One of the greatest discoveries of the last decade, Opolais was originally scheduled to perform at the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall two years ago. That aria concert had to be postponed due to the coronavirus epidemic, but now it can finally take place - to everyone's delight.
The Latvian National Opera, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, La Scala, the Wiener Staatsoper and Covent Garden: following her studies in Riga, these were the highlights of the singer's career before she conquered New York's Metropolitan Opera in 2014 in Puccini's La bohème. Since then, her string of international triumphs has been unbroken, with all the world's opera houses vying for her presence. She is celebrated worldwide in the title roles of Madama Butterfly, Rusalka, Manon Lescaut, Adriana Lecouvreur, Tosca and Suor Angelica, and has worked with conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Antonio Pappano and Simon Rattle. The defining component of her art is the need for completeness. "My singing is only part of the complete 'package'. Technique in singing is only important in how it frees you to give yourself completely to creating the character. If I only focus on singing in a specific way, then I will lose out on opportunities of living the character and taking risks in the moment." At Müpa Budapest, Kristīne Opolais will sing excerpts from operas by Puccini, Verdi, Cilea, Mascagni and Giordano in partnership with the Romanian tenor Teodor Ilincăi and the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra. Conducting this aria concert will be the Israeli maestro Asher Fisch.
