The Summer Opera and Ballet Festival is part of Budafest, a series of summer events started by Gábor Keveházi and Teodóra Bán in 1991. Budafest?s programme takes place at three different venues: St. Stephen's Basilica, the Hilton Dominican Courtyard and the Hungarian State Opera. At the Opera House, festival goers can see operas and ballets performed by Hungarian and foreign artists every evening for two weeks.
This year, Puccini?s Tosca will be performed three times between August 4 and 8. Szilvia Rálik and Gabriella Felber will sing the leads. Verdi?s Othello will also be performed three times on August 10, 12 and 14. In the title role will be the American Patrick Raftery, one of opera?s greatest tenors, who has performed to great acclaim at Milan?s Scala, London?s Covent Garden and the Paris Opera House. Opposite Raftery, in the role of Desdemona, will be Eszter Sümegi, one of Hungary?s most popular opera singers. In the past few years Sümegi has thrilled audiences in Vienna, Paris and Canada.
