Disc 1
1.Act I: Eg aldd meg a kiralyt  00:08:52
2.Act I: O atyam, szetzuzva boldogsagom  00:06:52
3.Act I: Hodolva jo im hu fegyvernokod  00:05:46
4.Act I: Finale: March: A boldog hir szarnyra kelt  00:06:33
5.Act II: Hullamzo folyam  00:03:55
6.Act II: S most merre asszonyom Elore ezen uton  00:05:04
7.Act II: Atok read, Arpadok haza  00:03:53
8.Act II: Finale: Megertse mindenki szavunkat  00:10:43
9.Act II: Es most az Urnak templomaba  00:03:15
10.Act II: Szived titkat meglestem  00:04:38
11.Act II: Draga magyar fold, uj hazam  00:03:26
12.Act III: Most elhagyunk, maradjatok ( 00:05:33
13.Act III: Boldogtalan leany  00:06:40

Disc 2
1.Act III: Oh, bosszuallo egnek istene  00:05:10
2.Act III: Bosszudnak angyala ( 00:07:21
3.Act III: Nos, miert e zavart tekintet  00:06:23
4.Act IV Scene 1: Itt e hely, itt kell varnom rea  00:07:23
5.Act IV Scene 1: A hajnal erkezik, kelet vilaga kozelg  00:12:58
6.Act IV Scene 2: O hozza vissza diadallal a nagy kiralyt az eg  00:03:01
7.Act IV Scene 2: Csak daloljatok  00:05:38
8.Act IV Scene 2: Megtort szivemnek elso gondja hazam  00:06:38
9.Act IV Scene 2: Most a vegcsapast  00:07:58
10.Act IV Scene 2: Uram, bocsasd el hu szolgadat  00:04:21 

János Gurbán (baritone) – King István
Jutta Bokor (contralto) – Queen Gizella
Zoltán Nyári (tenor) – Prince Imre
Zsuzsanna Bazsinka (soprano) – Princess Crescimira
Kázmér Sárkány (baritone) – Vazul
Tamás Daróczi (tenor) – Sebös
Jolán Sánta (contralto) – Jóva
Ildikó Szakács (soprano) – Zolna
Tamás Szüle (bass) – Barang
Ferenc Valter (bass) – Gellert
Ákos Ambrus (baritone) – Péter
Sándor Kecskés (tenor) – Hunt, Prince Endre
János Fátrai (baritone) – Pázmán, Béla, Csanád, Asztrik
Dömötör Pintér (bass) – Vencelin, Levente, Soldier, Herald

King Stephen Opera Chorus 
Budapest Symphony Orchestra MÁV
Valéria Csányi – conductor

Ferenc Erkel was the father of Hungarian grand opera, as well as an accomplished conductor and pianist. The last of his nine completed operas, István király, is a tale of passionate emotions, love, jealousy, power struggles and murder in which King Stephen, the founder of the Hungarian state and its first Christian ruler, is portrayed as a saint amidst the clash of pagan and Christian worlds. After 125 years of ruinous cuts and alterations to the music and the libretto, this recording is the first to restore the opera to the resoundingly successful form conceived by its composer. - prestoclassical.co.uk

It might seem odd that the great Hungarian composer of the nineteenth century, Ferenc (or Franz) Liszt, never turned his hand to opera again after his teenage Don Sanche. It was not that he was averse to the medium; under his aegis major operas by Wagner, Berlioz and Cornelius were all given model productions at Weimar. Nor was he, like Brahms, wedded to traditional classical forms, having pioneered the dramatic use of the symphonic poem. It may well be however that he did not wish to enter into competition with the extremely successful Hungarian operas of his friend — and colleague as director of the Budapest Music Academy — Ferenc Erkel. These dominated the stage in that country during the period of thirty-six years from 1838 when Erkel was director of the opera company at the Hungarian National Theatre. Not that Erkel’s operas were anything as musically individual and pioneering as the works of Liszt, Berlioz or Cornelius – let alone Wagner. Erkel was quite content to continue ploughing the furrow of grand opera in the style of Meyerbeer and Spontini, who dominated stages in central Europe just as much as in France during the years from 1838 onwards. It was only in the years after 1865 that the works of Wagner began to appear on German stages, and even then their progress was slow. By the time that the Wagnerian ‘music drama’ had established itself following the first Bayreuth Festival in 1876, Erkel had retired. Then it was the growth of Wagnerism during the following decades that effectively confined Erkel’s operas to the repertory in Hungary and precluded any expansion into opera houses elsewhere. Only one other opera by Erkel features in the current catalogues, and that recording of Bank Bán, like this new recording of King Stephen, comes from Hungarian sources; a 1980s recording of Hunyádi László, also from Hungary, was recently reissued by Brilliant Classics (94869).

