Index – Culture – According to Szilveszter Ókovács, those who did not win the opera house competition were disappointed

Speaking of the tender, Szilveszter Ókovács said that a new chapter musically in the life of the opera house had begun, and that there would be a musical arrangement that would give more space to young people.

It is a big challenge to be able to keep the salaries of our colleagues at least at the same level, and we also have a lot of technical projects

– said the General Director of InfoRádió Arena in his presentation.

Regarding personnel changes affecting the opera house, he said that, in his opinion, there are too many things on their minds, and they are confused by the fact that an issue of operatic professionalism has been brought to the attention of the public without being dealt with. with. As he said, the three floors are three continents.

According to him, the case of Gergely Kisilyak is the case of an employee of the Opera House, and his successor is already there, but he has not yet disclosed details on this matter. He added that in the case of Andrea Rust, it couldn’t be an exit if someone didn’t want to sign a contract.

Those who did not win the competition were clearly disappointed, said Szilveszter Ókovács, but it should not have happened this way. He regrets this, but has repeatedly said that he believes that the appointment to the position of head of the opera house should begin years in advance.

According to him, Gergely Kiseliak was also offered a new contract, who was given a week to think it over. He added that he will be the guest of the band’s leader this year, and that Nabucco He also directed the opera

It is our custom to contract conductors for a series of performances

said the general manager.

Regarding Andrea Rust’s termination, he said that before announcing the next season, singers will be invited, and if the artists confirm this, they will start signing contracts. In such cases, retraction is not a crime.

According to her, Andrea Rust is obviously painful to resign, because the circumstances have not changed, and now the artist has made a different decision. According to him, tender torture played a part in this, but as he said, he could do nothing about it.

The story of Gyula Haranguzo can also be traced back to the fact that the conductor Gergely Kiseliak nominated him as balletmaster in his team, and the defeat left him with a bitter taste in his mouth.

In the interview, Szilveszter Ókovács also spoke about the fact that the elements of the application materials are not public, only the Minister and the Committee know what is included in them.

According to him, the work materials are not public because they contain a phased plan for ten seasons, but a plan must be presented for at least five years, otherwise the whole matter will be trivial. The application is for the Ministry to get acquainted with the plans of the Director General, but they have no idea what the situation will be like in July 2028. That is why it is not worth showing the working materials to the public.

People could have an idea of ​​what running an organization looks like behind the scenes and locker rooms, but it won’t correspond to reality. It can provide a basis, but the information is too little, and the details will not come out

said the general manager. He added: He feels problematic that a person with a degree in law or economics is appointed to the opera house, and then begins to evaluate what to do next.

Regarding the budget, Szilveszter Ókovács said that opera is a demanding genre, and it needs a lot of workers, including orchestras and choirs, but also seamstresses and shopkeepers.

Regarding the fact that being the general manager of the Opera House means that he has become close to the state, he said, looking back at the past, you can see that the subject of the Opera House has always been an issue in Parliament. He added that this is a cultural political position.

Szilveszter Ókovács is proud that the opera house’s revenue target is five billion forints, and if they can hit that, or if they can apply online, there will be money to improve salaries.

dismissal and re-election

As mentioned, Director General Zilvestyr Shkovacs dismissed the conductor Gergely Kiseljak from his position at the State Opera with immediate effect.

Although, according to our information, he was unanimously recommended by the Professional Committee to head the Opera House, the head of the department eventually left Szilveszter Ókovács in his post.

After the announcement, Szilveszter Ókovács became the indexer fromBExtra charge He was a guest on his program, where, to our question about other applicants, he said: “We will work with everyone, and no one is forbidden to enter the opera house.”

However, on Friday, June 9, opera singer Andrea Rust announced on Facebook that she will not sign the contract offered by the Hungarian State Opera for the 2023/2024 theater season. As we wrote earlier, Andrea Rust also ran for the position of general director of the Hungarian State Opera.

He made his announcement in style at the Aria Hotel during a limited background discussion, during which he and his team presented the ideas in his application for the position of general manager. At the helm of the Hungarian State Opera, he was going to build up the stars and reshape the company again, because that’s what everyone needs to give their best skills.

After Andrea Rust’s announcement, a letter from the ministerial offices of the Ministry of Culture and Innovation reached the INDEX editors, as one of the greatest ballet artists alive today, winner of the Kossuth Junior Prize. Gyula Haranguso, choreographer, ballet master, hereditary member and principal artist of the Hungarian State Opera, has submitted his resignation to Minister of Culture and Innovation Janos Csák.

As he wrote, his decision was only confirmed by what happened to Gergely Kesselyák.