Budapest, Te!

The tale of Leander the goblin and Princess Linseed, brimming with magic and a seemingly unbreakable curse, not to mention a wealth of twists and turns, is a genuinely good yarn. Set to a libretto by Barnabás Szöllősi that is based on Andor Szilágyi's fable for the theatre and written at the OPERA's request in the 2014/15 season, Erkel Prize-winning composer Zsófia Tallér's masterful, expressive and entertaining music makes this Hungarian fairy tale opera an enjoyable experience for children and adults alike, and, we hope, a possible future classic.

The world-renowned American baritone, who recently celebrated his 70th birthday, sang in choirs and studied music from childhood. After winning several competitions, he was taken under the wing of the legendary coloratura soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, which helped launch his European career.

A century ago, the world first encountered this remarkable opus, a work that soon became one of the cornerstones of twentieth-century musical innovation. Premiered in 1926, the singspiel is a milestone in Hungarian music history: its composer, Zoltán Kodály, fulfilled his aspiration to elevate Hungarian folk song of ancient origin to the same status as classical music, by virtue of its equivalent values, placing it on the stage of the nation’s Opera House.