hungarian state opera house tour

Guided Tours Budapest Opera House

Opera visit - guided tours in the opera house.

• Enjoy the interior visit in the historic Hungarian State Opera House!
• Duration: 60 min
• Activity provider: Hungarian State Opera
• Departs from: Budapest

Meeting point: 1061 Budapest, Andrássy út 22.

• Available: Daily at 13:30, 15:00, 16:30

The Opera House is one of the most beautiful buildings of Budapest. Its construction was finished in 1884 upon the design of Miklós Ybl. During the inside tour visitors may wonder around the theatre - considered to have one of the best acoustics in the world - , admire Károly Lotz's ceiling frescos and the beautifully gold-gilt decorated boxes having a special atmosphere. Besides we guide you around those parts which are closed to public during the evening performances, like the Bertalan Székely hall or the marble king staircase.

-Discover the beauty the completely restored Opera House - 60 minutes live guided tour - The guided tour will also include a short concert with the Opera’s soloists.

- Entrance ticket - Live guide

- Tips and gratuities - Personal expenses - Optional activity costs

- Hotel pick-up NOT included.

• Online price: 22€
• Jan - Dec:  13:30, 15:00, 16:30

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Budapest Opera House Guided Tour

• 8.70 / 10 1,803 reviews | 19,851 travellers We liked it a lot, beautiful place and cute performance at the end!! 8 Helen
• Free cancellation up to 48 hours before the service starts

Discover the second largest stage in Europe on this guided tour of the Hungarian State Opera House , a must-see on your trip to Budapest !

After meeting in the main hall of the Budapest Opera House , we'll set off on our guided tour of this incredible neo-renaissance building, designed by the famous Hungarian architect Miklós Ybl. It dates back to the 19th century and its construction was financed by Francis Joseph I of Austria, who demanded that it should not be larger than the one in Vienna.

We'll continue our tour of the Hungarian State Opera House in its magnificent hall which is decorated with oak panels and red curtains. Then we'll head down the main staircase, which will take us straight to the auditorium .

To end our tour of the Budapest Opera House, we'll get to watch a ten-minute live concert performed by two opera singers on the second largest stage in Europe !

More Information

The activity takes place with a guide that speaks in English.

English–speaking guide

Entry fee to the Opera House

10 minute concert

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You can book up until 36 hours before the activity as long as there are still places. Book now to guarantee your spot.

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Not wheelchair accessible.

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Hungarian State Opera House

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Boris Godunov - a historical psychothriller is presented by the OPERA

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Daily Opera

Boris Godunov - a historical psychothriller is presented by the OPERA

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Is Budapest the new world capital of orchestral music?

norman lebrecht

November 30, 2022

From a reflection by our correspondent Alexandra Ivanoff:

ince I moved to Budapest in 2015, the constant question from Hungarians is: “Why on earth would you move here?” My answer is “the music life is like no other city in the world” — an answer that usually elicits confused stares from the questioner. My response to them is: “How many professional symphony orchestras does Budapest have?”

Here is the list of 12 professional orchestras (in no particular order):

MÁV Symphony Orchestra Budapest Festival Orchestra Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra Concerto Budapest Budafok Dohnányi Orchestra Zugló Symphony Orchestra Óbuda Symphony Orchestra Liszt Chamber Orchestra Pannon Philharmonic Orfeo Orchestra/Purcell Choir Hungarian National Radio Symphony Orchestra Hungarian National Opera Orchestra

I then pose the question to the questioner(s): How many orchestras do you think New York City has? The answer is: one! That answer is the same for Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Boston. And none of them are supported by state or federal governments…

Read on here.

It all starts with music education. Hungary is among the best, if not the best.

https://aec-music.eu/members/national-overviews/hungary#:~:text=General%20music%20education%20is%20taught%20from%20the%20age%20of%206%20until%20graduation.&text=Most%20students%20come%20from%20conservatories,from%20music%20and%20art%20schools.&text=Hungary%20has%20many%20youth%20orchestras%20and%20choirs .

Comments welcome.

I had no idea how deeply embeded music education is in Hungary’s institutions. Thank you for bringing it to our attention. The El Sistema philosopy of music in Venezuela will, hopefully, achieve the same success. Music education is the secret sauce and should be mandatory in public schools for building future professional orchestras in the country where I live.

There seems to be a lack of impartiality here. Alexandra says that London has four professional orchestras. Off the top of my head I can name 11, excluding original instrument bands:

Philharmonia London Philharmonic Royal Philharmonic BBC Symphony Covent Garden Opera English National Opera London Mozart Players Academy of St Martins in the Fields English Chamber Orchestra of St John’s Smith Smith Square London Sinfonietta

Any more any one?

The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have their offices in London.

London Chamber Orchestra

City of London Sinfonia

The Chamber Orchestra of Europe have their offices in London.

