Bánk Bán in the Erkel Theatre (Hungarian National Opera), the 9th of September, 2017

There would have been one more free opera at the Sphix Terrace, but since I had bought a ticket to the main performance of the evening at the Erkel Theatre, where opera is performed now that the actual Budapest Opera House is under renovation, I did not have time to see it, which was ok, since it was an opera I knew from before.

So, the official opening performance of this season was Ferenc Erkel’s opera Bánk bán (bán is an old Hungarian title used in the aristocracy meaning a viceroy/duke). The opening night was sold out and according to rumours there were some ministers also present. Bánk bán is sometimes called the national opera of Hungary, so the evening actually started with the National Anthem that the audience sang standing.  

The story of the opera is a bit nationalistic and tells about a Bánk bán that lived in the 13th century. When he was at war his wife Melinda was invited to the court of the queen. The queen and her brother drugged Melinda so that she would cheat her husband and she loses her mind due to her betrayal. Bánk bán kills the queen, the king wants revenge, Melinda kills herself and her son and Bánk bán dies out of sorrow. In the original opera the hero is a tenor, but in this version he is a baritone, which according to contemporary sources was Erkel’s final idea.

Out of Hungarian operas foreign audiences mainly hear Béla Bartók’s Blubeard’s Castle, which seems a pity after hearing this opera. Even though the story of the opera is (overly) dramatic, the music is divine. Three hours flew by despite the fact that I had a very cramped seat and thus had rather uncomfortable conditions to listen opera. Sure, the opera had some too nationalistic moment (or they became such). When Bánk bán sung an aria praising Hungary, the applause seemed to last forever; they were actually embarrassingly long to be in the middle of the opera. But the music, especially in the second act, was unbelievably beautiful: Melinda’s aria was fabulous and when it was followed by Melinda’s and Bánk bán’s exquisite duet, you had the most fantastic 15 minutes to listen to.   

Levente Molnár who sang the role of Bánk bán was an astoundingly wonderful singer. He had a deep voice that carried throughout the house and it suited this dramatic role perfectly. I have not heard the tenor version of this opera, but somehow the baritone version sounded really convincing to me; a mightly warrior and a deep voice suited each other.

Zita Szemere, who sung the role of Melinda, seemed a bit vague in the first act, but in the second act she bloomed and Melinda’s aria, where she begs Bánk to kill her, was gorgeous. What a magnificent opera!