Opera Reviews
29 March 2024
Untitled Document

Bánk Bán gets a rare New York outing



by Steve Cohen

Erkel: Bánk Bán
Hungarian State Opera in New York City
November 2018

Judit Németh (Gertrud), Ensemble

The Hungarian State Opera is paying its first-ever visit to the United States, and spotlighting a nationalistic work that is virtually unknown outside of the home country. The opera’s only previous appearance in America was sung in English with a reduced orchestra, in 1984.

Although Bánk Bán by Ferenc Erkel is a beloved patriotic opera, what it presents is a complicated history. At first glance, it appears to be a tale of Hungarians rebelling against a foreign occupation and emerging victorious, as in Verdi’s early operas which preceded this by a few years. And the protagonist seems to be a virtuous hero. Bán is his title, meaning Viceroy or Duke, and Bánk is his name.

Closer examination, however, reveals that he has important character flaws, and the victory that seems assured in the middle of Act II turns out to be temporary. A woman from a foreign land has become queen of Hungary and acts corruptly. So Bánk and his allies rebel against her. Bánk slays her, his supporters kill all of her henchmen, and a chorus sings that “our country is free,” but then the tables are turned. The Hungarian patriots are executed and Bánk suffers a tremendous personal loss as the opera comes to a tragic end.

This may be confusing to some viewers, but it gives us a story that’s unconventional and engrossing.

Bánk Bán was composed in 1861 and is based on the actual 13th-century assassination of Queen Gertrúd, wife of King Endre II. As the opera opens, the king is off fighting wars and has given his wife executive powers. Gertrúd is from Meran (or Merano) in northern Italy, and she has filled the court with revelers from her homeland. Her younger brother is Otto, a despicable lecher who sets out to seduce Bánk’s bride Melinda, alone at court while her husband is traveling on a diplomatic assignment.

Melinda has a plaintive aria wishing that her husband was there to defend her. Bánk is too wrapped up in his career and not sufficiently concerned about Melinda’s safety. Melinda rebuffs Otto, but then he drugs her and rapes her. The queen ignores Melinda’s pleas and defends Otto.

When Bánk comes back and hears the terrible news, his first reaction is to curse his wife and their young son. Melinda sings that she wishes she were dead, and Bánk finally tries to comfort her. Bánk confronts Gertrúd and kills her. But King Endre returns and puts down the rebellion. Bánk is about to be executed for leading the insurrection when he learns that his wife, ashamed and almost insane, and with her husband not by her side where he should have been, grabbed their son and threw herself and him into an icy river, killing both of them. 

Erkel’s score contains lush melodramatic music enlivened by gypsy-like rhythms and Magyar melodies that epitomize Hungarian culture. The sounds of dulcimer and viola d’amore add color to the orchestra. Bánk’s aria, “Homeland, My Homeland” (“Hazám, hazám”) is full of patriotic fervor and brings down the house. Much of the audience appeared to be members of New York’s community of 15,000 Hungarians. 

It may seem odd that Hungarians embrace an opera that has a flawed hero and which ends with defeat. Apparently it’s part of the national heritage to feel ambivalence about nativists versus immigrants from foreign lands. The mix of cultures has given the country its character, while also providing tension. The plot of the opera shows two forces engaged in recurring conflict, with neither side able to claim total supremacy.

Perhaps, also, Hungarians find solace in remembering past sorrows. The opera certainly has enough distinctive music and drama to connect with wider audiences.

This production restores some music that was trimmed during the last century. The title role, sung for many years by tenors, is now assigned to a baritone and transposed a fourth lower, from C minor to G minor, making the top note a high F. We’ve had flawed protagonists who were tenors, of course, like Otello. Yet there’s some merit in having a deeper voice for this grave and equivocal character. Levente Molnár is a standout as Bánk, tall, bearded and imposing in appearance, with a large and solid voice.

Zita Szemere is appealing as Melinda, especially in her pathetic moments with her husband and alone just before her death. She has excelled elsewhere as Gilda and as Olympia. On this occasion, though, some of her notes were shaky or below pitch. All of the men in the cast are superb, including István Racz, Zsolt Haja, Antal Cseh, baritone Marcell Bakonyi as the king, and tenor István Horváth as the evil brother.

Judit Németh was uncomfortably strident as Gertrúd. She sounded nowhere near her previous standard of fine mezzo work in operas and cantatas. (Éva Marton was wonderful in this role in a 2002 video production from Hungary.)
                                                                                   
The entire cast, orchestra, chorus and dancers are part of the company. Balász Kocsár conducted the 85-person orchestra and the chorus expertly. There are a couple of directorial innovations, like a character making his entrance through the audience; and some players appearing on the apron of the stage. But by and large the conventional sets and direction seemed as much from the distant past as the story.

Text © Steve Cohen
Photo © Attila Nagy
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