11 + 4 = 15

London is the clear winner.

Let’s have a piece on Slipped Disc about London’s world class orchestras.

Population of Budapest: circa 1.8 million Population of London: circa 9.5 million

I forgot the London Symphony Orchestra. Sorry, Sir Simon.

BBC Concert orchestra

Similarly, I can think of at least 4 NYC orchestras off the top of my head and I don’t even live there. In Toronto we have at least 6.

When comparing the number of orchestras in cities, it is important to note the size of their season and/or the number of performances they have per year. New York City, for example, might have 6 orchestras or so, but four of them are part time with a relatively small number of performances per year while the European orchestras have full seasons with regular performances. From that perspective, NYC has two full time orchestras, the NY Phil and the Met, while a city like Munich has seven full time orchestras and two full time opera houses.

You are entirely wrong, I am afraid: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Orchestras_based_in_New_York_City

I don’t know — the “Cab Calloway Orchestra”? I mean I love Cab Calloway, but come on. That list also includes the Orpheus Chamber, and are they even much around any more? I don’t associate them with NYC much either.

Sinfonia of London English Baroque Soloists Orchestre Revolutionaire et Romantique Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

BBC Concert Orchestra

In Budapest, you not have to fear “Multiculture” and all it`s enrichments.

But in London nowadays it’s mostly the same handful of players playing in all the orchestras….the freelance/diary service culture? What’s in a name?

London’s population (and budget) vs Budapest’s.

Anyone care to weigh in?

does no one understand its not the quantity but the quality… crazy world Look at Vienna around the corner! Nothing in Budapest comes close to anything in Vienna so hope you double check Anyhow good if many people are employed in music, that’s definitely a plus

I heard the Budapest Festival Orchestra recently in the US and, at the minimum, it does come close to the VPO.

I heard the Budapest Festival Orchestra in the Musikverein in 2011 and regarded it as very fine – right up there with the very very best!!

Yes. They have one of the world’s worst conductors. A guy named Iván Fischer who once decided to put the members of the chorus of Beethoven 9th among the audience. In my case, I just heard the two basses who were standing behind me. A shame for everyone concerned, including the Konzerthaus.

“They have one of the world’s worst conductors.”

He’s not. Even if that is what he did. His Mahler and everything else I’ve heard has been top notch.

I played with him, he just tries to be original… Nothing solid there(my opinion). He’s brother Adam is totally another story. Professional, inteligent, with good taste.

Nonsense. The Hungarian orchestras are excellent and quite comparable to Vienna and other cities.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra is easily better than any Vienna Orchestra but the Philharmonic.

Totally agree.

Says who???

Absolutely!!

It’s not so easy… And it’s for me a big mistake (the Berliner from exemple didn’t do) the Wiener did to never have developped a real relationchip with Ivan Fischer.

You are mistaken, if it would be about quality then let live 30 orchestras in the whole world and see what happens. Is it really important that all orchestras play like Concertgebo or Los Angeles and below that nothing deserve to exist? Think just for a minute about the consequences.

Lol. BFO is right up there with Vienna Phil.

Yes, that’s all very well, but are they diverse?

Are those 12 all full-time, year round orchestras? New York City has the Philharmonic, Met Opera, NY City Ballet Orchestra plus American Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Little Orchestra Society, Queens Symphony, Riverside Symphony. Maybe 1 or 2 others I’m not remembering?

Orpheus Chamber Orchestra!

NY City Ballet Orchestra has a half year season–and barely that. The American Symphony, American Composers Orchestra, Little Orchestra Society, Queens Symphony, Riverside Symphony have very paltry seasons and miserable budgets. That’s the difference with Europe where the orchestras usually have full year seasons.

Orchestra of St. Luke’s

Orchestra of St. Luke’s!

The Riverside Symphony? They also have some good college orchestras too (with free concerts!) but the product of almost all of these is pretty irregular.

Your correspondent is completely wrong about the number of orchestras in those US cities. There are multiple orchestras in each of them.

Many with extremely paltry seasons while the orchestras in Europe usually have full seasons with regular performances.

Boston has BSO and BPO at least. But have a look at Russia. In Moscow there are like 20 orchestras and 20 more that’s being gathered from time to time

Yes, but the difference is that many of them are semi-professional – meaning that only ‘ringers’ get paid – or are fully voluntary. In some cases, the players actually pay to play. Government subsidies in the U.S. don’t pay for multiple orchestras and opera companies within a city. Even the big orchestras and opera companies have to do their own fund raising, and need to come up with sizeable endowments to assure themselves of future operations. In many towns, even the musician’s union trust fund monies have dried up for supporting municipal bands. For classical musicians in the U.S., you’re best bet if you don’t get into a big-name orchestra or opera company that pays well, is to go into the military bands and orchestras. That, and teaching – lots and lots of teaching. Many very good instrumentalists have day jobs, and then pursue their musical interests on nights and weekends for personal enrichment. It’s not ideal, but there it is. Given the political climate and its proximity to Putin’s Russia, I don’t think I’d want to depend on Hungary for a weekly paycheck. Then again, I’m not young and adventurous.

