In the 5 March 2021 Masquerade, two popular singers who were featured several times in the OperaWednesday series gave an aria recital. Bori Keszei and Péter Balczó made a selection from pieces by Monteverdi, Mozart and 19th century operas. The performance was streamed from 8:00 p.m. on Facebook and Origo.hu.
Budapest-born soprano Bori Keszei studied at the Leó Weiner Conservatory then made her debut in Debrecen and Szeged, where she sang several lyric coloratura roles. She first appeared at the Hungarian State Opera as Gilda in Rigoletto in 2000, subsequently she became a member of the Opera Studio. Between 2003 and 2008, she was a soloist at the Wiener Staatsoper, where she expanded her repertoire further. She returned to the Opera in 2009, where she has performed in operas by Mozart, Verdi, Wagner, Puccini and R. Strauss as well as contemporary pieces. She can also be heard in operettas and musicals.
Debrecen-born tenor Péter Balczó first got the chance to display his talent at his home town's Csokonai Theatre, in the role of Pedrillo (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), and then went on to expand his repertoire as a soloist with increasingly difficult operatic characters. As a winner of several competitions, he got to demonstrate that he belonged in international opera life with various performances abroad. He debuted at the Hungarian State Opera in the role of Alfredo Germont (La traviata) before finding his way to complex characters. In the past decade, he has sung many important tenor roles of the Romantic era and his repertoire also includes 20th and 21st-century pieces. His achievements were rewarded with the József Simándy Memorial Plaque.
Artistic director of the performance: Mária Harangi
Pianist: Klára Jean
Hosted by Szilveszter Ókovács
Programme:
Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea – Poppea's aria ("Signor le tue parole") – Bori Keszei
Mozart: Don Giovanni – Don Ottavio's aria from Act I ("Dalla sua pace") – Péter Balczó
Mozart: L'oca del Cairo, ossia Lo sposo deluso – Auretta's aria ("Se fosse qui") – Bori Keszei
Verdi: Rigoletto – The Duke's aria from Act II ("Ella mi fu rapita") – Péter Balczó
Haydn: Arietta con variazioni in E flat major Hob. XVII-3 – Klára Jean
Massenet: Werther – Werther's aria from Act 3 ("Pourqoui me reveiller") – Péter Balczó
Dvořák: Rusalka – Rusalka's aria from Act 1 ("Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém") – Bori Keszei
Verdi: La traviata – Violetta and Alfredo's duet from Act 3 ("Parigi, o cara") – Bori Keszei and Péter Balczó
The performance can be viewed HERE.
Photo: Attila Nagy