2019-11-07 Thu

The Day of the Hungarian Opera or the Hungarian Opera Day is a commemoration of the birth of Hungarian composer Ferenc Erkel and the reopening of the Erkel Theatre in Budapest. It was first held on 7 November 2013.

Opera as a genre first appeared in Hungary in the 18th century with foreign opera companies. For a long time, they only performed at aristocrat families’ private theatres because the country didn’t have a theatre for operas. The independent Hungarian opera evolved later because for a long time there wasn’t a need for music. European level music became part of Hungarians living in the 19th century.

Ferenc Erkel was aware of the opera as a genre and this was indispensable for our home opera to flourish. His talent made the birth of Hungarian opera possible. The turning point came in 1840 when Erkel’s first opera, Batori Maria was presented. It was a milestone that lived up toil many centuries.

In the year 2010, Hungary Post issued a special commemorative stamp among the series Famous Hungarians to celebrate the Bicentenary of Birth of Ferenc Erkel. The stamp depicts a portrait of Ferenc Erkel with the Opera House in the background.

Image Courtesy: https://www.wnsstamps.post/

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