The Eighth Hungarian Tribe, 1985 (12. évfolyam, 1-11. szám)

1985-10-01 / 10. szám

ROCK OPERA out of the pages of history

Re-printed from: Hungarian Digest, 1985/4

It began as a scene for a movie and ended up as a runaway bestseller. Conceived as a rock opera that would have only one performance for the benefit of filmmakers. “Stephen, the King” was staged in Budapest’s City Park in the summer of 1983 seven times to wild acclaim. The music of the rock opera has since been released as a double album, and within a few weeks, sold two-hundred thousand copies. The film, too, has been released, and since its premiere in the spring, has enjoyed very good box office returns.

The libretto for “Stephen, the King” was based on “ezredforduló” (The Turn of the Century), a play written by Miklós Boldizsár, which deals with a turning point in Hungary’s ancient history involving the feuding of two brothers. Stephen and Koppány. In 996 A.D., Geza, the chieftain of the Magyars, has his son Stephen marry the Bavarian Princess Gizella, who is accompanied to Hungary by Abbot Astrik and his Christian missionaries. Though the marriage promises to bring many positive changes in foreign policy, Chieftain Geza dies a year after his son’s marriage, and the latent antagonism between his sons surfaces. According to the ancient law of the Arpad dynasty, the chieftain’s eldest son should have inherited his throne, but before his death, Geza had made his nobles swear that in accordance with Christian law, they would elect his son Stephen as their chieftain. However, Koppány, the eldest member of the house of Arpad, claims the throne for himself. He also wishes to defend the country’s independence and its ancient pagan traditions. Stephen, on the other hand, wants to establish a strong, centralized state, which would involve the country’s conversion to Christianity, and would mean carrying on what his father had begun. He realizes that unless Hungary can find herself a strong ally, she’ll have no chance of becoming an independent state in the heart of Europe. In a battle with Koppány, the army of the young Stephen triumphs, and at the turn of the century, in 1001 A.D., Stephen is crowned king, and the new order is consolidated.

Levente Szorenyi’s inventive music and Janos Brody’s succinct, clear and often humorous lyrics have transformed the old story into something new and relevant. Szörényi and Brody began their highly successful careers in one of the most popular rock groups of the Sixties. Thenfirst attempt at composing a major musical dates back to 1982, when they produced a rock ballad which gave them the opportunity to transpose Hungarian folk-music-snspired songs into the language of rock.

In “Stephen, the King”, Levente Szörényi has successfully characterized his heroes through melody and instrumentation. Stephen’s pensive, Hemletlike figure generally takes the form of slow, lyrical tunes. The counterpoint is the hardrock vernacular which characterizes the aggresive, belligerent Koppány. The figures of the Church appear to the accompaniment of choral music that is reminiscent of Gregorian chants. The rest of the characters sing in the style of the faction they belong to or sympathize with. The German Knights and Gizella, Stephen’s wife, bring a taste of the folk music of their common homeland, while the carolers’ music bears the stylistic marks of the most beautiful Hungarian peasant music. Polyphonic choral works break forth during important occasions, such as the entombment of Chieftain Geza and the coronation of his son, Stephen.

The music was orchestrated for the choir and orchestra of the Hungarian State Opera by composer István Martha, the rock was provided by the Fonograf group, while the folk instruments were played by the Muzsikás folk ensemble. In accordance with the opera’s content. In accordance with the opera’s content, the scenery was made up of a church door and window, symbolizing the beginning of a new construction, a large-size cross, and a fortress made of timber. More than two hundred dancers were used for the crowd scenes, while the heroes were played by rock muscians and well known actors.

The first seven performances were seen by a hundred thousand people, and as a result, the rock opera was staged again in July, 1984, as part of the program for

Conferences and Meetings

November 7-9, 1985 “THE OSCAR JASZI MEMORIAL CONFERENCE: Nationalism, Minorities and the Quest for Political Order in Eastern Europe,” hosted by Oberlin College and co-sponsored by the Hungarian Chair at Indiana University, the American Hungarian Educators Association and the Hungarian Community of Friends, will be held on the campus of Oberlin College. The Conference will be devoted to an analysis of Oscar Jaszi’s intellectual legacy, particularly in relation to the problems of multi-ethnic states, past and present in Eastern Europe. For further information, write Andrew Ludanyi, Department of History & Political Science, Ohio Northern University, Ada Ohio 45810 or Harlan Wilson, Department of Government, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio 44074.

October 19, 1985: The Committee of Hungarian Organizations in Greater Pittsburgh will sponsor the commemoration of the Hungarian Club, Hazelwood. The event will begin at 3:00 p.m. Main speaker will be Mt. Tibor Tollas, editor of the Hungarian journal, Nemzetőr, published in Munich, West Germany. The program will be conducted in Hungarian.

the Open-Air Theater Festival in the town of Szeged, in southern Hungary.

The young know its lyrics by heart, while their elders humm its melody. But whether of the newer generation or the elder, many have been much affected by the message of the play, and many have entered into argument over what it says.

The creators of the film have the folowing to say:

Director Fabor Koltay: “We wished to make a film that would work up a crucial point in the nation’s history, one that could speak to its audience int he best rock vernacular today has to offer.”

Composer Levente Szörényi: “The reworking of the conflict taken from King Stephen’s age in a popular form gave us the chance for collective thinking and for taking a stand.”

—Tamas Falus

YOUR MEMBERSHIP IN THE HUNGARIAN EIGHTH TRIBE FOUNDATION WILL HELP US TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE YOUR HUNGARIAN HERITAGE

October, 1985 Page 7