Budapest Festival Orchestra

Performances

17 January 2018 
To be announced 

Written in Budapest, Bartók’s single opera is a bloodthirsty fairytale with strong psychological and erotic undertones. Featuring just two characters, it’s arresting performed in concert.

Bluebeard brings his new wife Judith home to his castle. She asks him to let light into the gloomy hall by opening its seven doors and discovers a series of troubling mysteries, including a torture chamber and Bluebeard’s treasure horde, dripping with gore. But what will happen when she opens the seventh door?

Performers
Budapest Festival Orchestra
Iván Fischer conductor
Márta Sebestyén folk singer
Ildikó Komlósi mezzo-soprano, Judith
Krisztián Cser bass, Bluebeard

Performances

Tuesday 23 May 2017
Royal Festival Hall, London 

In a second programme, drawing from a festival of French music performed in Budapest, the Orchestra is joined by Chinese violinist Ning Feng for a performance of Dutilleux L’Arbre des songes marking the composer's 100th anniversary in 2016.

Programme 1
Mozart Magic Flute overture
Chopin Piano concerto no. 2 
-interval-
Dvorák Symphony no. 8

Programme 2
Debussy Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune
Dutilleux L’Arbre des songes (soloist: Ning Feng)
-interval-
Satie/Debussy Gymnopédies
Ravel Pavane
Ravel Daphnis et Chloé Suite No.2

Performances

1 October 2016
Guangzhou Opera House, China 

3 October 2016
Xi'an Concert Hall, China

5 and 6 October 2016 
National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) Beijing, China 

8 October 2016
Shanghai Symphony Hall, China 

10 October 2016
Seoul Arts Center, South Korea 

11 October 2016
Samsung Concert Hall, South Korea 

They perform Mozart's Magic Flute, the composer's universally appealing opera, which features dazzling vocal fireworks and some of Mozart’s most glorious and recognisable melodies.

The Budapest Festival Orchestra bring their sparkling wit and character to this concert performance using newly designed visuals co-commissioned by the Budapest Palace of the Arts, the first time the Orchestra has performed opera in the Royal Festival Hall.

Performances

10 May 2016
Royal Festival Hall, London

The concert will open the festival and will feature soloist Anna Larsson, Orfeó Català and the children of the Maîtrise des Bouches-du-Rhône choir. 

Performances

22 March 2016
Grand Théâtre de Provence, Aix-en-Provence

The concert opens with Mozart’s Overture from Magic Flute, a preview for audiences ahead of the full opera comes to the Southbank Centre in May 2016.

Conducted by Iván Fischer the concert forms part of a wider European tour for the Festival Orchestra.

Performances

20 May 2015
Royal Festival Hall, London

With a residency at the Hong Kong Arts Festival they also performed Glazunov’s Violin Concerto with Intermusica's Renaud Capuçon. The tour also took in Beijing’s National Centre for the Performing Arts (9 March), Shanghai’s Grand Theatre (12 March) and Taipei’s National Concert Hall (14 and 15 March).

Between the concerts, the orchestra offered masterclasses, open rehearsals, pre-concert talks and community and outreach work with young students, children in hospitals, orphanages and also senior citizens at a Shanghai community home.

Performances

6 March 2014
Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong

7 March 2014
Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong

9 March 2014
National Centre for Performing Arts, Beijing

12 March 2014
Shanghai Grand Theatre, Shanghai

14 March 2014
National Concert Hall, Taipei

15 March 2014
National Concert Hall, Taipei