Eszter Sümegi
Details
In Brief
The year 1993 was a fortunate one for Eszter Sümegi. It was then that she received her diploma from the Academy of Music, graduated with the role of Tosca, won first prize at the Pavarotti Singing Competition in Philadelphia, and made her debut at the OPERA. She immediately took on a lead role, introducing herself to the Budapest audience as Mimì in the refreshed version of La bohème staged by Sándor Palcsó Jr. This first leading role was followed by many others in Hungary, with Sümegi quickly becoming the theatre’s lead soprano right before our eyes. Her repertoire consists exclusively of lead roles. After mastering Italian heroines, she gradually moved on to Wagner’s characters, and perhaps the crown jewels of her career are the delicate female roles of Richard Strauss. Naturally, Eszter Sümegi’s name is also well-known abroad. She has performed in several major cities from Vienna to Paris to Toronto and, as Sulamith in Die Königin von Saba. She even brought the good repute of the forgotten Hungarian opera as well as her own noble artistry to New York and Tel Aviv.
Programme
Giacomo Puccini
La bohème
“Quando me'n vo” – Musetta's waltz from Act II | Eszter Sümegi
“Che gelida manina” – Rodolfo's aria from Act I | Barna Bartos
“O Mimì, tu più non torni” – Rodolfo and Marcello's duet from Act IV | Barna Bartos, Zalán Lehner, second-year student of the Béla Bartók Faculty of Arts at the University of Szeged
Francesco Cilea
Adriana Lecouvreur
“Acerba voluttà” – Princess de Bouillon's aria from Act II | Ildikó Komlósi Kossuth Prize winning mezzo-soprano
Giacomo Puccini
Madama Butterfly
“Vogliatemi bene” – Cio-Cio-San and Pinkerton's duet from Act I | Eszter Sümegi, Barna Bartos
“Tu! tu! piccolo iddio” – Cio-Cio-San's aria from Act III | Eszter Sümegi
Manon Lescaut
“Donna non vidi mai” – Des Grieux's aria from Act I | Barna Bartos
“Tutta su me ti posa” – Manon and Des Grieux's duet from Act II | Eszter Sümegi, Barna Bartos
“Sola, perduta, abbandonata” – Manon's aria from Act IV | Eszter Sümegi
Suor Angelica
“Il Principe Gualtiero vostro padre” – The Princess and Angelica's duet | Eszter Sümegi, Ildikó Komlósi
“Senza mamma, o bimbo, tu sei morto” – Angelica's aria | Eszter Sümegi
Turandot
“In questa reggia” – Turandot's aria from Act II | Eszter Sümegi on recording
“Signore, ascolta!” – Liù's aria from Act I | Eszter Sümegi
Tosca
“Vissi d'arte” – Tosca's prayer from Act II | Eszter Sümegi