On 12 March 2021, soprano Ágnes Molnár and tenor János Szerekován made a selection of their favourite operas. Their aria recital included excerpts by Mozart, Donizetti, Leoncavallo, Dvořák and György Selmeczi. The performance was streamed from 8:00 p.m. on Facebook and Origo.hu.
Soprano Ágnes Molnár was born in the region of Csallóköz (Žitný ostrov) and sang her first opera solo at the age of 21 on the stage of the National Theatre of Győr. In 2008, she was accepted to the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, where she graduated in 2013. She also participated in the master’s courses held by Sylvia Sass, Éva Marton, and Júlia Hamari. She made her debut at the Hungarian State Opera with the role of Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), where she subsequently went on to sing roles by Verdi and Puccini as well as the world premiere of Leander and Linseed, the children's opera by Zsófia Tallér. Her international career took her to famous concert halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, Teatro Verdi in Trieste, and Teatro Verdi in Pisa, where she performed alongside Andrea Bocelli.
János Szerekován was born in the Transylvanian city of Marosvásárhely (Târgu Mureș), where he started out studying violin. Later, he earned his degree in voice performance. In Budapest, he continued his vocal studies with Boldizsár Keönch, an associate professor at the Liszt Academy. In 2007, he took part in a master class with Thomas Houser, singing teacher at New York's Metropolitan Opera. He made his debut at the Hungarian State Opera in 2003 in the role of Count Alberto in L'occasione fa il ladro by Rossini. His repertoire includes a number of comic operas as well as pieces by Verdi, Puccini, Wagner, Massenet and 20th-century composers. He was awarded the Józsed Simándy Memorial Plaque in 2014.
Artistic director of the performance: Andrea Kováts
Pianist: Anikó Katona
Hosted by Szilveszter Ókovács
Programme:
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro – Susanna's aria from Act 4 ("Deh vieni non tardar, o gioia bella") – Ágnes Molnár
Mozart: Don Giovanni – Don Ottavio's aria from Act 1 ("Dalla sua pace") – János Szerekován
Dvořák: Rusalka – Rusalka's aria from Act 1 ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém") – Ágnes Molnár
Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail – Pedrillo's aria from Act 2 ("Bátran bőszen, harcra készen!") – János Szerekován
György Selmeczi: Byzantium– Empress Irene's aria ("Nézd e kristályt") – Ágnes Molnár
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci – Arlecchino's aria from Act 2 ("O, Colombina") – János Szerekován
Donizetti: Don Pasquale – Norina and Ernesto's duet from Act 3 ("Tornami a dir che m'ami") – Ágnes Molnár and János Szerekován
The performance can be viewed HERE.
Photo by Edina Ligeti