense of wonder. It is amazing to see the humility and professionalism with which the participants work tirelessly for weeks on end towards a common goal. Over the years, it has not only been professional relationships that have developed, but in many cases, true friendships as well. Perhaps this is what makes this environment truly special: the intensity of working together, the trust placed in each other, and the shared passion for music create human connections that go beyond the stage and the duration of the performances. For me, this makes the Wagner Days more than simply an outstanding artistic event, but also a community to which it is a privilege to belong.

Anna Siller, production manager

It was at Müpa where I got bitten by the ‘Wagner bug’. Throughout my music studies, I was often required to listen to excerpts from the composer’s operas – which I found rather boring that I lost any interest in them. Then, years later in 2016, I was given a ticket to Götterdämmerung in order that I might listen to at least one Wagner opera at Müpa as well. To my greatest surprise, it turned out to be the most beautiful musical experience of my life! Evelyn Herlitzius sang the role of Brünnhilde with such astonishing energy that the stage seemed to explode. Many members of the audience experienced a sense of catharsis at the end, with some – including myself – choking back tears. Feeling like I was floating above the floor and thinking how I wished I could be part of this marvellous endeavour, I went to congratulate my colleagues. A few months later, I received an offer to serve as Ádám Fischer's assistant...

Nóra Bakos, Ádám Fischer’s current assistant

One of my most defining experiences dates back to several years after the first Wagner production. There was one time when, rather than following the rehearsal of Die Walküre from the upstairs lighting booth, I sat downstairs to correct the lighting settings. I was all alone in the auditorium when the well-known melody of The Ride of the Valkyries began: the sound of the singers and the huge orchestra had an elemental effect on me. During the periods when we were putting on the Ring, I would occasionally hum the same tune in my sleep – sometimes waking my partner several times over the course of a night.

I admit that I was not originally a Wagner enthusiast, but as we spent long days and weeks during rehearsal periods with colleagues, creators and artists, I gradually came to love his works. When one hears those flowing motifs many times, one suddenly begins to recognize how deep and multilayered the message of each passage is; after a while, one may even feel that the larger structural connections between the great musical units become visible. In this way, Wagner’s works become accessible and even deeply lovable for those who were once distant from the composer.

As a lighting designer, it was a pleasure to work with such outstanding theatre professionals from abroad, with whom, regardless of nationality or native language, we were able to realise artistic visions in perfect harmony. Matthias Oldag, the director of Tannhäuser, and I hit it off from the very start, and we inspired each other to create stage visuals based on our shared ideas. The Italian director of Tristan und Isolde, Cesare Lievi, gave me a free hand to enhance the stage design he had envisaged even further with the lighting. It was a great source of motivation for me that I was free to create, and the director was pleased with the final result.

Máté Vajda, lighting designer and technician

In 2018, I assisted the costume designer, which was my first “hands-on” experience of the behind-the-scenes world of the Budapest Wagner Days. The costume designer had come from Italy together with the director, and for them the aesthetics of the visual world were extremely important, as is generally characteristic of Italians: the singers’ costumes and related jewellery, swords, and other props had to be carefully designed around a key set element – a purple sofa that had sunk to the bottom of the sea. I have always been fascinated by beautiful fabrics, specially woven materials, their feel and visual impact, especially in stage lighting, as well as their practicality, meaning how a particular costume can be worn in a given scene, how comfortable it is for the artist, how well it fits the character and the overall visual effect. It is a highly complex creative process, into which I was able to gain insight while also enriching my Italian vocabulary with technical terms that I did not even necessarily know in Hungarian beforehand. The highly experienced costume maker was a tremendous help in determining which materials could realistically be used to have the costumes sewn in time, while also ensuring that they would be visually impressive and bring joy both to the performers and, of course, to the audience.

Due to Anja Kampe’s illness, Allison Oakes performed Isolde, making her debut at Müpa at the time. We supported her in every possible way backstage to ensure she felt as comfortable as possible, for example by spending many hours with the costume designer selecting her shoes until we found the pair that was most comfortable for her while also meeting the aesthetic requirements.

In 2019, I worked on the Ring revival together with my experienced Wagner colleague, Dóra Somogyi. During the several-week rehearsal period, I experienced how deeply one becomes connected to a production, as we worked side by side from morning until evening with the artists and all collaborators, ensuring that every small piece fell into place and that the tetralogy ultimately came together in its full splendour as a Gesamtkunstwerk.

The costume refurbishment of the Ring also presented challenges: determining which materials and forms would work on stage while still looking beautiful, while also ensuring that the performers could move properly. This was particularly important for the dancers, and so the development of the “gecko costumes” required long experimentation to create versions that would not hinder the choreography.

As a former violinist, it was impressive to see the dedication of the orchestra musicians and Ádám Fischer during rehearsals and performances that went on for hours and how much concentration and perseverance Wagner’s monumental and often seemingly endless music demands. Wagner singers, moreover, must not only possess strong voices but also withstand this kind of physical, mental and emotional strain.

One of my most special experiences relates to the last act of Die Walküre, when the father/daughter scene between Wotan and Brünnhilde, performed by Johan Reuter and Catherine Foster, touched me so deeply, both musically and emotionally, that I have treasured the memory ever since.

Réka Dorina Olasz, production manager