Indeed, Los Angeles has: LA Philharmonic LA Chamber Orchestra Pacific Symphony Pasadena Symphony New West Symphony Orchestra Culver City Symphony Long Beach Symphony San Bernardino Symphony Santa Monica Symphony

There’s more government support than you might think – the LA Phil lists the following governmental donors: County of Los Angeles ($200-500k), City of LA ($25-50k), and the NEA ($75k).

By the way, how many concerts do those 12 orchestras in Budapest play? LA may have one principal orchestra (while London has, say 4, and Berlin has, say 9) but it plays 3-4 services most weekends. That’s almost 10,000 possible attendees to each program (not counting the Hollywood Bowl!).

The orchestras in Budapest and the rest of Europe play far more concerts than the list of pick-up orchestras performing in rental facilities that you mention.

Yes, William; but given how large the four counties that make up ‘L.A.’ truly are, having orchestras play in distantly located theaters and halls isn’t a bad thing. Besides, the Segerstam Concert Hall in Orange County isn’t bad at all. I’ve been there. Cal State University Northridge has a really nice concert facility as well. It truly isn’t that dire here. We’re well used to the idea that government isn’t going to support everything we’d like to have. Seems to me that they’re having those kinds of conversations most everywhere these days too. I’m not defending it – it is what it it is, and there’s no point in crying on and on about the govt. not providing a living for the never ending parade of musician want-a-be’s.

Thank you for vouching for the LA classical music scene…someone had to…

Yes, the population of the LA metro area is twice the population of Austria which has 16 full time orchestras. Similar story for many European countries. You defeatist attitude is an example of how deeply brainwashed Americans are. With their antiquated 18th century system of government, and the extreme limits of a two party corrupted state, they can’t even imagine having effective government.

Putin’s Russia is also deeply corrupt (not even a one-party state), and vastly more supportive of orchestras with government dollars (whether from the government directly or from the oligarchs) than the US (albeit we in the US have a more individual choice in the matter through the tax-deductability of charitable donations, so that’s another sort of government support that hasn’t been raised yet). What in any of the previous statements do you think were “defeatist”?

That sounds great, not so most of those hungarian orchestras. Fischer’s Festival Orchestra is truly world class, the rest might give you headaches on a bad day..

Alexandra is correct. Budapest has nine full time orchestras. Most major cities in continental Europe have several ***52-week season orchestras counting their paid vacations which are usually 4 to 6 weeks,*** while most American cities cannot maintain even one 52 week orchestra. Don’t let American bluster fool you. If they have multiple orchestras in a city it is only because all those aside from the main symphony orchestra have very limited seasons and low budgets. And outside of about the top 40 orchestras, the orchestras in most regional cities have very limited seasons. The New Mexico Philharmonic, for example, pays its tutti strings about $3000 per year even after 30 years of service.

Even some cities in less rich countries like Mexico City and Caracas have multiple full time orchestras. Moscow has 12, London 8, Paris at least 6, Minsk 8, Munich 7, Vienna 7, Berlin 7, Prague 8, Stockholm 3, Budapest 9, Madrid 4, Barcelona 2, Athens 5, Bucharest 5, Caracas at least 6, and Mexico City at least 5. Here’s a list of these orchestras. Corrections welcomed. Even Tokyo has 8 full time orchestras.

Here’s a list of examples:

Moscow + Moscow Chamber Orchestra + Moscow City Symphony Orchestra + Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra + Moscow State Symphony Orchestra + Moscow Symphony Orchestra + Moscow Virtuosi + National Philharmonic of Russia + Russian National Orchestra + Russian Philharmonic Orchestra + State Symphony Capella of Russia + State Symphony Cinema Orchestra + Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra (Moscow also has more opera performances per year than any other city in the world, including Vienna, Paris, Berlin, and London. Meanwhile, New York is no longer even in the top 10.)

London + London Symphony Orchestra + London Philharmonic + Royal Philharmonic + Philharmonia + BBC Symphony Orchestra + BBC Concert Orchestra + Royal Opera Orchestra + English National Opera Orchestra (There are several other worldclass orchestras in London that are not full time such as the London Sinfonietta, English Chamber Orchestra, and Academy of St Martin’s in the Field.)

Paris + L’Orchestre National de Radio-France + Orchestre de Paris + Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France + L’Orchestre de l’Opéra de Paris + Ensemle Intercontemporain + Orchestre de Chambre de Paris + Orchestre des Concerts Pasdeloup. + Orchestre Colonne, + Orchestre Lamoureux (The Paris Opera Orchestra has 170 members since the services must be rotated to meet demand. The last two orchestras are more marginal and may not be full time.)

