WHAT’S ON Concerts, festivals, events and exhibitions in and out of Budapest

APRIL 15-23, 2022, HUNGARIAN STATE OPERA, BUDAPEST In Parsifal, his final music drama, Wagner embeds fear of the temptations of the world and sinful desires into a tale of redemption. The work is indeed a festival play for the stage rather than an opera. Many viewers – perhaps out of their own fears – criticized Wagner, who wrote both the libretto and the music, for what could be called the piece’s virtue and remarkable complexity, which is the personal tone with which he portrayed a religious theme combining notions of sacred and profane love. Designing the visual world of this new production directed by artistic director András Almási-Tóth will be Sebastian Hannak, who was also behind the look of Porgy and Bess and The Fairy Queen. The opera in three acts will be presented in German, with Hungarian and English subtitles.

opera.hu BARTÓK SPRING 2022

APRIL 01-17, 2022, PALACE OF ARTS (MÜPA), BUDAPEST Launched in the spring of 2021, on the 140th anniversary of the birth of the world-famous Hungarian composer, Béla Bartók, the Bartók Spring International Arts Weeks is a unique event series dedicated to the arts. While offering insights into its fascinating oeuvre, the festival does not restrict itself to the work of the composer and seeks instead to represent Bartók’s spirit, creativity and outlook in countless genres, from contemporary classical music through world music, jazz and dance to visual art and pop music – the creations of the best international and Hungarian artists. The event series seeks, in cooperation with Hungarian and European partner institutions, to make Hungary an even more attractive destination for cultural tourism in the coming years. Presented by the Palace of Arts in the Hungarian capital (Müpa Budapest), the Bartók Spring is hoped to gradually grow into a national, even regional, event series, which engages other major institutions of culture and cities to offer a program that is as rich and colorful as possible.

bartoktavasz.hu

HOLIDAY SEASON AND 2022 OFFERINGS AT MÜPA

DECEMBER 27, 2021 – JUNE 29, 2022, PALACE OF ARTS (MÜPA), BUDAPEST The Palace of Arts (Müpa) in the Hungarian capital promises a series of unforgettable memories with more international stars and surprises in its programs for the end of this year and 2022. During the festive period and in the second half of the 2021/22 season, Müpa is looking forward to welcoming its audience with exceptional performers, the most renowned representatives of both popular and classical genres. In addition to the previously announced productions, there will also be concerts by such iconic acts as Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, Charles Lloyd, Daniel and Michael Barenboim, the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra and Lee Ritenour.

mupa.hu IRON MAIDEN LEGACY OF THE BEAST WORLD TOUR

JUNE 07, 2022, GROUPAMA ARENA, BUDAPEST The English heavy metal band Iron Maiden will return to take their ‘Legacy of the Beast World Tour’ further East into Europe in 2022. The show has already been seen by almost two million people across the globe, being hailed by fans and media alike as the most exciting and visually spectacular performance of the band’s career to date, with a decadesspanning set list of fan favorites. According to Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood, “next summer, we will finally get to play the huge European stadium and festival tour for ‘Legacy of the Beast’ originally set for 2020. We are also adding some of the great cities of eastern Europe we were not initially visiting. We’ll be making a couple of additions and changes to the production and setlist to include some songs from our new album ‘Senjutsu’ and are making the 2022 version of ‘Legacy of the Beast’ even more spectacular than the acclaimed original show. You can be sure that we will still be featuring all the hits and the key elements of the original tour like the Spitfire, Icarus, Hell, flamethrowers and pyro and the rest - but we will shake it up a bit and Trooper Eddie will have serious competition in the new Senjutsu ‘world’ we are adding.” Vocalist Bruce Dickinson says he is really excited about the new additions to the stage production and “we can’t wait for everyone to see what we’ve got planned. The whole band has really enjoyed the Legacy tour and now we just can’t wait get back out on the road to play live, have fun and see everyone again.” Iron Maiden has been to Hungary thirteen times so far, most recently at the VOLT Festival in Sopron in 2018. The first dates back to 1984, when almost 50,000 fans played music in the parking lot of the former Budapest Sports Hall as part of the Powerslave tour.

livenation.hu