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family and youth events
Ilona Fairy and Argyélus
25 March 2023, Saturday
10 am - 11 am
Glass Hall
Produced by Müpa Budapest
MINI MATINÉE

Featuring:

vocals, narration Melinda Balogh
vocals, cobza, percussion instruments, gardon Tamás Jean-Pierre Bősze
violin Tóni Szilágyi
recorder, saxophone Csobán Sára
viola Sándor Csoóri Jr
accordion Bálint Könczei
double bass Katalin Éri

Creators:

music director Sándor Csoóri Jr, Tamás Jean-Pierre Bősze, Melinda Balogh
dramaturg, librettist Melinda Balogh, Sára Horváth

Over the centuries, there have been many adaptations of the turbulent love story about the beautiful fairy girl and the littlest prince as they face the obstacles that stand between them and, of course, meet a happy ending full of tearful laughter. The musical version recently presented by Melinda Balogh and Tamás Jean-Pierre Bősze definitely stands out from this long list: in it, the pair of musicians filtre the well-known classic tale through traditional Hungarian folk sounds set against a spacious background of world music.

Albert Gergei's beautiful love story in verse about the heavenly and earthly adventures of Ilona Fairy and Prince Argyélus as they steadfastly search for traces of each other is one of the most cherished, if not the single most cherished, pieces of humanist literature in the Hungarian language. The original text, which itself met an adventurous fate, is actually well known even by those who have never read it: the fictional story is one of the most important sources of inspiration for Mihály Vörösmarty's dramatic poem Csongor and Tünde, compulsory reading in Hungarian schools. A special feature of the extremely rich reception it enjoyed is that it was not only writers that the work inspired: it generated an entire series of kuruc ‘nóta' songs and love stories devised by everyday people. Melinda Balogh and Tamás Jean-Pierre Bősze's first joint album, released in November 2022, revives this rich tradition and fills it with fresh energy. Although the story and lyrics were written by the creators themselves, no one should be surprised to recognise verses by Endre Ady and Sándor Weöres quoted in the audio material. While the richly layered music played by the seven-member band is basically drawn from melodies from Moldavia and the Gyimes, Gyergyo and Kalotaszeg regions, the rich and unique orchestration and use of harmony opens doors in the musical love story that have not been revealed to us until now.

Age: 3-8 year

Presented by: Müpa Budapest

  • We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.

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