Munich + Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra + Bavarian Radio Orchestra + Munich Philharmonic + Bavarian State Opera Orchestra + Gärtnerplatz Opera Orchestra + Munich Symphoniker + Munich Chamber Orchestra

Vienna + Vienna Philharmonic + Vienna Symphony Orchestra + Vienna State Opera Orchestra + Vienna State Radio Orchestra + Volksoper Orchestra + Vienna Klang Forum + Tonkünstlerorchester (The VPO and State Opera Orchestra use the same personnel, but the ensemble has 149 positions so that they can rotate the services. I think there might be other orchestras in the city I don’t know about.)

Berlin + Berliner Philharmoniker + Konzerthausorchester Berlin + Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin + Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin + Orchester der Staatsoper Unter den Linden/Staatskapelle Berlin + Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin + Orchester der Komischen Oper Berlin

Prague +Czech Philharmonic Orchestra + Czech National Symphonic Orchestra +Prague Symphony Orchestra “F.O.K.” +Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra +National Theatre Opera Orchestra +The Capitol Prague Opera Orchestra +Prague Film Orchestra +Prague Chamber Philharmonic

Stockholm +Royal Stockholm Philharmonic +Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra +Royal Opera House +Stockholm Chamber Orchestra

Budapest +Budapest Festival Orchestra +Budapest Philharmonic +Hungarian National Philharmonic +Dohnányi Orchestra Budafok +Hungarian State Opera Orchestra +Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra +Concerto Budapest +Danubia Orchestra +Hungarian Railway Symphony

St. Petersburg + Honored Philharmonic Orchestra + Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra + St. Petersburg Academic Symphony Orchestra + A Capella Symphony Orchestra + Symphony Orchestra “Classics” + Governors Symphony Orchestra + Mikhailovsky Theater + St. Petersburg Opera Theater + Children’s Philharmonic Orchestra + The Tauric Symphony Orchestra (There are also four orchestras of Russian folk instruments)

Madrid + Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (royal opera) + Orquesta Sinfónica de la Radio y Televisión Española + Orquesta Nacional de España + Orquesta de la comunidad de madrid

Barcelona + Orquestra Simfónica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya + Orquestra Simfónica del Gran Teatre del Liceu” (opera)

Athens + State Orchestra of Athens + Orchestra of Athens + National Opera + Radio Symphony Orchestra + Philharmonia Orchestra + Armonia Atenea

Thessaloniki + State Orchestra of Thessaloniki + Orchestra of Thessaloniki + New Orchestra of Thessaloniki

Minsk + National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre Orchestra + Belarusian State Academic Musical Theatre Orchestra + National Academic Concert Orchestra (jazz/pop) + Presidential Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus + State Academic Symphony Orchestra + State Chamber Orchestra + State Academic Zhynovich Folk Instruments Orchestra + State Radio Symphony Orchestra

Bucharest + The George Enescu Philharmonic + The Radio and TV Symphony Orchestra + The National Romanian Opera Orchestra + Radio Chamber Orchestra + Bucharest Operetta and Musical Orchestra Caracas, Venezuela +Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela +Orquesta Filarmonica de Venezuela +Orquesta Sinfónica Municipal de Caracas +Orquesta Sinfónica Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho +Orquesta Sinfónica Juan José Landaeta +Orquesta Sinfónica Simon Bolívar A +Orquesta Sinfónica Simon Bolívar +Orquesta Sinfónica Barroca

Mexico City + Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, + Filarmónica de la Ciudad de México + Orq. Filarmónica de la UNAM + Orq. Sinfónica del IPN + Orquesta del Teatro de Bellas Artes and Orquesta de Cámara de Bellas Artes There are also two youth orchestras that are seen by some as providing full time jobs.

Tokyo + The NHK Symphony Orchestra + Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra + Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra + Tokyo City Philharmonic + Japan Philharmonic + New Japan Philharmonic + Tokyo Philharmonic + Tokyo Symphony

Paris today is lucky with two very good new concert halls plus Dudamel and Mäkelä

William, I largely agree with your arguments, but not with your lists of European orchestras. I can see quite a few part time full orchestras, not to speak of chamber orchestras.

With respect to Prague, only the Czech Philharmonic and Prague SO (FOK) are full-time, in the sense that they present a dozen or more subscription programs with multiple performances.

The Czech National SO (and the Prague Philharmonic, probably what is meant by the Prague Chamber Phiharmonic – PKF) are freelance bands that play about 4 shows a year in Prague, and tour a bit.

I’m not sure what they do with the rest of their time, but the Prague Radio Symphony also plays about a half-dozen one-off concerts each season.

Never heard of several of these.