King Stephen was originally projected by Erkel as an opera as early as 1846. In the event the work did not reach the stage until 1885 when it was a huge success. It orchestration was partly completed by the composer’s sons. After Erkel’s death his sons further expanded the score, adding fourteen new items. After revivals in 1910 it fell from the repertory until the 1930s, at which stage it was cut to half its length. For this recording the creators restored Erkel’s original score, restoring the 1930s cuts but removing the later accretions. We are told in the informative booklet notes by István Kassai - for which I am indebted for this potted history of the work’s performance history - that the extensive ballet music in Act Two, which was not given at the opera’s 1885 première, has been omitted. One might perhaps regret this, since Erkel’s dance music in his other operas is a highlight of those scores. As it is, we have two very full CDs which may well be sufficient for most listeners.

The opera appears to be based on the same source as Beethoven’s King Stephen, but employs a different play as the foundation of the action. Beethoven’s incidental music to Kotzebue’s play is known nowadays principally for its overture. Erkel, employing a play by Antal Varádi, dispenses with an overture altogether, opening instead with a rather conventional chorus depicting a session of the Diet of Hungary. The convoluted story portrays a conflict between an oath undertaken to God and filial obedience. The characters are cardboard in their actions and motivations. The conflict between the Christian and pagan worlds has none of the immediacy that one finds in Wagner’s Lohengrin of over thirty years earlier. On the other hand, the stately music for the wedding procession (CD 1, track 10) clearly demonstrates that Erkel was familiar with Wagner’s work. Also, at the beginning of Act Three (CD 1, track 12), the wedding chorus is far too closely imitative of Wagner to be comfortable. Erkel has a nice line in pageantry, although his occasional attempts at nature music are very conventional but the grand choruses in Act Four are blazingly impressive in the manner of Meyerbeer.

The deficiencies of the music cannot be laid to the blame of the performers, who are generally fine. The exceptions are blowsy and curdled Zsuzsanna Bazsinka, the very plummy-sounding and wobbly Jolán Sánta, who is a decided trial early on (for example in CD1, track 3), and some rather unsteady voices in smaller comprimario parts. There are no great undiscovered stars in the rest of the cast, but all engage well with the text and manage their lines with grace and poise if with no great sense of dramatic involvement. There are only two solo arias in the score: Tamás Daróczi shows some strain in his Billowing waves which opens Act Two (CD1, track 5), and Bazsinka is unattractive in her Just sing (CD 2, track 7), negotiating the sometimes elaborate music clumsily and sounding unpleasantly shrill on the high notes. On the other hand Ildikó Szakács is much more satisfactory in her aria with chorus Here is the place which opens Act Four (CD2, track 4). It’s one of the best numbers in the score. Zoltán Nyári in the other tenor role has a nicely focused voice, but his duet with Bazsinka (CD 1, track 13) is spoiled by her persistent unsteadiness.

The recorded balance, with the soloists in front of the orchestra and the large and enthusiastic chorus placed somewhat in the background, is very studio-bound, but the acoustic is nicely resonant and imparts plenty of body to the recorded sound. There is, appropriately in a work about the life of a saint, plenty of music for the organ, and László Deák deserves his independent credit even though the writing has none of Liszt’s ground-breaking virtuoso writing for the instrument.

There are no other recordings of the opera in the catalogues, and given the textual complications it is unlikely that any earlier historical performances which might emerge at some future date would begin to do justice to the work. One might regret that the libretto - commendably available on the Naxos website - is available in Hungarian only, but a very full two-page cued synopsis enables the non-Hungarian listener to keep abreast of the discursive developments of the plot.

Erkel’s King Stephen is assuredly no undiscovered masterpiece, but one is nevertheless grateful to Naxos for making it available and it certainly has interest. ---Paul Corfield Godfrey, musicweb-international.com

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1. Act I
2. Act II
3. Act III

II. Endre - Gurbán János
Getrud - Marton Éva
Ottó - Daróczy Tamás
Bánk bán - Molnár András
Melinda - Kertesi Ingrid
Tiborc - Gáti István
Petur - Kálmándi Mihály
Biberach - Airizer Csaba
Udvarmester - Fülöp Attila

Magyar Fesztiválkórus 
Budapesti Szimfonikusok 
Oberfrank Géza – conductor

If there is any one lyric theaterwork that captures the spirit of Hungarian nationalism, that work would have to be Bánk bán ("Lord Bank") by Ferenc Erkel (1810-93). Erkel was primarily a composer of operas, and he drew upon the folk idiom of Hungarian music in much of what he wrote. Erkel completed Bánk bán ("Lord Bánk") in 1852. An earlier nationalist opera of his, Hunyadi László (1844), I broadcast on Sunday, May 31, 1990. Bánk bán, however, is now regarded as Erkel's operatic masterpiece.

