Bánk Bán 2016

“The great Melinda of our times did not get the role this season at the Opera House – despite having said many times that it’s one of her favourite roles, which three years ago she sang twice on one day (and wonderfully). This was an exceptional achievement, which presented not only her spotless technique but also her dedication. Now, Kolonits sung the role twice in Szeged (however, not in one day) in the original, longer, more virtuoso version of the opera which shows even better her best qualities.
We could experience again on how strikingly is she able to depict the miserable fate of the character. The part of Melinda is unmatchably difficult, consists of dramatic, lyrical and coloratura sections. The voice of Kolonits is in its essence bright, but full of colours and graceful, even in the highest register rich and secure. Its greatest quality, however, is the human, radiating warmth which enchants our ears and speaks directly to our hearts at the same time. The singing of Kolonits is always shockingly direct, and what she sings about, immediately becomes our own love, our suffering, our own hope or hopelessness.


It’s a treat to analyse this great stage character formation, but it’s impossible to describe what happened at the end of second act (…). Feel of guilt, accusation, forgiveness, love – all pulsating between two people, and the two great artists, with incomparable emotional richness, presented us with complete destruction of a family, a marriage, two human fates. We could literally live through how vulnerable gift happiness is and how much we can loose in just one moment.
Who wasn’t present at the show, can only accuse himself – because there is something in this world that he will never understand. The audience in Szeged celebrated with a standing ovation, four different pirate recordings began to go around the internet the day after, watched by thousands of people since then. The audience said clearly, that they need this very kind of opera singing and acting.”

March 21st 2017, momus.hu, Tamás Márok

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