In addition to the list of cities with muliple full time orchestras I listed, we should not that by contrast very few US cities have even one full-time orchestra. And even these single, partial year, orchestras often face financial problems. Here is a list of US orchestras that have declared bankruptcy during my career: San Diego, Miami, Kansas City, Albuquerque, Syracuse, Tulsa, San Antonio, New Orleans, Denver, San Jose, Colorado Springs, Honolulu, Miami, and Philadelphia. When they manage to return, they are often depleted and their musicians demoralized. There is nothing in Europe comparable to this pattern of orchestral bankruptcies.

Many more orchestras are in continual financial trouble even if they skirt bankruptcy. Miami has a metro population of 5.5 million, and is incredibly wealthy, but does not even have a professional symphony orchestra. (The New World Symphony is a training orchestra for students and young professionals that regularly rotates its personnel.)

We can’t solve our problems with arts funding by living in a bubble of ideological delusions.

(Don’t let people reach for a false comparison with the limited number of German orchestral closings after the wall came down which was an entirely different matter mostly due to redundancies caused by the wall. East Germany also had such a dense orchestral landscape it truly was excessive. This is no way compares to the patterns of bankruptcies in the USA.)

Also, Alexandra, don’t let yourself be detracted by the Fox News/Breitbart/Brexiteer people who frequent these pages with their blustering nonsense. Please keep us posted about the musical life of Hungary and Budapest.

Are they actually salaried orchestras with a fixed core of full-time musicians, or does the same pool of freelance musicians appear under different ensemble names? The latter is common in London.

Tokyo seems to have been omitted from this discussion and has, off the top of my head, at least 5 true independent orchestras:

NHK Symphony Yomuri Nippon Symphony Japan Philharmonic New Japan Philharmonic Tokyo Symphony Orchestra

Except for Orfeo orchestra which is a period ensamble of freelancers and Pannon Phil. which actually belongs to the city of Pécs, yes, all of them full time orchestras with contracted members.

Yeah, who cares. All of those orchestras are subpar to NY Phil, not to mention many others, and most of them share many of the same underpaid, tired players. Plus the added bonus of living in an antisemitic, anti-gay state with crumbling infrastructure and a joke of an economy. Good luck with that.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra is not remotely inferior to the NY Philharmonic – rather the opposite.

But yes, everything else you say is valid.

So good to talk with the conviction of an ignorant. I sincerely hope you have heard all of them and NY Phil like for years so you can write such a bunch of nonsense, which of course you haven’t.

Naturally not all of them are world class but they don’t need to be, they serve the community and the ones sitting in the hall willing to listen and to have a good time, they care!

Regarding the added bonus, yes, what a burden to live in such a place, but consider how worse and miserable would it be without orchestras and music schools doing their part to educate and fight against those issues?

Thank you for your valuable contribution!

As a retired NYC and formally very active musician, may I state that Music Education in NY is abysmal. The Budget cuts, the Woke hatred of White music, the TOTAL emphasis on the current, in my opinion, INSANE wokeness, only serves to remove our Cultural Heritages. Great that we are experiencing more diverse musical experiences, BUT, the desire to ridicule and eliminate “WHITENESS” in music is totally MarXist propagada! We ARE BETTER than this ABUSE!

I witnessed the Budapest Festival Orchestra play under Iván Fischer (two nights: both Mahler programmes) in Brugge recently – one of the finest conductors and most responsive orchestras I have ever seen! Certainly the finest Mahler 4! Fischer and the BFO were outstanding – world class!!

London, at least ten. New York, NYPO, Met, Orpheus, The Knights, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, American Composers Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonia, American Symphony, Riverside Symphony….

Yeah, how many people does Budapest have compared to London? 😉 Let alone how much money?

With two exceptions, most of these don’t play more than a handful of concerts per year.

Just look at the calendar for the Budapest orchestras and the difference will become quite clear.

I don’t dispute that Budapest has a rich musical scene, but there’s a bit of apples-and-oranges here.

New York has the Philharmonic, of course, and the MET is very much a full-time professional orchestra. And Carnegie Hall presents enough orchestras over a season to count as a third. Plus all sorts of part-time bands like St. Lukes, Orpheus, etc..

Boston has a very rich musical scene; I lived there for three years and hardly ever went to the BSO yet heard lots of great music, including two excellent student orchestras at Harvard and NEC.

Moscow may have a dozen orchestras, but when I lived there in the early 2000s and aggressively attended concerts, I think I heard eight bands; many others reputed to exist but never seemed to perform. Also, none played more than a dozen concerts a year in Moscow; collectively they added up to maybe two full-time orchestras, at best.

Hungary in in a deep economic crisis that is developing much worse by the action of the EU Commission. One can wonder how those 12 professional orchestras are funded.

I have seen twice on tour the Budapest orchestra I have a ticket for 2023 for a concert with the great Rudy Buchbinder. For me there’s absolutly no doubts it’s one of 6 or 7 best orchestras in the world like many international standings showed during the last years and I was each time suprised by the fact that the tickets are not exepensive at all. It seems that the new concert hall is excellent. And I have nothing to add concerning the talent of Ivan the great.

