Eszter Sümegi obtained her diploma in opera singing from the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy in 1993 and has been one of the Hungarian State Opera's leading soloists ever since then, with more than thirty leading roles to her name in her career thus far. Her international career also commenced in 1993, when she sang the role of Ines in Donizetti's La favorite under the professional guidance of Luciano Pavarotti. In 2012, she became one of the first to be awarded the title of Chamber Singer of the Hungarian State Opera, which she won again in 2015. She has been a guest on a number of the world's opera stages, having sung at Berlin's Komische Oper, as well as in Salzburg, Bregenz, Reykjavik, Toronto, Karlsruhe and Bellinzona, working together with some of the world's leading singers, conductors and directors, including Christoph Eschenbach and Robert Wilson. One of the most sought-after concert singers, she has performed together with José Cura, Giuseppe Giacomini and László Polgár from a repertoire that includes works by Rossini, Brahms, Mozart and Verdi. Her Tosca has thrilled audiences in Vienna, Frankfurt and Toronto, and elsewhere, as her Aida has done in Pittsburgh, Barcelona and Beijing. Over the course of her career, she has sung all of the main Puccini roles, and in more recent years has discovered the great roles of Strauss (the title role in Arabella, the Empress from Die Frau ohne Schatten and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier) and Wagner (Senta in Der fliegende Holländer, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser and Elsa in Lohengrin, etc.), which have met with unanimous acclaim from both the audience and within the profession. As Sulamith (in Károly Goldmark's The Queen of Sheba), she gave a portrayal that was a revelation, and her world-class performance in Die Frau ohne Schatten was hailed in the music press.
Education and training:
Ferenc Liszt Music Academy
Competitions:
Pavarotti Singing Competition, Philadelphia – first prize (1992)
Artistic career:
Hungarian State Opera – soloist (1993-)
Academy of Music, Philadelphia (1992)
Komische Oper, Berlin
Reykjavik
Bregenz
Salzburg
Canadian Opera Company, Toronto
Bellinzona
Karlsruhe
St. Margarethen
Austin Opera, Texas
Wiener Staatsoper
Théatre du Chatelet, Párizs
Oper Frankfurt
Pittsburgh Opera
Concerts:
Prague, Bregenz, Cemal Resit Key Concert Salon (Istanbul), Paris, Rome, Toronto, Catania, Philadelphia, Lincoln Center (New York)
Awards and recognitions:
Eternal Member of the Hungarian State Opera (2022)
Kossuth Prize (2018)
Chamber Singer of the Hungarian State Opera (2012/13, 2015/16)
Artist of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2010)
Officer's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary (2004)
Mihály Székely Commemorative Plaque (2000)
Juventus Prize (1997)
Mr. and Mrs. Andor Mándy Award (1994)
Principal roles:
Verdi: Don Carlos – Elisabeth
Verdi: La forza del destino – Leonora
Verdi: Il trovatore – Leonora
Verdi: Aida – title role
Verdi: Vespri siciliani – Elena
Verdi: La traviata – title role
Verdi: Un ballo in maschera – Amelia
Verdi: Otello – Desdemona
Verdi: Giovanna d’Arco – title role
Verdi: Nabucco – Abigél
Puccini: La bohème – Mimì
Puccini: Turandot – Liù
Puccini: Tosca – title role
Puccini: Il tabarro – Giorgetta
Puccini: Suor Angelica – title role
Puccini: Madama Butterfly – title role
Puccini: Manon Lescaut – title role
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro – Countess Almaviva
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci – Nedda
Giordano: Andrea Chénier – Maddalena
Bellini: Norma – title role
Tchaikovsky: Onegin – Tatiana
Goldmark: The Queen of Sheba – Sulamith
B. Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle – Judith
R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier – Marschallin
R. Strauss: Arabella – title role
R. Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten – Empress
J. Strauss: Die Fledermaus – Rosalinda
Wagner: Tannhäuser – Elisabeth
Wagner: Lohengrin – Elsa
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer – Senta
Wagner: Die Walküre – Gerhilde, Sieglinde
Wagner: Siegfried – Brünnhilde
Reimann: Lear – Cordelia
d'Albert: Tiefland (The Lowlands) – Marta
Ponchielli: Gioconda – title role
