Two intervals
There's an old Hungarian expression: "It's better to fear than to become frightened." Siegfried, the hero of German mythology and Wagner's opera, is primarily famous precisely for knowing no fear. A high-spirited son of the forest and a friend of the wild animals living in it, this enormously strong young lad is not somebody one would want to tangle with. Few people in today's world bear much resemblance to him. Nevertheless, we are all Siegfrieds in a certain sense in that most of us have trouble discovering who we really are, and it is only as we travel down the path of life that we gradually learn what we are truly capable of.
A rainbow of sounds from the orchestra, enigmatic dialogues and mysterious riddles. Not to mention a treacherous dwarf and a glorious young hero. Who after slaying a dragon and tasting its blood, is able to understand the prophetic singing of a bird. And then crosses through a wall of fire to discover both the woman who is his mate and, through his love for her, fear. These moments - along with a host of other ones - are what make the tale of Siegfried so magical. But there are many other aspects as well, such as generational conflict, when the brash youngster settles the score with an ageing Wotan, now known simply as the Wanderer, in the crudest possible terms. The work also contains a warning: at every fork of the road, inescapable Fate is hiding behind the trees. One has to ask: is Siegfried truly a worthy successor to the Wälsung name? Or is his instinctive behaviour a sign of decline, meaning that he himself is merely an unwitting implement of destiny? Wagner is a great artist: his work provides no clear answers. As in the previous year, we will get to watch Stefan Vinke in the title role, with Egils Silins returning to portray the mysterious Wanderer, Wotan in disguise. Bringing back his wonderful Mime from 2015 is Jürgen Sacher. We will also have another opportunity to hear Erika Gál's Erda again. Another consistently robust component of the Budapest Wagner Days series will be Péter Kálmán with his splendid Alberich. This performance offers the opportunity to meet a new Brünnhilde in the person of Magdalena Anna Hofmann: amassing triumph after triumph on European opera stages, she has been hailed by critics for the "dark beauty and sparkling tone” of her voice, among other qualities.
Presented by: Müpa Budapest
Artistic director and conductor:
Featuring:
Zoltán Csere
Gusztáv Eller
János Feledi
Laura Fehér
Anna Gulyás
Zoltán Katonka
Krisztián Kelemen
Brigitta Tóth
Milán Újvári
Gábor Vida
Performers:
Creators:
Gábor Bartinai
Dóra Bizják
Brigitta Kovács
Martin Rajna
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We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