The Santa Monica Symphony has 5 concerts this season. The Dec 5th one includes Stravinsky’s Firebird and Vaughan Williams Lark Ascending and (how about this) it is FREE!

Let’s clear something out here, Pannon Philharmonic is not an orchestra of Budapest but from Pécs. And Orfeo Orchestra is a period ensamble without contracts with the musicians, so freelancers.

Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra and Duna Symphony Orchestra are missing from the list though, those are also professional ensambles with contracted musicians.

And just to let you all know, the so called new world capital had so many cuts in the last months that Óbudai Danubia is going on unpaid leave since January, the Opera had to reinvent their season and let musicians who recently won auditions without contract due to the 2 billion cut and all orchestras are canceling concerts and events outside their subscription concerts because halls are closing after the insane heating cost increase. So the world capital is more likely to become the world’s capital of hungry and frozen musicians.

“I suggest resisting the reduction of cultural and educational budgets, despite the inflated prices on goods and services, and despite political maneuverings outside the borders. All denizens, including tourists, depend on live performances for their sanity and well-being, as well as for maintaining this nation’s unique and indispensable cultural profile that was so deftly demonstrated in New York.”

Everything sounds beautiful when you talk about state subsided but when the state closes the water tap, then one suffers that there’s literally no other resources to survive as she says.

This article would have come in handy a couple of decades ago, even more if it would suggest how does the orchestras in the world outside “állam bácsi” do look for their bread.

Well, wrong. NYC has 29, most famously the NYP and the MET orchestra since you are counting the opera orchestra in Budapest. And the MET orchestra gives orchestral performances and last I heard them they were astonishingly great in their first Bruckner ever. Then there is the great Orchestra of St. Luke’s and another 26: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Orchestras_based_in_New_York_City

As a fact it has more than 12 professional orchestras, and the level is quite good frankly.

It was quite disappointing for me to listen to Staatskapelle Dresden last concert in Budapest, playing as a youth symphony orchestra, with salaries x5 higher than in Hungary public applauded out of education, but the level was terribly poor. None the less leaving aside great ensembles such as Anima Musicae (they played all 5 mozart concerti with David Grimaldi in one program) Plus the diversity of musical venues, from the operett theatre to the music house, to mupa, the National Theater, opera house, vigado theatre (in which Mahler premiered his first symphony) and list goes on.

Since I met Anima Musicae I consider they deserve sooo much more not only in Hungary but in the world scene, hope they get their deserved appreciation some day.

Nonsense. Los Angeles, for instance, has 3 internationally known orchestras (LA Phil, Pacific Symphony, and LA Chamber Orchestra). Among its second tier orchestras is the Pasadena Symphony which regularly features world-class soloists (this Sunday 12/11 Gil Shaham).

For world-class classical music, my top cities would be Berlin and London, followed by NYC.

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Boris Godunov

Modest Mussorgsky BORIS GODUNOV Opera in four acts with a prologue, in Russian, with Hungarian, English, and Russian subtitles

Stephen, the king

Levente Szörényi – János Bródy / Levente Gyöngyösi STEPHEN, THE KING Rock-opera production in two parts, in Hungarian, with Hungarian and English subtitles

OperaTour - English

A 60-minute tour starts every day at 13:30, 15:00 and 16:30 in English. To request a tour in other languages (Italian, Spanish, German, French and Hungarian), please get in touch with the OperaTour team. Please note that the auditorium is closed for visits during rehearsals. Guided tours are not available during performances.

OperaTour - Spanish

OperaTour - Hungarian

Please note that the auditorium is closed for visits during rehearsals. Guided tours are not available during performances.

OperaTour - English II.

Frenetic Dance

Johan Inger – William Forsythe – Hans van Manen – Sol León – Paul Lightfoot FRENETIC DANCE Four one-act ballet in three parts

Carmina Burana

Carl Orff CARMINA BURANA Scenic cantata, in the original languages, with Hungarian and English surtitles

A jegyek pillanatnyi ára a kereslet-kínálat függvényében változhat.

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Between 1993 and 2011 Walid Aouni directed more than 25 shows for the Egyptian Modern Dance company at the Cairo Opera House, and also created numerous celebratory ceremonies for the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Armed Forces, as well as for national celebrations.

Walid Aouni began his career in Belgium in the 1980’s, where he studied “Graphic Arts” and Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. In 1980 he created his first dance theatre group named “Tanit Dance Theatre”, and in 1988, staged the inaugural performance for Arab World Institute in Paris with it. Being recognized as a modern dance choreographer by the Ministry of Culture in Belgium, during this period he choreographed and directed 8 highly successful shows.

