Gregor's widow Mária Takács called Szeged the great singer's "spiritual birthplace" at the renaming ceremony. She said her late husband's career shows it is possible to achieve fame on a global scale even if you come from a mid-sized city such as Szeged, though it requires talent, hard work and sacrifice.
A portrait of Gregor by Zsolt Borbély was unveiled at the ceremony, at which Gregor's daughter Bernadett Gregor was also present.
Born in Rákosliget, now a part of Budapest, in 1940, Gregor first studied the violin, but took up singing at the advising of his music teacher, who also encouraged him to apply to the conservatory.
He started his studies at the Béla Bartók Music School in 1957, but his singing career began a year later with the Hungarian Army Men's Choir. He left the music school after just three years, failing to complete his studies. Later, he applied to the Ferenc Liszt Music Academy and was accepted, but he did not finish his academic course there either.
In 1964, Gregor auditioned in Szeged, where he was to work under director Viktor Vaszy for 14 years. He was a singer at the Szeged National Theatre until 1987, and from 1976 he was also a permanent guest artist at the Budapest Opera House. Between 1987 and 1989, Gregor was a member of Győr's Kisfaludy Theatre, and he later became the director of the Szeged opera company.
He performed at the Milan Scala and nearly all of the other great European opera houses. He also sang at the New York Metropolitan Opera and the Houston Opera. He was well known for his performance in the title roll of Verdi's Falstaff, even though the part is written for baritone. Other memorable roles include Figaro in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Leporello in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Socraters in Telemann's The Patient Socrates, and Mephisto in Gounod's Faust.
Gregor sang at thousands of performances and on more than 100 recordings.
Gregor was awarded the Liszt Prize in 1974, the Notable Artist title in 1979, the Distinguished Artist title in 1983, the Kossuth Award in 1999, and the Mihály Székely Memorial Plaque in 2002. In 2006, he was honoured with the Order of the Hungarian Republic.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
Photo: Attila Kovács (MTI)
