Szilveszter Ókovács can continue to lead the Hungarian State Opera, whose mandate as director-general runs for five years from August 1, 2023, Minister of Culture and Innovation János Csák announced on Friday in Budapest.
By winning the tender for the post of general director again, Szilveszter Ókovács will become the longest-serving director of the Hungarian State Opera in Hungarian history, János Csák at the press conference. Szilveszter Ókovács has been managing the Hungarian State Opera House since 2012. "This is a huge opportunity and perhaps an even bigger responsibility," emphasized the minister.
He also emphasized that the Opera does not function as an island, but " there is an ecosystem around it, which includes the Academy of Music, the Müpa, the Operetta and the Academy of Dance". It is in our interest to create an ecosystem in which the leaders of the institutions work together as partners, he added.
"As Hungarians, we must stick to our cultural traditions, to what has worked, and this is also the task of the management of the current opera".Szilveszter Ókovács thanked his colleagues at the event, among other things, and thanked the government for its "prolonged trust since 2011": it invested almost HUF 100 billion in their development and HUF 150 billion in their operation, of which the institution was able to contribute HUF 30 billion.
Explaining its main goals, he emphasized that the Hungarian State Opera wants to be an institution worthy of European standards.
"The opera house, rooted in Judeo-Christian culture, wants to remain a representative institution in the future as well, with proud Hungarian colors and Hungarian posture, on a national basis, with many, many Hungarian artists," emphasized the general director.
Szilveszter Ókovács was recently a guest of the Civil Academy, the video of the event can be viewed here.
Source and title image: MTI/Noémi Bruzák