Aouni worked for 9 years as a scenographer with the famous international choreographer Maurice Bejart, and first visited Egypt with him in 1990. In 1993 Mr. Farouk Hosny, the former Egyptian Minister of Culture, engaged him to establish the first group of modern dance for the Cairo Opera House, which was also the first of its kind in any Arab country.

Between 1993 and 2011 Walid Aouni directed more than 25 shows for the Egyptian Modern Dance company at the Cairo Opera House, and also created numerous celebratory ceremonies for the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Armed Forces, as well as for national celebrations such as the opening ceremony of the restored Sphinx in 2012, the opening ceremony of the Nubian Museum in Aswan, the centennial Festival for Modern Dance, and the opening of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In 2005, he designed the inauguration of “African Games” Championship in Egypt, in 2007 the inauguration of the “Arabic Games” Championship and the tenth anniversary celebration of the reign of the King of Bahrain in 2009.

His name has been included in the encyclopaedia for Arabic theatre, and he has worked with numerous celebrities in the fields of show business and cinema. Walid Aouni has worked with international cinema and theatre directors such us Maurice Bejart, Jean-Michel Jarre, Jacques Lassalle, Victoria Rossi, Youssef Chahine, Joceline Saab, Inas El Deghedy, Wahid Hamed, Joe Malconian and Italian director Alberto Corno.

Walid Aouni won several Egyptian international prizes and medals, including the Knight Medal of Honour from the Lebanese government in 1992, the Shield of Egyptian Armed Forces in 1995 and 2002, the prize of the best stenographic shows of the International Cairo Festival for Experimental Theatrein 1997, the title of Best Director in Egypt, as well as the Medal of Arts from Cairo Fine Arts Faculty and the Medal of Honor from Helwan University in 2009.

In 2006 Aouni received several prizes for his art exhibition, the most important being the “Golden Hathour” prize of the International Biennial of Cairo. In 2002 Walid Aouni received the French knight of “Arts and Letters“Medal of Honour, which is considered to be the highest French medal awarded for cultural and artistic achievements for his overall work since 1980 in Egypt and abroad. Amongst his achievements is the establishment of the Egyptian Modern Dance Theatre group, the Modern Dance School and the International Annual Festival for Modern Dance, held in Egypt and abroad. He furthermore holds the position of Artistic Director of the “Forsan El Shark” traditional group.

www.walidaouni.com

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Ulan-Ude’s unmissable State Opera and Ballet Theatre

Elena Bubeeva

Travel tips for ulan-ude.

During Soviet times,  art went hand in hand with ideology. It’s the Soviet government that dictated whether to erect or not the palaces of culture , establishments for practicing all kinds of entertaining activities. Meant to aid the “ cultural pleasure ” of Soviet workers, those appeared everywhere throughout the country. One of such palaces was planned for Ulan-Ude , too. A stately, grand building of the State Opera and Ballet Theatre designed for the first time back in 1935, today presents an unmissable gem of Ulan-Ude’s high culture.

Stepping back in time 

The idea to establish the theatre was in the air since 1934. A Moscow-based architect Fedorov developed a project of the Hall of Socialistic Culture. However, state authorities did not approve it. He tried again two years later when the same authorities decreed to erect the Buryat-Mongolian National Theatre . This time, he succeeded.

Although the initial project was born within the walls of Mossovet or Moscow City Council , it was discussed in Buryatia , the Buryat Autonomous Soviet Socialistic Republic back then, too. The local government had only one request - to add the distinctive national flair both in the theatre’s interior and exterior. Construction works began in 1938. 

The prolonged WW II had affected the construction. The works restarted only in 1945, by the merit of its mastermind Gombozhap Cydynzhapov, a Buryat-Soviet actor and theatre director . The grand opening was held on May, 1st in 1952, and the first performance took place later the same year on November 7th. 

Noteworthy one-off architecture 

The State Opera and Ballet Theatre presents a stunningly beautiful piece of art, so the audience is entertained both by the one-off architecture and dynamic  on-stage  action. As a Stalinist-era building , it bears the features of majestic monumentalism but also includes national decorative elements. This phenomenon was in a way exceptional, as starting from 1955, on Khrushchev’s instruction, the Soviet Union was mainly flooded with “faceless” concrete buildings.

The interior décor of the theatre lobby demonstrates both traditional Buryat ornaments and stylized Buddhist motifs. On the second floor, guests can find a famous high relief “Friendship of Peoples” , a plaster-made sculpture that consists of fifteen human figures in full size.

The highlight is a gorgeous decorated ceiling in the main hall. Applying the same technique of wall painting as in the churches, artists used about 55 000 eggs to finish it. To separate the yolks from the whites, a prominent Moscow confectionery manufacture Babaevsky hired extra workers. 

What places are in the repertoire? 

