Polgár will be joined by colleagues Tamás Bátor, István Kocsis, Péter Kelen, Péter Kálmán, András Molnár, Ilona Tokody and Bernadett Wiedermann to sing excerpts from operas by Mozart, Rossini, Verdi and Wagner for the programme. The performance will feature parts of roles which have defined Polgár's career.
Polgár was born in the village of Somogyszentpál in 1947. He earned his degree from Budapest's Music Academy in 1972, after studying under Éva Kutrucz and Mrs Ferenc Révhegyi. Polgár received an Opera House scholarship in the same year. In 1973, he was hired and soon earned a reputation as the company's greatest bass.
Polgár has been a regular guest performer at all of the most famous European and US operas. In 1991, Polgár joined the Zurich Opera. In February, he will sing the role of Sarastro in Mozart's Magic Flute with the company under the direction of Martin Kusej.
Polgár has sung all of the major bass roles in the repertoire, from King Philip to Leporello. He has worked under such outstanding conductors as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Lorin Maazel, Ricardo Muti, Kent Nagano and Iván Fischer.
As well as performing, Polgár works as a teacher at the Zurich-Winterthur Conservatory.
Polgár was awarded the Liszt Ferenc Prize in 1986 and the Kossuth Award in 1990.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
