Hungarian President János Áder and his wife, Anita Herczegh attended the premiere of Ferenc Erkel’s opera Bánk bán in New York’s Lincoln Center on Tuesday.
The Hungarian State Opera and Hungarian National Ballet is currently undertaking a 13-day residency at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater.
During their stateside visit the two companies will present four operas and two full-length ballets and will travel with a large team of performers and staff, 367 people in total.
Szilveszter Ókovács, the opera’s general director, estimates that the cost for the New York visit will set both companies back a combined US$4 million.
Ahead of the premiere performance, the Hungarian mission to the UN held a commemoration of the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising.