orchestra conductor; Director, National Theatre of Szeged

 Opera productions in the Open Air Festival

At the beginning of European theatricals, in Ancient Greece, theatre meant open air stages and musical performances; however, the natural medium of performing operas has always been the enclosed theatre. My talk will go through the difficulties of meteorology, acoustics and stage technique that operas performed in the open air have to cope with. The disadvantages – at least in the cases of some pieces of the repertoire – can be contrasted with significant advantages. Consequently, it is worth searching for and bringing forward the solutions to the problems, as well as the possible compromises that can be made. Discussing the repertoire policy and technical solutions of Szeged Open Air Theatre and other renowned open air opera festivals, I will attempt to describe the tendencies of open air opera performance, and within that I will also draw up – deliberately in a subjective way – the role and desired future of Szeged Open Air Festival in national and international opera life.