In the mid-nineteenth century the Hungarian nation was struggling to achieve independence within the Hapsburg empire. Erkel looked back to the thirteenth century when the German-speaking counts of Tirol made their bid to rule Hungary outright. This imported minority of exploiters became intolerable to the native Hungarian aristocracy. The noble Lord Bánk joined a revolt against the Tiroleans. But the revolt was put down and Lord Bánk was executed for the leadership role he took in the uprising. When Erkel finished the score for Bánk bán it was suppressed by the Austrian censors. The opera had to wait nine years for its first staged production in 1861. By then a more tolerant regime had come to power in Vienna. A few years later the kingdom of Hungary worked out a political compromise or Ausgleich with the Austrian government and so was granted partial autonomy.

Ferenc Erkel composed the Hungarian national anthem. His music for Bánk bán is replete with Magyar-style melody and folk dance. Upon hearing it you'll understand how Johann Strauss acquired the exotic Hungarian flavor he added to his operettas. Yet Bánk bán is a historical tragedy, not a comedic Viennese theatrical entertainment. The language barrier has kept this gorgeous lyric drama from being performed internationally. Who could sing it correctly anywhere outside of Hungary? --- wwuh.org

Jeżeli miałbym opisać „Bank Bana” w jednym zdaniu powiedziałbym, że „To bardzo dobra verdiowska opera po węgiersku”. O ile Moniuszko czerpał pełnymi garściami z Aubera, Donizettiego i Rossiniego, a Smetana pozostał dość oryginalny, Erkel najwięcej wziął od Verdiego. Jednak nie jest to bezczelny plagiat, ile bardzo zręczne (prawie zawsze zręczne) wykorzystywanie motywów i konceptów postaci.

Operę otwiera scena balu, bardzo przypominająca tę z „Rigoletta” – tu tańce, tu rozmowy, tu ktoś intonuje piosenkę. Ciekawą zmianą jest Petur, który choć ma zadatki na Montarone, jest jednak na tyle mądry by opowiedzieć o swoich lękach tylko przed zaufanymi, a publice serwuje słodko-gorzki toast (pierwszy utwór mający potencjał na bycie „hitem”). Kolejny ciekawy element pierwszego aktu to duet Petura i Banka, trochę nawiązujący do wczesnych oper Verdiego, trochę do Belliniego. Spotkanie Melindy z uwodzicielem i późniejsza scena Banka nasuwają na myśl pojedynki tenorów w operach Rossiniego (choć Bank ma pasję Manrica, zaś Otto – odpychającego i bardziej zdesperowanego księcia Mantui) – nie sposób jednak odmówić im oryginalności. Szczególnie dobrze wypadł duet Otto i Melindy, gdzie kompozytorowi udało się świetnie nakreślić niby to głębokie uczucia łajdackiego arystokraty. Najsłabszy element pierwszego aktu to bez wątpienia sceny zbiorowe, które nawet nie są złe, ile raczej mocno konwencjonalne.

Ale już akt drugi uderza ze zdwojoną siłą – słynna aria tytułowego bohatera winna być w repertuarze każdego szanującego się tenora: Erkel idealnie odmalowuje zarówno szlachecką godność jak i niepokój dzielnego rycerza. Nie sposób też odmówić jej węgierskich akcentów i… elementów popisowych (zwłaszcza w drugiej połowie), które nie tylko schlebiają tenorowi, ale też mają psychologiczne uzasadnienie (pomagają uwypuklić rozterki wewnętrzne głównego bohatera). Wszyscy wiemy, że Erkel musiał widzieć „Łucję z Lammermooru” (i prawdopodobnie „Lunatyczkę”), nie zmienia to faktu, że sceny obłędu Melindy nakreślono subtelnie i precyzyjnie. Szczególnie pięknie prezentuje się jej końcowy występ w akcie trzecim, gdzie łagodna solówka, okraszona spokojnym, nieco archaicznym stylem (bardziej pasującym do samego początku włoskiego romantyzmu) kontrastuje ze straszliwymi wydarzeniami wokół Melindy, zupełnie jakby chciała uciec od rzeczywistości.

Pozostaje wspomnieć jeszcze o dwóch scenach: pierwszą jest słynny duet Banka z królową, słusznie kojarzony z konfrontacją Węgry – Austria: rycerz walczy dla swojej żony (oczywisty symbol prześladowanej ojczyzny) zaś spiżowa, diaboliczna królowa to agresor w najgorszym wydaniu. Wyjątkowo mocny duet (punkt kulminacyjny opery) jest bez wątpienia rewelacyjny (mam też szczególną słabość do partii orkiestrowej poprzedzającej ich spotkanie), ale czy tylko ja tak uważam, czy Erkel trochę za dużo zapożyczył z Verdiego? --- poprostuopera.wordpress.com

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