The great thing about art is that everyone can relate to it to a certain extent. Despite the language barriers, non-Russophone visitors also might enjoy the plays as operas are performed in its original languages, primarily in Italian, French, or German. Guests also might notice surtitles in Russian projected above the stage. Frequently in the repertoire is  ballet , where the language is less needed. The  theatre  is opened throughout the year, except for the summertime when the staff is on tour. You can either purchase the ticket online or buy it directly at the  theatre ticket office .

Do you plan your next cultural holiday in Siberia ? Then mark the  unmissable opera and ballet setting in your check-list for Ulan-Ude, and experience the city’s high culture when here.

Buryat State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, Ulan-Ude

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Hi, I am Elena. 28 years old, from Siberia. Communications enthusiast and nature lover, I spend much time talking about sustainable tourism, trails, and places for a good pizza. Join me for some tips and tricks around the coldest region in the world aka Siberia.

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Theatres in Moscow

Cultural life of Moscow city is various and rich! Operas, ballets, symphonic concerts... Russian composers have created some of the most beautiful classical music. Russian classical music is very popular in Moscow. It is performed in many beautiful historical venues. Do not forget to include a visit to a concert hall in your itinerary when you are planning your stay in Moscow! And do it in advance.

There are almost no restrictions on dress code in Russian theatres. Visitors may wear jeans and sports shoes, they may have a backpack with them. Only shorts are not allowed.

A typical feature of Russian theatre – visitors are bringing a lot of flowers which they present to their favorite performers after the show.

Here are some practical advices where to go and how to buy tickets.

The Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre is the oldest, the most famous and popular opera and ballet theatre in Russia. The word “Bolshoi” means “big” in Russian. You can buy a ticket online in advance, 2-3 months before the date of performance on the official website . Prices for famous ballets are high: 6-8 thousand rubles for a seat in stalls. Tickets to operas are cheaper: you can get a good seat for 4-5 thousand rubles. Tickets are cheaper for daytime performances and performances on the New Stage. The New Stage is situated in the light-green building to the left of the Bolshoi's main building. The quality of operas and ballets shown on the New Stage is excellent too. However, you should pay attention that many seats of the Bolshoi’s Old and New Stages have limited visibility . If you want to see the Bolshoi’s Old Stage but all tickets are sold out, you can order a tour of the theatre. You can book such a tour on the official website.

If you want, following Russian tradition, to give flowers to the performers at the end of the show, in the Bolshoi flowers should be presented via special staff who collects these flowers in advance.

In August the Bolshoi is closed.

The Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre

This theatre is noteworthy. On one hand, it offers brilliant classical opera and ballet performances. On the other hand, it is an experimental venue for modern artists. You can check the program and buy tickets online here http://stanmus.com/ . If you are opera lover, get a ticket to see superstar Hibla Gerzmava . The theatre has a very beautiful historic building and a stage with a good view from every seat. Tickets are twice cheaper than in the Bolshoi.

The Novaya Opera

“Novaya” means “New” in Russian. This opera house was founded in 1991 by a famous conductor Eugene Kolobov. Its repertoire has several directions: Russian and Western classics, original shows and divertissements, and operas of the 20th and 21st centuries. It is very popular with Muscovites for excellent quality of performances, a comfortable hall, a beautiful Art Nouveau building and a historic park Hermitage, which is situated right next to it. You can buy tickets online here http://www.novayaopera.ru/en .

Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Center

The Opera Center has become one of the best theatrical venues in Moscow. It was founded in 2002 by great diva Galina Vishnevskaya. Nowadays its artistic director is Olga Rostropovich, daughter of Galina Vishnevskaya and her husband Mstislav Rostropovich, great cellist and conductor. Not only best young opera singers perform here, but also world music stars do; chamber and symphonic concerts, theatrical productions and musical festivals take place here. You can see what is on the program here http://opera-centre.ru/theatre . Unfortunately “booking tickets online” is available in Russian only. If you need help, you can contact us at and we can book a ticket for you. 

Tchaikovsky Concert Hall and The Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory

These are two major concert halls for symphonic music in Moscow. Both feature excellent acoustics, impressive interior, various repertoire and best performers. You can check the program here http://meloman.ru/calendar/ . You need just to switch to English. Booking tickets online is available only for owners of Russian, Ukrainian and Belorussian phone numbers. If you need help, you can contact us and we can book a ticket for you. 

Moscow International Performing Arts Center (MIPAC)

This modern and elegant concert hall houses performances of national and foreign symphony orchestras, chamber ensembles, solo instrumentalists, opera singers, ballet dancers, theatre companies, jazz bands, variety and traditional ensembles. Actually, it has three concert halls placed on three different levels and having separate entrances. The President of MIPAC is People’s Artist of the USSR Vladimir Spivakov, conductor of “Virtuosy Moskvy” orchestra. You can see pictures of the concert halls here http://www.mmdm.ru/en/content/halls . The program is impressive in its variety but is not translated into English. You can contact us at and we can find a performance for you.