Organization

Singer

András Hábetler

Molière / Argan

Bernadett Wiedemann

Béline

Lilla Horti

Angélique

György Hanczár

Cléante

Eva Bátori

Toinette

István Rácz

Dr. Purgot

Gergely Biri

Théophile

Szilveszter Ókovács

Louis XIV

Stage director

Máté Szabó

Conductor

János Kovács

Costume designer

Anni Füzér

Set designer

Renátó Cseh

Dramaturge

Diána Eszter Mátrai

Hungarian State Opera

The Imaginary Invalid or The Cabal of Hypocrites

Budapest

Hungary

Eiffel Art Studios

Miklós Bánffy Stage

This is the post-produced version of The Imaginary Invalid, which was first streamed live on OperaVision on 19 November 2021. This production, subtitled in English and Hungarian, is available until 19 May 2022: https://operavision.eu/en/library/per...

The wealthy Argan ‘enjoys’ poor health. Even though his daughter is in love with another man, he wants to marry her off to a medical dunce who can secure a lifetime of medical care for his father-in-law. A fake death scene finally teaches Argan where to put his trust.

Following the success of his previous works, this is the fourth opera by János Vajda to be staged at the Hungarian State Opera. Based on both Moliere's Le malade imaginaire and Mikhail Bulgakov's play about the French playwright, Vajda's new opera incorporates Moliere's life story, giving bass-baritone András Hábetler the rare opportunity to play the dual roles of Argan and Moliere.

CAST

Molière / Argan: András Hábetler
Béline: Bernadett Wiedemann
Angélique: Lilla Horti
Cléante: György Hanczár
Toinette: Éva Bátori
Dr. Purgon: István Rácz
Théophile: Gergely Biri
Louis XIV: Szilveszter Ókovács

Music: János Vajda
Text: Szabolcs Várady, based on the comedies ‘The Imaginary Invalid’ by Moliere and ‘The Cabal of Hypocrites’ by Mikhail Bulgakov
Conductor: János Kovács
Director: Máté Szabó
Set Designer: Renátó Cseh
Costume Designer: Anni Füzér
Lighting Designer: Dávid Barad
Dramaturg: Diána Eszter Mátrai
English subtitles: Arthur Roger Crane

The Imaginary Invalid or The Cabal of Hypocrites Vajda,J

Public

Approved

Opera két felvonásban, magyar nyelven, magyar és angol felirattalA Mario és a varázsló, a Leonce és Léna és a Karnyóné után immár a negyedik Vajda János-mű k...

Following the success of Mario and the Magician, Leonce and Lena and Mrs Karnyó, this is the fourth work by János Vajda to be staged at the Opera, this one based on both Molière’s Le malade imaginaire and the stage play that Mikhail Bulgakov wrote about the French comedian, The Cabal of Hypocrites. Vajda’s new opera is simultaneously hilariously witty and thought-provoking: “This is my first opera to be based around an idea of my own. My original thinking was to compose music for Bulgakov’s piece, which is about Molière’s life, with Le malade imaginaire unfolding in the background. Then I started to feel that the situation instead should be reversed, with Molière’s comedy taking the foreground and the French playwright’s life and struggles receding into the background. What was the reason for this mirror image? I felt that I had discovered the appropriate music for Molière’s work, meaning that his life story had to be the subordinate thread throughout the entire work.”

English

The Imaginary Invalid or The Cabal of Hypocrites by Vajda, From (2021/2021), Directed by Máté Szabó,, Conductor János Kovács, Eiffel Art Studios, Budapest, Hungary

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